# Moderate Text
> Scan and moderate text for unsafe or policy-relevant material across 10+ categories with the Text Moderation API.
The Copyleaks [Text Moderation](https://copyleaks.com/text-moderation) API empowers you to build safer online environments by proactively identifying and flagging harmful or risky content in real-time. With support for a broad range of categories-including hate speech, toxic language, and more-our API provides the tools you need to enforce your community standards effectively.
This guide will walk you through submitting text for moderation and building a robust workflow based on the results.
## Get started
### Before you begin
Before you start, ensure you have the following:
- An active Copyleaks account. If you don't have one, **[sign up for free](https://api.copyleaks.com/signup)**.
- You can find your API key on the **[API Dashboard](https://api.copyleaks.com/dashboard)**.
### Installation
### Login
### Submit for moderation
Use the [Text Moderation Endpoint](/reference/actions/text-moderation/check). Provide a unique `scanId` for each request.
For testing, set `"sandbox": true`. Sandbox mode is free and returns mock results.
```http title="HTTP" icon="globe"
POST https://api.copyleaks.com/v1/text-moderation/my-scan-1/check
Authorization: Bearer
Content-Type: application/json
{
"text": "Your text content to be moderated goes here.",
"sandbox": true,
"language": "en",
"labels": [
{ "id": "toxic-v1" },
{ "id": "profanity-v1" },
{ "id": "hate-speech-v1" }
]
}
```
```bash title="cURL" icon="terminal"
curl -X POST "https://api.copyleaks.com/v1/text-moderation/my-scan-1/check" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer " \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"text": "Your text content to be moderated goes here.",
"sandbox": true,
"language": "en",
"labels": [
{ "id": "toxic-v1" },
{ "id": "profanity-v1" },
{ "id": "hate-speech-v1" }
]
}'
```
```python title="Python" icon="python"
from copyleaks.copyleaks import Copyleaks
from copyleaks.models.TextModeration.Requests.CopyleaksTextModerationRequestModel import CopyleaksTextModerationRequestModel
scan_id = "my-moderation-scan"
model = CopyleaksTextModerationRequestModel(
text="This is some text to scan.",
sandbox=True,
language="en",
labels=[
{"id": "other-v1"},
{"id": "adult-v1"},
{"id": "toxic-v1"},
{"id": "violent-v1"},
{"id": "profanity-v1"},
{"id": "self-harm-v1"},
{"id": "harassment-v1"},
{"id": "hate-speech-v1"},
{"id": "drugs-v1"},
{"id": "firearms-v1"},
{"id": "cybersecurity-v1"},
]
)
textModerationResponse = Copyleaks.TextModerationClient.submit_text(auth_token, scan_id, model)
print("Text Moderation"+ "\n")
print(textModerationResponse.model_dump_json())
```
```javascript title="JavaScript" icon="square-js"
const { Copyleaks, CopyleaksTextModerationRequestModel } = require('plagiarism-checker');
async function moderateText() {
try {
// Initialize Copyleaks
const copyleaks = new Copyleaks();
// Login to get the authentication token.
// Replace with your email and API key.
const loginResult = await copyleaks.loginAsync('YOUR_EMAIL@example.com', 'YOUR_API_KEY');
const scanId = `moderation-scan-${Date.now()}`;
// The text to be moderated
const textToModerate = "This is some text to scan for harmful content.";
// Create a moderation request model
const submission = new CopyleaksTextModerationRequestModel({
text: textToModerate,
sandbox: true, // Use sandbox for testing
language: 'en',
labels: [
{ id: "toxic-v1" },
{ id: "profanity-v1" },
{ id: "hate-speech-v1" }
]
});
// Submit the text for moderation
const response = await copyleaks.textModerationClient.submitTextAsync(loginResult, scanId, submission);
console.log("Moderation results:", response);
} catch (error) {
console.error("An error occurred:", error);
}
}
moderateText();
```
```java title="Java" icon="java"
import classes.Copyleaks;
import models.submissions.CopyleaksTextModerationModel;
import models.submissions.properties.ModerationLabel;
import models.responses.ModerationResponse;
import java.util.Arrays;
String scanId = "my-moderation-scan";
String sampleText = "Your text content to be moderated goes here.";
CopyleaksTextModerationModel submission = new CopyleaksTextModerationModel(
sampleText,
Arrays.asList(new ModerationLabel("toxic-v1"), new ModerationLabel("profanity-v1")),
"en",
true // sandbox
);
ModerationResponse response = Copyleaks.moderateText(authToken, scanId, submission);
System.out.println(response);
```
### Interpreting the response
The API returns a `legend` array that maps [labels](/reference/data-types/moderation/text-moderation-labels) IDs to numerical indices, and a `moderations` object that pinpoints the exact location of flagged content using those indices.
- **`legend`**: A lookup table where each `id` (e.g., "toxic-v1") corresponds to an `index`.
- **`moderations.text.chars`**: Contains parallel arrays:
- `starts`: An array of starting character positions for each flagged segment.
- `lengths`: An array of character lengths for each segment.
- `labels`: An array of numerical indices that correspond to the `legend`.
```json title="Example Response"
{
"moderations": {
"text": {
"chars": {
"labels": [ 2, 4 ],
"starts": [ 27, 100 ],
"lengths": [ 2, 8 ]
}
}
},
"legend": [
{ "index": 2, "id": "toxic-v1" },
{ "index": 4, "id": "profanity-v1" }
],
"modelVersion": "v1",
"scannedDocument": {
"scanId": "test",
"totalWords": 479,
"totalExcluded": 0,
"actualCredits": 2,
"expectedCredits": 2,
"creationTime": "2025-08-13T06:51:29.4899318Z"
}
}
```
In this example, the content is flagged for "toxic-v1" starting at character 27 and for "profanity-v1" starting at character 100.
### Summary
You have successfully submitted text for moderation. You can now use the JSON response in your application to take further actions based on the findings.
## Next steps
See a complete list of all supported content moderation labels and their descriptions.
Explore the complete documentation for the Text Moderation endpoint and response object.
See how Copyleaks text moderation flags unsafe content with your own examples.