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This version of GitHub Enterprise was discontinued on 2023-07-06. No patch releases will be made, even for critical security issues. For better performance, improved security, and new features, upgrade to the latest version of GitHub Enterprise. For help with the upgrade, contact GitHub Enterprise support.

After a site administrator upgrades your Enterprise Server instance to Enterprise Server 3.9 or later, the REST API will be versioned. To learn how to find your instance's version, see "About versions of GitHub Docs". For more information, see "About API versioning."

Labels

Use the REST API to manage labels for repositories, issues and pull requests.

About labels

You can use the REST API to manage labels for a repository and add or remove labels to issues and pull requests. Every pull request is an issue, but not every issue is a pull request. For this reason, "shared" actions for both features, like managing assignees, labels, and milestones, are provided within the Issues endpoints.

List labels for an issue

Works with GitHub Apps

Lists all labels for an issue.

Parameters for "List labels for an issue"

Headers
Name, Type, Description
accept string

Setting to application/vnd.github+json is recommended.

Path parameters
Name, Type, Description
owner string Required

The account owner of the repository. The name is not case sensitive.

repo string Required

The name of the repository without the .git extension. The name is not case sensitive.

issue_number integer Required

The number that identifies the issue.

Query parameters
Name, Type, Description
per_page integer

The number of results per page (max 100).

Default: 30

page integer

Page number of the results to fetch.

Default: 1

HTTP response status codes for "List labels for an issue"

Status codeDescription
200

OK

301

Moved permanently

404

Resource not found

410

Gone

Code samples for "List labels for an issue"

get/repos/{owner}/{repo}/issues/{issue_number}/labels
curl -L \ -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR-TOKEN>" \ http(s)://HOSTNAME/api/v3/repos/OWNER/REPO/issues/ISSUE_NUMBER/labels

Response

Status: 200
[ { "id": 208045946, "node_id": "MDU6TGFiZWwyMDgwNDU5NDY=", "url": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/Hello-World/labels/bug", "name": "bug", "description": "Something isn't working", "color": "f29513", "default": true }, { "id": 208045947, "node_id": "MDU6TGFiZWwyMDgwNDU5NDc=", "url": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/Hello-World/labels/enhancement", "name": "enhancement", "description": "New feature or request", "color": "a2eeef", "default": false } ]

Add labels to an issue

Works with GitHub Apps

Adds labels to an issue. If you provide an empty array of labels, all labels are removed from the issue.

Parameters for "Add labels to an issue"

Headers
Name, Type, Description
accept string

Setting to application/vnd.github+json is recommended.

Path parameters
Name, Type, Description
owner string Required

The account owner of the repository. The name is not case sensitive.

repo string Required

The name of the repository without the .git extension. The name is not case sensitive.

issue_number integer Required

The number that identifies the issue.

Body parameters
Name, Type, Description
labels array of strings

The names of the labels to add to the issue's existing labels. You can pass an empty array to remove all labels. Alternatively, you can pass a single label as a string or an array of labels directly, but GitHub recommends passing an object with the labels key. You can also replace all of the labels for an issue. For more information, see "Set labels for an issue."

HTTP response status codes for "Add labels to an issue"

Status codeDescription
200

OK

301

Moved permanently

404

Resource not found

410

Gone

422

Validation failed, or the endpoint has been spammed.

Code samples for "Add labels to an issue"

post/repos/{owner}/{repo}/issues/{issue_number}/labels
curl -L \ -X POST \ -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR-TOKEN>" \ http(s)://HOSTNAME/api/v3/repos/OWNER/REPO/issues/ISSUE_NUMBER/labels \ -d '{"labels":["bug","enhancement"]}'

Response

Status: 200
[ { "id": 208045946, "node_id": "MDU6TGFiZWwyMDgwNDU5NDY=", "url": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/Hello-World/labels/bug", "name": "bug", "description": "Something isn't working", "color": "f29513", "default": true }, { "id": 208045947, "node_id": "MDU6TGFiZWwyMDgwNDU5NDc=", "url": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/Hello-World/labels/enhancement", "name": "enhancement", "description": "New feature or request", "color": "a2eeef", "default": false } ]

Set labels for an issue

Works with GitHub Apps

Removes any previous labels and sets the new labels for an issue.

Parameters for "Set labels for an issue"

Headers
Name, Type, Description
accept string

Setting to application/vnd.github+json is recommended.

Path parameters
Name, Type, Description
owner string Required

The account owner of the repository. The name is not case sensitive.

repo string Required

The name of the repository without the .git extension. The name is not case sensitive.

issue_number integer Required

The number that identifies the issue.

Body parameters
Name, Type, Description
labels array of strings

The names of the labels to set for the issue. The labels you set replace any existing labels. You can pass an empty array to remove all labels. Alternatively, you can pass a single label as a string or an array of labels directly, but GitHub recommends passing an object with the labels key. You can also add labels to the existing labels for an issue. For more information, see "Add labels to an issue."

HTTP response status codes for "Set labels for an issue"

Status codeDescription
200

OK

301

Moved permanently

404

Resource not found

410

Gone

422

Validation failed, or the endpoint has been spammed.

Code samples for "Set labels for an issue"

put/repos/{owner}/{repo}/issues/{issue_number}/labels
curl -L \ -X PUT \ -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR-TOKEN>" \ http(s)://HOSTNAME/api/v3/repos/OWNER/REPO/issues/ISSUE_NUMBER/labels \ -d '{"labels":["bug","enhancement"]}'

Response

Status: 200
[ { "id": 208045946, "node_id": "MDU6TGFiZWwyMDgwNDU5NDY=", "url": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/Hello-World/labels/bug", "name": "bug", "description": "Something isn't working", "color": "f29513", "default": true }, { "id": 208045947, "node_id": "MDU6TGFiZWwyMDgwNDU5NDc=", "url": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/Hello-World/labels/enhancement", "name": "enhancement", "description": "New feature or request", "color": "a2eeef", "default": false } ]

Remove all labels from an issue

Works with GitHub Apps

Removes all labels from an issue.

Parameters for "Remove all labels from an issue"

Headers
Name, Type, Description
accept string

Setting to application/vnd.github+json is recommended.

Path parameters
Name, Type, Description
owner string Required

The account owner of the repository. The name is not case sensitive.

repo string Required

The name of the repository without the .git extension. The name is not case sensitive.

issue_number integer Required

The number that identifies the issue.

HTTP response status codes for "Remove all labels from an issue"

Status codeDescription
204

No Content

301

Moved permanently

404

Resource not found

410

Gone

Code samples for "Remove all labels from an issue"

delete/repos/{owner}/{repo}/issues/{issue_number}/labels
curl -L \ -X DELETE \ -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR-TOKEN>" \ http(s)://HOSTNAME/api/v3/repos/OWNER/REPO/issues/ISSUE_NUMBER/labels

Response

Status: 204

Remove a label from an issue

Works with GitHub Apps

Removes the specified label from the issue, and returns the remaining labels on the issue. This endpoint returns a 404 Not Found status if the label does not exist.

Parameters for "Remove a label from an issue"

Headers
Name, Type, Description
accept string

Setting to application/vnd.github+json is recommended.

Path parameters
Name, Type, Description
owner string Required

The account owner of the repository. The name is not case sensitive.

repo string Required

The name of the repository without the .git extension. The name is not case sensitive.

issue_number integer Required

The number that identifies the issue.

name string Required

HTTP response status codes for "Remove a label from an issue"

Status codeDescription
200

OK

301

Moved permanently

404

Resource not found

410

Gone

Code samples for "Remove a label from an issue"

delete/repos/{owner}/{repo}/issues/{issue_number}/labels/{name}
curl -L \ -X DELETE \ -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR-TOKEN>" \ http(s)://HOSTNAME/api/v3/repos/OWNER/REPO/issues/ISSUE_NUMBER/labels/NAME

Response

Status: 200
[ { "id": 208045946, "node_id": "MDU6TGFiZWwyMDgwNDU5NDY=", "url": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/Hello-World/labels/bug", "name": "bug", "description": "Something isn't working", "color": "f29513", "default": true } ]

List labels for a repository

Works with GitHub Apps

Lists all labels for a repository.

Parameters for "List labels for a repository"

Headers
Name, Type, Description
accept string

Setting to application/vnd.github+json is recommended.

Path parameters
Name, Type, Description
owner string Required

The account owner of the repository. The name is not case sensitive.

repo string Required

The name of the repository without the .git extension. The name is not case sensitive.

Query parameters
Name, Type, Description
per_page integer

The number of results per page (max 100).

Default: 30

page integer

Page number of the results to fetch.

Default: 1

HTTP response status codes for "List labels for a repository"

Status codeDescription
200

OK

404

Resource not found

Code samples for "List labels for a repository"

get/repos/{owner}/{repo}/labels
curl -L \ -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR-TOKEN>" \ http(s)://HOSTNAME/api/v3/repos/OWNER/REPO/labels

Response

Status: 200
[ { "id": 208045946, "node_id": "MDU6TGFiZWwyMDgwNDU5NDY=", "url": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/Hello-World/labels/bug", "name": "bug", "description": "Something isn't working", "color": "f29513", "default": true }, { "id": 208045947, "node_id": "MDU6TGFiZWwyMDgwNDU5NDc=", "url": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/Hello-World/labels/enhancement", "name": "enhancement", "description": "New feature or request", "color": "a2eeef", "default": false } ]

Create a label

Works with GitHub Apps

Creates a label for the specified repository with the given name and color. The name and color parameters are required. The color must be a valid hexadecimal color code.

Parameters for "Create a label"

Headers
Name, Type, Description
accept string

Setting to application/vnd.github+json is recommended.

Path parameters
Name, Type, Description
owner string Required

The account owner of the repository. The name is not case sensitive.

repo string Required

The name of the repository without the .git extension. The name is not case sensitive.

Body parameters
Name, Type, Description
name string Required

The name of the label. Emoji can be added to label names, using either native emoji or colon-style markup. For example, typing :strawberry: will render the emoji :strawberry:. For a full list of available emoji and codes, see "Emoji cheat sheet."

color string

The hexadecimal color code for the label, without the leading #.

description string

A short description of the label. Must be 100 characters or fewer.

HTTP response status codes for "Create a label"

Status codeDescription
201

Created

404

Resource not found

422

Validation failed, or the endpoint has been spammed.

Code samples for "Create a label"

post/repos/{owner}/{repo}/labels
curl -L \ -X POST \ -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR-TOKEN>" \ http(s)://HOSTNAME/api/v3/repos/OWNER/REPO/labels \ -d '{"name":"bug","description":"Something isn'\''t working","color":"f29513"}'

Response

Status: 201
{ "id": 208045946, "node_id": "MDU6TGFiZWwyMDgwNDU5NDY=", "url": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/Hello-World/labels/bug", "name": "bug", "description": "Something isn't working", "color": "f29513", "default": true }

Get a label

Works with GitHub Apps

Gets a label using the given name.

Parameters for "Get a label"

Headers
Name, Type, Description
accept string

Setting to application/vnd.github+json is recommended.

Path parameters
Name, Type, Description
owner string Required

The account owner of the repository. The name is not case sensitive.

repo string Required

The name of the repository without the .git extension. The name is not case sensitive.

name string Required

HTTP response status codes for "Get a label"

Status codeDescription
200

OK

404

Resource not found

Code samples for "Get a label"

get/repos/{owner}/{repo}/labels/{name}
curl -L \ -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR-TOKEN>" \ http(s)://HOSTNAME/api/v3/repos/OWNER/REPO/labels/NAME

Response

Status: 200
{ "id": 208045946, "node_id": "MDU6TGFiZWwyMDgwNDU5NDY=", "url": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/Hello-World/labels/bug", "name": "bug", "description": "Something isn't working", "color": "f29513", "default": true }

Update a label

Works with GitHub Apps

Updates a label using the given label name.

Parameters for "Update a label"

Headers
Name, Type, Description
accept string

Setting to application/vnd.github+json is recommended.

Path parameters
Name, Type, Description
owner string Required

The account owner of the repository. The name is not case sensitive.

repo string Required

The name of the repository without the .git extension. The name is not case sensitive.

name string Required
Body parameters
Name, Type, Description
new_name string

The new name of the label. Emoji can be added to label names, using either native emoji or colon-style markup. For example, typing :strawberry: will render the emoji :strawberry:. For a full list of available emoji and codes, see "Emoji cheat sheet."

color string

The hexadecimal color code for the label, without the leading #.

description string

A short description of the label. Must be 100 characters or fewer.

HTTP response status codes for "Update a label"

Status codeDescription
200

OK

Code samples for "Update a label"

patch/repos/{owner}/{repo}/labels/{name}
curl -L \ -X PATCH \ -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR-TOKEN>" \ http(s)://HOSTNAME/api/v3/repos/OWNER/REPO/labels/NAME \ -d '{"new_name":"bug :bug:","description":"Small bug fix required","color":"b01f26"}'

Response

Status: 200
{ "id": 208045946, "node_id": "MDU6TGFiZWwyMDgwNDU5NDY=", "url": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/Hello-World/labels/bug%20:bug:", "name": "bug :bug:", "description": "Small bug fix required", "color": "b01f26", "default": true }

Delete a label

Works with GitHub Apps

Deletes a label using the given label name.

Parameters for "Delete a label"

Headers
Name, Type, Description
accept string

Setting to application/vnd.github+json is recommended.

Path parameters
Name, Type, Description
owner string Required

The account owner of the repository. The name is not case sensitive.

repo string Required

The name of the repository without the .git extension. The name is not case sensitive.

name string Required

HTTP response status codes for "Delete a label"

Status codeDescription
204

No Content

Code samples for "Delete a label"

delete/repos/{owner}/{repo}/labels/{name}
curl -L \ -X DELETE \ -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR-TOKEN>" \ http(s)://HOSTNAME/api/v3/repos/OWNER/REPO/labels/NAME

Response

Status: 204

List labels for issues in a milestone

Works with GitHub Apps

Lists labels for issues in a milestone.

Parameters for "List labels for issues in a milestone"

Headers
Name, Type, Description
accept string

Setting to application/vnd.github+json is recommended.

Path parameters
Name, Type, Description
owner string Required

The account owner of the repository. The name is not case sensitive.

repo string Required

The name of the repository without the .git extension. The name is not case sensitive.

milestone_number integer Required

The number that identifies the milestone.

Query parameters
Name, Type, Description
per_page integer

The number of results per page (max 100).

Default: 30

page integer

Page number of the results to fetch.

Default: 1

HTTP response status codes for "List labels for issues in a milestone"

Status codeDescription
200

OK

Code samples for "List labels for issues in a milestone"

get/repos/{owner}/{repo}/milestones/{milestone_number}/labels
curl -L \ -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR-TOKEN>" \ http(s)://HOSTNAME/api/v3/repos/OWNER/REPO/milestones/MILESTONE_NUMBER/labels

Response

Status: 200
[ { "id": 208045946, "node_id": "MDU6TGFiZWwyMDgwNDU5NDY=", "url": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/Hello-World/labels/bug", "name": "bug", "description": "Something isn't working", "color": "f29513", "default": true }, { "id": 208045947, "node_id": "MDU6TGFiZWwyMDgwNDU5NDc=", "url": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/Hello-World/labels/enhancement", "name": "enhancement", "description": "New feature or request", "color": "a2eeef", "default": false } ]