Version
POST

Move an epic

/v1/epics/{epic}/status in the Epics API.

curl -X POST https://api.example.test/v1/epics/$EPIC_ID/status \  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \  -H "Idempotency-Key: $(uuidgen)" \  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \  -d '{"status": "in_review"}'

Moves the epic along its lifecycle. A draft goes to in_review or cancelled; a review goes back to draft, on to approved or to cancelled; an approved epic goes back to in_review, on to in_progress or to cancelled; one in progress goes to done or cancelled; a done epic may be reopened to in_progress; a cancelled one is revived as a draft. A move into approved stamps approved_at. A client guest's token sees the epic from the moment it is approved and loses it when it is cancelled. The move writes a version of the epic with the reason transition.

Answers 200 with the epic and emits epic.status_changed with the status before and after; a move to the status the epic is in already answers 200 and emits nothing.

POST
/v1/epics/{epic}/status

Requires ability

The token must hold this ability, or the call is refused with 403.

Fires one event

Delivered to every endpoint subscribed to it once the change is made.

MCP tool

Runs the same action from an agent, behind the same ability.

Idempotent

Send the header on every call; the same key replays the original response for 24 hours.

Authorization

bearerToken
AuthorizationBearer <token>

A personal access token minted in the app under Account Settings, then API Tokens, sent as Authorization: Bearer zg_live_…. The token carries the abilities each endpoint lists under Requires ability and is frozen to one team, and optionally to one project, at mint time.

In: header

Path Parameters

epic*string

The epic, bound by the middleware.

Formatuuid

Header Parameters

Idempotency-Key*string

A key unique to this operation, such as a fresh UUID. The same key replays the original 2xx response for 24 hours (with Idempotent-Replay: true), so a retry after a timeout never repeats the write; the same key with a different body is refused with 409.

Formatuuid

Request body

JSONWhat the request carries

The status to move the epic to.

Responses

200OK

The epic, moved.

400Bad request

Every write needs an Idempotency-Key header. Send a fresh UUID per distinct operation.

401Unauthorized

The request carries no bearer token, or one that is revoked, malformed, or minted for another environment (a zg_test_ token on production).

403Forbidden

The token is valid but does not carry the ability this endpoint requires; error.context.required_ability names the one to grant. An endpoint that also checks who registered a row answers FORBIDDEN with the same status, and says so in its own description. On this endpoint: FORBIDDEN: when the token holder's role on the project does not carry epic:update.

404Not found

An id in the path names nothing the token can see. TENANT_MISMATCH: the project sits outside the token's scope:project: allow-list, or the token carries no team scope. Both answer 404 rather than 403 so that existence outside the token's scope cannot be inferred.

409Conflict

The key was already used in the last 24 hours with a different request body.

422Validation failed

The payload broke a rule, and error.fields maps each offending key to its messages. A refusal from the domain, such as a role code already taken or a team the caller does not own, uses the same code with error.message saying why and no fields. On this endpoint: VALIDATION_FAILED: when status is missing or unknown, or when the lifecycle refuses the move.

425Too early

The first request with this key is still running; retry in a few seconds and the original response is replayed.

429Too many requests

The token has spent its 300 requests a minute or 10,000 an hour; Retry-After says when the next one is accepted.

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