Redmine

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h1. Redmine API

Redmine exposes some of its data through a REST API. This API provides access and basic CRUD operations (create, update, delete) for the resources described below. The API supports both "XML":http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xml and "JSON":http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JSON formats.

h2. API Description

|_.Resource                     |_.Status     |_.Notes  |_.Availability|

|[[Rest_Issues|Issues]]         | Stable        | Usable with some bugs and rough edges.  | 1.0 |

|[[Rest_Projects|Projects]]     | Stable        | Usable with some bugs and rough edges.  | 1.0 |

|[[Rest_Memberships|Project Memberships]]  | Alpha | | 1.4 |

|[[Rest_Users|Users]]           | Stable | | 1.1 |

|[[Rest_TimeEntries|Time Entries]]           | Stable | | 1.1 |

|[[Rest_News|News]]             | Prototype | Prototype implementation for @index@ only | 1.1 |

|[[Rest_IssueRelations|Issue Relations]]  | Alpha | | 1.3 |

|[[Rest_Versions|Versions]]  | Alpha | | 1.3 |

|[[Rest_WikiPages|Wiki Pages]]  | Alpha | | 2.2 |

|[[Rest_Queries|Queries]]  | Alpha | | 1.3 |

|[[Rest_Attachments|Attachments]]  | Beta | Adding attachments via the API added in 1.4 | 1.3 |

|[[Rest_IssueStatuses|Issue Statuses]]  | Alpha | Provides the list of all statuses | 1.3 |

|[[Rest_Trackers|Trackers]]  | Alpha | Provides the list of all trackers | 1.3 |

|[[Rest_Enumerations|Enumerations]]  | Alpha | Provides the list of issue priorities and time tracking activities | 2.2 |

|[[Rest_IssueCategories|Issue Categories]]  | Alpha | | 1.3 |

|[[Rest_Roles|Roles]]  | Alpha | | 1.4 |

|[[Rest_Groups|Groups]]  | Alpha | | 2.1 |

Status legend:

* Stable - feature complete, no major changes planned

* Beta - usable for integrations with some bugs or missing minor functionality

* Alpha - major functionality in place, needs feedback from API users and integrators

* Prototype - very rough implementation, possible major breaking changes mid-version. *Not recommended for integration*

* Planned - planned in a future version, depending on developer availability

h2. General topics

h3. Specify @Content-Type@ on @POST@/@PUT@ requests

When creating or updating a remote element, the @Content-Type@ of the request *MUST* be specified even if the remote URL is suffixed accordingly (e.g. @POST ../issues.json@):

* for JSON content, it must be set to @Content-Type: application/json@.

* for XML content, to @Content-Type: application/xml@.

h3. Authentication

Most of the time, the API requires authentication. To enable the API-style authentication, you have to check *Enable REST API* in Administration -> Settings -> Authentication. Then, authentication can be done in 2 different ways:

* using your regular login/password via HTTP Basic authentication.

* using your API key which is a handy way to avoid putting a password in a script. The API key may be attached to each request in one of the following way:

** passed in as a "key" parameter

** passed in as a username with a random password via HTTP Basic authentication

** passed in as a "X-Redmine-API-Key" HTTP header (added in Redmine 1.1.0)

You can find your API key on your account page ( /my/account ) when logged in, on the right-hand pane of the default layout.

h3. User Impersonation

As of Redmine 2.2.0, you can impersonate user through the REST API by setting the @X-Redmine-Switch-User@ header of your API request. It must be set to a user login (eg. @X-Redmine-Switch-User: jsmith@). This only works when using the API with an administrator account, this header will be ignored when using the API with a regular user account.

If the login specified with the @X-Redmine-Switch-User@ header does not exist or is not active, you will receive a 412 error response.

h3. Collection resources and pagination

The response to a GET request on a collection ressources (eg. @/issues.xml@, @/users.xml@) generally won't return all the objects available in your database. Redmine version:1.1.0 introduces a common way to query such ressources using the following parameters:

* @offset@: the offset of the first object to retrieve

* @limit@: the number of items to be present in the response (default is 25, maximum is 100)

Examples:

<pre>

GET /issues.xml

=> returns the 25 first issues

GET /issues.xml?limit=100

=> returns the 100 first issues

GET /issues.xml?offset=30&limit=10

=> returns 10 issues from the 30th

</pre>

Responses to GET requests on collection ressources provide information about the total object count available in Redmine and the offset/limit used for the response. Examples:

<pre>

GET /issues.xml

<issues type="array" total_count="2595" limit="25" offset="0">

  ...

</issues>

</pre>

<pre>

GET /issues.json

{ "issues":[...], "total_count":2595, "limit":25, "offset":0 }

</pre>

Note: if you're using a REST client that does not support such top level attributes (total_count, limit, offset), you can set the @nometa@ parameter or @X-Redmine-Nometa@ HTTP header to 1 to get responses without them. Example:

<pre>

GET /issues.xml?nometa=1

<issues type="array">

  ...

</issues>

</pre>

h3. Fetching associated data

Since of version:1.1.0, you have to explicitly specify the associations you want to be included in the query result by appending the @include@ parameter to the query url :

Example:

To retrieve issue journals with its description:

<pre>

GET /issues/296.xml?include=journals

<issue>

  <id>296</id>

  ...

  <journals type="array">

  ...

  </journals>

</issue>

</pre>

You can also load multiple associations using a coma separated list of items.

Example:

<pre>

GET /issues/296.xml?include=journals,changesets

<issue>

  <id>296</id>

  ...

  <journals type="array">

  ...

  </journals>

  <changesets type="array">

  ...

  </changesets>

</issue>

</pre>

h3. Working with custom fields

Most of the Redmine objects support custom fields. Their values can be found in the @custom_fields@ attributes.

XML Example:

<pre>

GET /issues/296.xml      # an issue with 2 custom fields

<issue>

  <id>296</id>

  ...

  <custom_fields type="array">

    <custom_field name="Affected version" id="1">

      <value>1.0.1</value>

    </custom_field>

    <custom_field name="Resolution" id="2">

      <value>Fixed</value>

    </custom_field>

  </custom_fields>

</issue>

</pre>

JSON Example:

<pre>

GET /issues/296.json      # an issue with 2 custom fields

{"issue":

  {

    "id":8471,

    ...

    "custom_fields":

      [

        {"value":"1.0.1","name":"Affected version","id":1},

        {"value":"Fixed","name":"Resolution","id":2}

      ]

  }

}

</pre>

You can also set/change the values of the custom fields when creating/updating an object using the same syntax (except that the custom field name is not required).

XML Example:

<pre>

PUT /issues/296.xml

<issue>

  <subject>Updating custom fields of an issue</subject>

  ...

  <custom_fields type="array">

    <custom_field id="1">

      <value>1.0.2</value>

    </custom_field>

    <custom_field id="2">

      <value>Invalid</value>

    </custom_field>

  </custom_fields>

</issue>

</pre>

Note: the @type="array"@ attribute on @custom_fields@ XML tag is strictly required.

JSON Example:

<pre>

PUT /issues/296.json

{"issue":

  {

    "subject":"Updating custom fields of an issue",

    ...

    "custom_fields":

      [

        {"value":"1.0.2","id":1},

        {"value":"Invalid","id":2}

      ]

  }

}

</pre>

h3. Attaching files

Support for adding attachments through the REST API is added in Redmine version:1.4.0.

First, you need to upload your file with a POST request to @/uploads.xml@ (or @/uploads.json@). The request body should be the content of the file you want to attach and the @Content-Type@ header must be set to @application/octet-stream@ (otherwise you'll get a @406 Not Acceptable@ response). If the upload succeeds, you get a 201 response that contains a token for your uploaded file.

<pre>

POST /uploads.xml

Content-Type: application/octet-stream

...

(request body is the file content)

# 201 response

<upload>

  <token>7167.ed1ccdb093229ca1bd0b043618d88743</token>

</upload>

</pre>

Then you can use this token to attach your uploaded file to a new or an existing issue.

<pre>

POST /issues.xml

<issue>

  <project_id>1</project_id>

  <subject>Creating an issue with a uploaded file</subject>

  <uploads type="array">

    <upload>

      <token>7167.ed1ccdb093229ca1bd0b043618d88743</token>

      <filename>image.png</filename>

      <description>An optional description here</description>

      <content_type>image/png</content_type>

    </upload>

  </uploads>

</issue>

</pre>

If you try to upload a file that exceeds the maximum size allowed, you get a 422 response:

<pre>

POST /uploads.xml

Content-Type: application/octet-stream

...

(request body larger than the maximum size allowed)

# 422 response

<errors>

  <error>This file cannot be uploaded because it exceeds the maximum allowed file size (1024000)</error>

</errors>

</pre>

h3. Validation errors

When trying to create or update an object with invalid or missing attribute parameters, you will get a @422 Unprocessable Entity@ response. That means that the object could not be created or updated. In such cases, the response body contains the corresponding error messages:

+XML Example+:

<pre>

# Request with invalid or missing attributes

POST /users.xml

<user>

  <login>john</login>

  <lastname>Smith</lastname>

  <mail>john</mail>

</uer>

# 422 response with the error messages in its body

<errors type="array">

  <error>First name can't be blank</error>

  <error>Email is invalid</error>

</errors>

</pre>

+JSON Example+:

<pre>

# Request with invalid or missing attributes

POST /users.json

{

  "user":{

    "login":"john",

    "lastname":"Smith",

    "mail":"john"

  }

}

# 422 response with the error messages in its body

{

  "errors":[

    "First name can't be blank",

    "Email is invalid"

  ]

}

</pre>

h3. JSONP Support

Redmine 2.1.0+ API supports "JSONP":http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JSONP to request data from a Redmine server in a different domain (say, with JQuery). The callback can be passed using the @callback@ or @jsonp@ parameter. As of Redmine 2.3.0, JSONP support is optional and disabled by default, you can enable it by checking *Enable JSONP support* in Administration -> Settings -> Authentication.

Example:

<pre>

GET /issues.json?callback=myHandler

myHandler({"issues":[ ... ]})

</pre>

h2. API Usage in various languages/tools

* [[Rest_api_with_ruby|Ruby]]

* [[Rest_api_with_php|PHP]]

* [[Rest_api_with_python|Python]]

* [[Rest_api_with_java|Java]]

* [[Rest_api_with_curl|cURL]]

* "Drupal Redmine API module, 2.x branch (currently not stable)":http://drupal.org/project/redmine

* [[Rest_api_with_csharp|.NET]]

* [[Rest_api_with_delphi|Delphi]]

h2. API Change history

This section lists changes to the existing API features only. New features of the API are listed in the [[Rest_api#API-Description|API Description]].

h3. 2012-01-29: Multiselect custom fields (r8721, version:1.4.0)

Custom fields with multiple values are now supported in Redmine and may be found in API responses. These custom fields have a @multiple=true attribute@ and their @value@ attribute is an array.

Example:

<pre>

GET /issues/296.json

{"issue":

  {

    "id":8471,

    ...

    "custom_fields":

      [

        {"value":["1.0.1","1.0.2"],"multiple":true,"name":"Affected version","id":1},

        {"value":"Fixed","name":"Resolution","id":2}

      ]

  }

}

</pre>