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| info | stage | group | description |
|---|---|---|---|
| For assistance with this Style Guide page, see https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/product/ux/technical-writing/#assignments-to-other-projects-and-subjects. | none | unassigned | Writing styles, markup, formatting, and other standards for the GitLab RESTful APIs. |
Documenting REST API resources
REST API resources are documented in Markdown under
/doc/api. Each
resource has its own Markdown file, which is linked from
api_resources.md.
When modifying the Markdown, also update the corresponding OpenAPI definition if one exists for the resource. If not, consider creating one. Match the latest OpenAPI 3.0.x specification. (For more information, see the discussion in this issue.)
In the Markdown doc for a resource (AKA endpoint):
-
Every method must have the REST API request. For example:
GET /projects/:id/repository/branches -
Every method must have a detailed description of the attributes.
-
Every method must have a cURL example.
-
Every method must have a detailed description of the response body.
-
Every method must have a response body example (in JSON format).
-
If an attribute is available only to higher level tiers than the other attributes, add the appropriate inline tier badge. Put the badge in the Attribute column, like the
**(<tier>)**code in the following template.
After a new API documentation page is added, add an entry in the global navigation. Example.
API topic template
Use the following template to help you get started. Be sure to list any required attributes first in the table.
## API name
> Version history note.
One or two sentence description of what endpoint does.
### Method title
> Version history note.
Description of the method.
```plaintext
METHOD /endpoint
```
Supported attributes:
| Attribute | Type | Required | Description |
|:-------------------------|:---------|:---------|:----------------------|
| `attribute` | datatype | Yes | Detailed description. |
| `attribute` **(<tier>)** | datatype | No | Detailed description. |
| `attribute` | datatype | No | Detailed description. |
| `attribute` | datatype | No | Detailed description. |
If successful, returns [`<status_code>`](rest/index.md#status-codes) and the following
response attributes:
| Attribute | Type | Description |
|:-------------------------|:---------|:----------------------|
| `attribute` | datatype | Detailed description. |
| `attribute` **(<tier>)** | datatype | Detailed description. |
Example request:
```shell
curl --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/endpoint?parameters"
```
Example response:
```json
[
{
}
]
```
Version history
Add version history to describe new or updated API calls.
To add version history for an individual attribute, include it in the version history for the section. For example:
### Edit a widget
> `widget_message` [introduced](<link-to-issue>) in GitLab 14.3.
If the API or attribute is deployed behind a feature flag, include the feature flag information in the version history.
Deprecations
To document the deprecation of an API endpoint, follow the steps to deprecate a page or topic.
To deprecate an attribute:
-
Add a version history note.
> - `widget_name` [deprecated](<link-to-issue>) in GitLab 14.7. -
Add inline deprecation text to the description.
| Attribute | Type | Required | Description | |:--------------|:-------|:---------|:----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | `widget_name` | string | No | [Deprecated](<link-to-issue>) in GitLab 14.7 and is planned for removal in 15.4. Use `widget_id` instead. The name of the widget. |
To widely announce a deprecation, or if it's a breaking change, update the deprecations and removals documentation pages.
Method description
Use the following table headers to describe the methods. Attributes should
always be in code blocks using backticks (`).
Sort the table by required attributes first, then alphabetically.
| Attribute | Type | Required | Description |
|:-----------------------------|:--------------|:---------|:----------------------------------------------------|
| `title` | string | Yes | Title of the issue. |
| `assignee_ids` **(PREMIUM)** | integer array | No | IDs of the users to assign the issue to. |
| `confidential` | boolean | No | Sets the issue to confidential. Default is `false`. |
Rendered example:
| Attribute | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
title |
string | Yes | Title of the issue. |
assignee_ids (PREMIUM) |
integer array | No | IDs of the users to assign the issue to. |
confidential |
boolean | No | Sets the issue to confidential. Default is false. |
For information about writing attribute descriptions, see the GraphQL API description style guide.
Response body description
Start the description with the following sentence, replacing status code with the
relevant HTTP status code, for example:
If successful, returns [`200 OK`](../../api/rest/index.md#status-codes) and the
following response attributes:
Use the following table headers to describe the response bodies. Attributes should
always be in code blocks using backticks (`).
If the attribute is a complex type, like another object, represent sub-attributes
with dots (.), like project.name or projects[].name in case of an array.
Sort the table alphabetically.
| Attribute | Type | Description |
|:-----------------------------|:--------------|:------------------------------------------|
| `assignee_ids` **(PREMIUM)** | integer array | IDs of the users to assign the issue to. |
| `confidential` | boolean | Whether the issue is confidential or not. |
| `title` | string | Title of the issue. |
Rendered example:
| Attribute | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
assignee_ids (PREMIUM) |
integer array | IDs of the users to assign the issue to. |
confidential |
boolean | Whether the issue is confidential or not. |
title |
string | Title of the issue. |
For information about writing attribute descriptions, see the GraphQL API description style guide.
cURL commands
- Use
https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/as an endpoint. - Wherever needed use this personal access token:
<your_access_token>. - Always put the request first.
GETis the default so you don't have to include it. - Wrap the URL in double quotes (
"). - Prefer to use examples using the personal access token and don't pass data of username and password.
| Methods | Description |
|---|---|
--header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" |
Use this method as is, whenever authentication needed. |
--request POST |
Use this method when creating new objects. |
--request PUT |
Use this method when updating existing objects. |
--request DELETE |
Use this method when removing existing objects. |
cURL Examples
The following sections include a set of cURL examples you can use in the API documentation.
WARNING: Do not use information for real users, URLs, or tokens. For documentation, refer to our relevant style guide sections on Fake user information, Fake URLs, and Fake tokens.
Simple cURL command
Get the details of a group:
curl --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/groups/gitlab-org"
cURL example with parameters passed in the URL
Create a new project under the authenticated user's namespace:
curl --request POST --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects?name=foo"
Post data using cURL's --data
Instead of using --request POST and appending the parameters to the URI, you
can use cURL's --data option. The example below will create a new project
foo under the authenticated user's namespace.
curl --data "name=foo" --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects"
Post data using JSON content
This example creates a new group. Be aware of the use of single (') and double
(") quotes.
curl --request POST --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" --header "Content-Type: application/json" \
--data '{"path": "my-group", "name": "My group"}' "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/groups"
For readability, you can also set up the --data by using the following format:
curl --request POST \
--url "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/groups" \
--header "content-type: application/json" \
--header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" \
--data '{
"path": "my-group",
"name": "My group"
}'
Post data using form-data
Instead of using JSON or URL-encoding data, you can use multipart/form-data which
properly handles data encoding:
curl --request POST --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" --form "title=ssh-key" \
--form "key=ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EA..." "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/users/25/keys"
The above example is run by and administrator and will add an SSH public key
titled ssh-key to user's account which has an ID of 25.
Escape special characters
Spaces or slashes (/) may sometimes result to errors, thus it is recommended
to escape them when possible. In the example below we create a new issue which
contains spaces in its title. Observe how spaces are escaped using the %20
ASCII code.
curl --request POST --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects/42/issues?title=Hello%20GitLab"
Use %2F for slashes (/).
Pass arrays to API calls
The GitLab API sometimes accepts arrays of strings or integers. For example, to exclude specific users when requesting a list of users for a project, you would do something like this:
curl --request PUT --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" --data "skip_users[]=<user_id>" \
--data "skip_users[]=<user_id>" "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects/<project_id>/users"