[discrete]
[[api-java-get-watch]]
=== Get watch API

This API retrieves a watch by its id.

The following example gets a watch with `my-watch` id:

[source,java]
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GetWatchResponse getWatchResponse = watcherClient.prepareGetWatch("my-watch").get();
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You can access the watch definition by accessing the source of the response:

[source,java]
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XContentSource source = getWatchResponse.getSource();
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The `XContentSource` provides you methods to explore the source:

[source,java]
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Map<String, Object> map = source.getAsMap();
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Or get a specific value associated with a known key:

[source,java]
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String host = source.getValue("input.http.request.host");
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