ProjectsV2 API, can't manage issue status (columns)

[rmusick2000]

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The API does not support creating, adding, deleting or editing a projectV2's status field (which provides columns in the board view). A user can do this by hand, but an app can not do this programmatically.

This prevents 3rd party developers from building apps that can manage the flow of issues in a project. The app can not create or manage a standard column format without human intervention. Furthermore, automated testing suffers, since a testing app can not carry out basic user activity, like creating a new project column in a board view.

Will programmatic column management be possible in 2023?

This is a blocker for many app developers.

A few relevant posts:
#6063
https://github.com/orgs/community/discussions/28382
https://github.com/orgs/community/discussions/38225

[javsjmoore]

The columns are based on a field. By default, that is Status. You can update the status of the ProjectsV2Item with this mutation: https://docs.github.com/en/graphql/reference/mutations#updateprojectv2itemfieldvalue

[ariCETester]

Thanks for responding @javsjmoore .
I am able to change the value of the status field of a pv2 item to a pre-existing optionId (i.e. move a card between pre-existing columns).

I can not add/delete options to/from the status field (i.e. columns to/from the project) nor change the text value of an existing option.
This means I can not create a new project and populate it with my preferred columns, nor can I edit default existing columns to change them
into my preferred choices. Users can of course do this by hand..

For example, I can move a card to a different column with the following, as long as the optionId (column) already exists:

mutation {
updateProjectV2ItemFieldValue( input:{
projectId: "PVT_kwDOA8JELs4ALvih",
itemId: "PVTI_lADOA8JELs4ALvihzgFbtoA", #..............pv2 item id, i.e. the card
fieldId: "PVTSSF_lADOA8JELs4ALvihzgHfSLo", #.......status field id
value: {singleSelectOptionId: "f75ad846" }}) #...............optionId, i.e. the column id
}) {clientMutationId}}

I can not, for example, modify the text for that option id (i.e. edit the name of the column). Say I change the value input to {text: "bagels"}, then

• change the above mutation so itemId = status field id "PVTSSF..." ==> "Could not resolve to ProjectV2Item node with the global id"..
• change the above mutation so itemId = optionID "8dc16176", ==> "Could not resolve to a node with the global id"..
• leave the project & item ids alone, but set fieldId = "optionId "8dc16176" ==> "Could not resolve to a node with the global id"..

As far as I can tell, neither the status field nor the optionId are projectV2 items, so this mutation can't operate on them.

Hopefully I'm missing something?

[javsjmoore]

Do these mutations match what you're looking for?
Create field: https://docs.github.com/en/graphql/reference/mutations#createprojectv2field
Delete field: https://docs.github.com/en/graphql/reference/mutations#deleteprojectv2field
Clear field: https://docs.github.com/en/graphql/reference/mutations#deleteprojectv2field

If you have a project you've already setup, are you able to copy it with all your templated fields?
Copy ProjectV2: https://docs.github.com/en/graphql/reference/mutations#deleteprojectv2field

[javsjmoore]

Maybe you need to clear and then update? I will try this myself once I have some time.

https://docs.github.com/en/graphql/reference/mutations#clearprojectv2itemfieldvalue
https://docs.github.com/en/graphql/reference/mutations#updateprojectv2itemfieldvalue

[chicco785]

updating an item field is not a problem, adding a new value to available options of a project field instead it is.

surely, I could then wip a full field in a project, and re-create it, but then I will have to re-update all the items, to not only set the new option value, but also re-set the values previously set, given that the field was deleted at the project level and the new one has different node id and options node ids.

[danielmarbach]

@javsjmoore Have you had a chance to try this? I haven't been able in any way to modify the existing status field options. You can't delete the custom field and you can only clear a field that is associated with an item. So I'm kind of stuck. It seems like mentioned in the issue it is only possible to create new custom fields and use them as columns.

[javsjmoore]

Without deleting the status and adding a new one, I don't currently see a way to achieve this.

[danielmarbach]

The default status field cannot be deleted at all unfortunately

[jsiuaganatmyalii]

Hi I don't know if it some sort of related, I am using the updateIssue mutation using graphql. What I want to do is from one column inside the project is to move to the other column. Is there a way to do that via API? In UpdateIssue Mutation I can sort of change the values of the issue but the main point of moving it to the other column is I cannot figure out

[javsjmoore]

The Column By property in your project is based on ProjectV2Field values. If you go to the project's settings, you can see the Custom fields that define your columns.

Here's an example of a mutation that can do that:

        mutation changeStatus(
          $field: ID!
          $item: ID!
          $project: ID!
          $value: ProjectV2FieldValue!
        ) {
          updateProjectV2ItemFieldValue(
            input: {
              fieldId: $field
              itemId: $item
              projectId: $project
              value: $value
            }
          ) {
            clientMutationId
            projectV2Item {
              id
            }
          }
        }

The $value will be some sort of ProjectV2FieldValue.

Here's a link to the mutation that GraphQL is calling: https://docs.github.com/en/graphql/reference/input-objects#updateprojectv2itemfieldvalueinput.

In V1 Projects, you had columns that contained cards. Now, you can think of it as every card having fields and the views group the columns based on fields.

[LipJ01]

I am struggling to figure out what the fieldId is. Any suggestions on how to obtain it using the graphQl API?

[javsjmoore]

Something like this might work. Variables at the bottom. Change MyOrg and MyProject to whatever yours are.

query getProjectStatuses($org: String!, $project: String!) {
  organization(login: $org) {
    projectsV2(query: $project, first: 1) {
      edges {
        node {
          fields(first: 100) {
            edges {
              node {
                ...on ProjectV2FieldCommon {
                  name,	
                  id
                }
              }
            }
          }
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

{
  "org": "MyOrg",
  "project": "MyProject"
}