What are Channels in Human Design?
Channels are the 36 connections between pairs of Gates in the Human Design Bodygraph. Each Channel links two Gates in different Centers. When both Gates of a Channel are activated in a chart, the Channel is said to be “defined” and creates a consistent energy flow between the two connected Centers.
How Channels appear in the API
The /v1/bodygraph endpoint returns defined Channels:
{
"channels": [
{"channel": "34-20", "name": "Charisma", "circuit": "Individual"},
{"channel": "57-10", "name": "Perfected Form", "circuit": "Individual"}
]
}Circuit groups
The 36 Channels are organized into three major circuit groups:
- Individual Circuit (12 channels) — Creativity, mutation, empowerment.
- Tribal Circuit (9 channels) — Support, resources, agreements.
- Collective Circuit (15 channels) — Sharing, logic, abstraction. Split into Logic and Abstract sub-circuits.
The /v1/circuits endpoint returns a detailed breakdown organized by circuit group.
Definition types
The pattern of Channel definitions determines a person’s “Definition” type:
- Single Definition — All defined Centers are connected through a continuous chain of Channels.
- Split Definition — Defined Centers form two separate groups.
- Triple Split — Three separate groups of defined Centers.
- Quadruple Split — Four separate groups (rare).
- No Definition — No Channels defined (Reflector type, ~1% of population).
The API returns the definition type in the definition field.