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+---
+stage: Manage
+group: Integrations
+info: To determine the technical writer assigned to the Stage/Group associated with this page, see https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/product/ux/technical-writing/#assignments
+---
+
+# REST API **(FREE)**
+
+The REST APIs have been around for a longer time compared to GraphQL APIs, which
+may make them more familiar to some developers. It is often a good choice for
+developers who are more comfortable with traditional API architecture.
+
+## Compatibility guidelines
+
+The HTTP API is versioned with a single number, which is currently `4`. This number
+symbolizes the major version number, as described by [SemVer](https://semver.org/).
+Because of this, backward-incompatible changes require this version number to
+change.
+
+The minor version isn't explicit, which allows for a stable API
+endpoint. New features can be added to the API in the same
+version number.
+
+New features and bug fixes are released in tandem with GitLab. Apart
+from incidental patch and security releases, GitLab is released on the 22nd of each
+month. Major API version changes, and removal of entire API versions, are done in tandem
+with major GitLab releases.
+
+All deprecations and changes between versions are in the documentation.
+
+### Current status
+
+Only API version v4 is available.
+
+## How to use the API
+
+API requests must include both `api` and the API version. The API
+version is defined in [`lib/api.rb`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/tree/master/lib/api/api.rb).
+For example, the root of the v4 API is at `/api/v4`.
+
+### Valid API request
+
+The following is a basic example of a request to the fictional `gitlab.example.com` endpoint:
+
+```shell
+curl "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects"
+```
+
+The API uses JSON to serialize data. You don't need to specify `.json` at the
+end of the API URL.
+
+NOTE:
+In the example above, replace `gitlab.example.com` with `gitlab.com` to query GitLab.com (GitLab SaaS).
+Access can be denied due to authentication. For more information, see [Authentication](#authentication).
+
+### API request to expose HTTP response headers
+
+If you want to expose HTTP response headers, use the `--include` option:
+
+```shell
+curl --include "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects"
+HTTP/2 200
+...
+```
+
+This request can help you investigate an unexpected response.
+
+### API request that includes the exit code
+
+If you want to expose the HTTP exit code, include the `--fail` option:
+
+```shell
+curl --fail "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/does-not-exist"
+curl: (22) The requested URL returned error: 404
+```
+
+The HTTP exit code can help you diagnose the success or failure of your REST request.
+
+## Authentication
+
+Most API requests require authentication, or only return public data when
+authentication isn't provided. When authentication is not required, the documentation
+for each endpoint specifies this. For example, the
+[`/projects/:id` endpoint](../projects.md#get-single-project) does not require authentication.
+
+There are several ways you can authenticate with the GitLab API:
+
+- [OAuth2 tokens](#oauth2-tokens)
+- [Personal access tokens](../../user/profile/personal_access_tokens.md)
+- [Project access tokens](../../user/project/settings/project_access_tokens.md)
+- [Group access tokens](../../user/group/settings/group_access_tokens.md)
+- [Session cookie](#session-cookie)
+- [GitLab CI/CD job token](../../ci/jobs/ci_job_token.md) **(Specific endpoints only)**
+
+Project access tokens are supported by:
+
+- Self-managed GitLab Free and higher.
+- GitLab SaaS Premium and higher.
+
+If you are an administrator, you or your application can authenticate as a specific user.
+To do so, use:
+
+- [Impersonation tokens](#impersonation-tokens)
+- [Sudo](#sudo)
+
+If authentication information is not valid or is missing, GitLab returns an error
+message with a status code of `401`:
+
+```json
+{
+ "message": "401 Unauthorized"
+}
+```
+
+NOTE:
+Deploy tokens can't be used with the GitLab public API. For details, see
+[Deploy Tokens](../../user/project/deploy_tokens/index.md).
+
+### OAuth2 tokens
+
+You can use an [OAuth2 token](../oauth2.md) to authenticate with the API by passing
+it in either the `access_token` parameter or the `Authorization` header.
+
+Example of using the OAuth2 token in a parameter:
+
+```shell
+curl "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects?access_token=OAUTH-TOKEN"
+```
+
+Example of using the OAuth2 token in a header:
+
+```shell
+curl --header "Authorization: Bearer OAUTH-TOKEN" "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects"
+```
+
+Read more about [GitLab as an OAuth2 provider](../oauth2.md).
+
+NOTE:
+We recommend OAuth access tokens have an expiration. You can use the `refresh_token` parameter
+to refresh tokens. Integrations may need to be updated to use refresh tokens prior to
+expiration, which is based on the [`expires_in`](https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc6749#appendix-A.14)
+property in the token endpoint response. See [OAuth2 token](../oauth2.md) documentation
+for examples requesting a new access token using a refresh token.
+
+A default refresh setting of two hours is tracked in [this issue](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/336598).
+
+### Personal/project/group access tokens
+
+You can use access tokens to authenticate with the API by passing it in either
+the `private_token` parameter or the `PRIVATE-TOKEN` header.
+
+Example of using the personal, project, or group access token in a parameter:
+
+```shell
+curl "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects?private_token=<your_access_token>"
+```
+
+Example of using the personal, project, or group access token in a header:
+
+```shell
+curl --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects"
+```
+
+You can also use personal, project, or group access tokens with OAuth-compliant headers:
+
+```shell
+curl --header "Authorization: Bearer <your_access_token>" "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects"
+```
+
+### Session cookie
+
+Signing in to the main GitLab application sets a `_gitlab_session` cookie. The
+API uses this cookie for authentication if it's present. Using the API to
+generate a new session cookie isn't supported.
+
+The primary user of this authentication method is the web frontend of GitLab
+itself. The web frontend can use the API as the authenticated user to get a
+list of projects without explicitly passing an access token.
+
+### Impersonation tokens
+
+Impersonation tokens are a type of [personal access token](../../user/profile/personal_access_tokens.md).
+They can be created only by an administrator, and are used to authenticate with the
+API as a specific user.
+
+Use impersonation tokens as an alternative to:
+
+- The user's password or one of their personal access tokens.
+- The [Sudo](#sudo) feature. The user's or administrator's password or token
+ may not be known, or may change over time.
+
+For more information, see the [users API](../users.md#create-an-impersonation-token)
+documentation.
+
+Impersonation tokens are used exactly like regular personal access tokens, and
+can be passed in either the `private_token` parameter or the `PRIVATE-TOKEN`
+header.
+
+#### Disable impersonation
+
+By default, impersonation is enabled. To disable impersonation:
+
+**For Omnibus installations**
+
+1. Edit the `/etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb` file:
+
+ ```ruby
+ gitlab_rails['impersonation_enabled'] = false
+ ```
+
+1. Save the file, and then [reconfigure](../../administration/restart_gitlab.md#omnibus-gitlab-reconfigure)
+ GitLab for the changes to take effect.
+
+To re-enable impersonation, remove this configuration, and then reconfigure
+GitLab.
+
+**For installations from source**
+
+1. Edit the `config/gitlab.yml` file:
+
+ ```yaml
+ gitlab:
+ impersonation_enabled: false
+ ```
+
+1. Save the file, and then [restart](../../administration/restart_gitlab.md#installations-from-source)
+ GitLab for the changes to take effect.
+
+To re-enable impersonation, remove this configuration, and then restart GitLab.
+
+### Sudo
+
+All API requests support performing an API request as if you were another user,
+provided you're authenticated as an administrator with an OAuth or personal
+access token that has the `sudo` scope. The API requests are executed with the
+permissions of the impersonated user.
+
+As an [administrator](../../user/permissions.md), pass the `sudo` parameter either
+by using query string or a header with an ID or username (case insensitive) of
+the user you want to perform the operation as. If passed as a header, the header
+name must be `Sudo`.
+
+If a non administrative access token is provided, GitLab returns an error
+message with a status code of `403`:
+
+```json
+{
+ "message": "403 Forbidden - Must be admin to use sudo"
+}
+```
+
+If an access token without the `sudo` scope is provided, an error message is
+returned with a status code of `403`:
+
+```json
+{
+ "error": "insufficient_scope",
+ "error_description": "The request requires higher privileges than provided by the access token.",
+ "scope": "sudo"
+}
+```
+
+If the sudo user ID or username cannot be found, an error message is
+returned with a status code of `404`:
+
+```json
+{
+ "message": "404 User with ID or username '123' Not Found"
+}
+```
+
+Example of a valid API request and a request using cURL with sudo request,
+providing a username:
+
+```plaintext
+GET /projects?private_token=<your_access_token>&sudo=username
+```
+
+```shell
+curl --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" --header "Sudo: username" "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects"
+```
+
+Example of a valid API request and a request using cURL with sudo request,
+providing an ID:
+
+```plaintext
+GET /projects?private_token=<your_access_token>&sudo=23
+```
+
+```shell
+curl --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" --header "Sudo: 23" "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects"
+```
+
+## Status codes
+
+The API is designed to return different status codes according to context and
+action. This way, if a request results in an error, you can get
+insight into what went wrong.
+
+The following table gives an overview of how the API functions generally behave.
+
+| Request type | Description |
+|---------------|-------------|
+| `GET` | Access one or more resources and return the result as JSON. |
+| `POST` | Return `201 Created` if the resource is successfully created and return the newly created resource as JSON. |
+| `GET` / `PUT` | Return `200 OK` if the resource is accessed or modified successfully. The (modified) result is returned as JSON. |
+| `DELETE` | Returns `204 No Content` if the resource was deleted successfully or `202 Accepted` if the resource is scheduled to be deleted. |
+
+The following table shows the possible return codes for API requests.
+
+| Return values | Description |
+|--------------------------|-------------|
+| `200 OK` | The `GET`, `PUT` or `DELETE` request was successful, and the resource itself is returned as JSON. |
+| `202 Accepted` | The `GET`, `PUT` or `DELETE` request was successful, and the resource is scheduled for processing. |
+| `204 No Content` | The server has successfully fulfilled the request, and there is no additional content to send in the response payload body. |
+| `201 Created` | The `POST` request was successful, and the resource is returned as JSON. |
+| `304 Not Modified` | The resource hasn't been modified since the last request. |
+| `400 Bad Request` | A required attribute of the API request is missing. For example, the title of an issue is not given. |
+| `401 Unauthorized` | The user isn't authenticated. A valid [user token](#authentication) is necessary. |
+| `403 Forbidden` | The request isn't allowed. For example, the user isn't allowed to delete a project. |
+| `404 Not Found` | A resource couldn't be accessed. For example, an ID for a resource couldn't be found. |
+| `405 Method Not Allowed` | The request isn't supported. |
+| `409 Conflict` | A conflicting resource already exists. For example, creating a project with a name that already exists. |
+| `412` | The request was denied. This can happen if the `If-Unmodified-Since` header is provided when trying to delete a resource, which was modified in between. |
+| `422 Unprocessable` | The entity couldn't be processed. |
+| `429 Too Many Requests` | The user exceeded the [application rate limits](../../administration/instance_limits.md#rate-limits). |
+| `500 Server Error` | While handling the request, something went wrong on the server. |
+
+## Pagination
+
+GitLab supports the following pagination methods:
+
+- Offset-based pagination. This is the default method and is available on all endpoints.
+- Keyset-based pagination. Added to selected endpoints but being
+ [progressively rolled out](https://gitlab.com/groups/gitlab-org/-/epics/2039).
+
+For large collections, for performance reasons we recommend keyset pagination
+(when available) instead of offset pagination.
+
+### Offset-based pagination
+
+Sometimes, the returned result spans many pages. When listing resources, you can
+pass the following parameters:
+
+| Parameter | Description |
+|------------|-------------|
+| `page` | Page number (default: `1`). |
+| `per_page` | Number of items to list per page (default: `20`, max: `100`). |
+
+In the following example, we list 50 [namespaces](../namespaces.md) per page:
+
+```shell
+curl --request GET --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/namespaces?per_page=50"
+```
+
+NOTE:
+There is a [max offset allowed limit](../../administration/instance_limits.md#max-offset-allowed-by-the-rest-api-for-offset-based-pagination) for offset pagination. You can change the limit in self-managed instances.
+
+#### Pagination `Link` header
+
+[`Link` headers](https://www.w3.org/wiki/LinkHeader) are returned with each
+response. They have `rel` set to `prev`, `next`, `first`, or `last` and contain
+the relevant URL. Be sure to use these links instead of generating your own URLs.
+
+For GitLab.com users, [some pagination headers may not be returned](../../user/gitlab_com/index.md#pagination-response-headers).
+
+In the following cURL example, we limit the output to three items per page
+(`per_page=3`) and we request the second page (`page=2`) of [comments](../notes.md)
+of the issue with ID `8` which belongs to the project with ID `9`:
+
+```shell
+curl --head --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects/9/issues/8/notes?per_page=3&page=2"
+```
+
+The response is:
+
+```http
+HTTP/2 200 OK
+cache-control: no-cache
+content-length: 1103
+content-type: application/json
+date: Mon, 18 Jan 2016 09:43:18 GMT
+link: <https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects/8/issues/8/notes?page=1&per_page=3>; rel="prev", <https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects/8/issues/8/notes?page=3&per_page=3>; rel="next", <https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects/8/issues/8/notes?page=1&per_page=3>; rel="first", <https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects/8/issues/8/notes?page=3&per_page=3>; rel="last"
+status: 200 OK
+vary: Origin
+x-next-page: 3
+x-page: 2
+x-per-page: 3
+x-prev-page: 1
+x-request-id: 732ad4ee-9870-4866-a199-a9db0cde3c86
+x-runtime: 0.108688
+x-total: 8
+x-total-pages: 3
+```
+
+#### Other pagination headers
+
+GitLab also returns the following additional pagination headers:
+
+| Header | Description |
+|-----------------|-------------|
+| `x-next-page` | The index of the next page. |
+| `x-page` | The index of the current page (starting at 1). |
+| `x-per-page` | The number of items per page. |
+| `x-prev-page` | The index of the previous page. |
+| `x-total` | The total number of items. |
+| `x-total-pages` | The total number of pages. |
+
+For GitLab.com users, [some pagination headers may not be returned](../../user/gitlab_com/index.md#pagination-response-headers).
+
+### Keyset-based pagination
+
+Keyset-pagination allows for more efficient retrieval of pages and - in contrast
+to offset-based pagination - runtime is independent of the size of the
+collection.
+
+This method is controlled by the following parameters. `order_by` and `sort` are both mandatory.
+
+| Parameter | Required | Description |
+|--------------| ------------ | --------- |
+| `pagination` | yes | `keyset` (to enable keyset pagination). |
+| `per_page` | no | Number of items to list per page (default: `20`, max: `100`). |
+| `order_by` | yes | Column by which to order by. |
+| `sort` | yes | Sort order (`asc` or `desc`) |
+
+In the following example, we list 50 [projects](../projects.md) per page, ordered
+by `id` ascending.
+
+```shell
+curl --request GET --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects?pagination=keyset&per_page=50&order_by=id&sort=asc"
+```
+
+The response header includes a link to the next page. For example:
+
+```http
+HTTP/1.1 200 OK
+...
+Link: <https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects?pagination=keyset&per_page=50&order_by=id&sort=asc&id_after=42>; rel="next"
+Status: 200 OK
+...
+```
+
+The link to the next page contains an additional filter `id_after=42` that
+excludes already-retrieved records.
+
+As another example, the following request lists 50 [groups](../groups.md) per page ordered
+by `name` ascending using keyset pagination:
+
+```shell
+curl --request GET --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/groups?pagination=keyset&per_page=50&order_by=name&sort=asc"
+```
+
+The response header includes a link to the next page:
+
+```http
+HTTP/1.1 200 OK
+...
+Link: <https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/groups?pagination=keyset&per_page=50&order_by=name&sort=asc&cursor=eyJuYW1lIjoiRmxpZ2h0anMiLCJpZCI6IjI2IiwiX2tkIjoibiJ9>; rel="next"
+Status: 200 OK
+...
+```
+
+The link to the next page contains an additional filter `cursor=eyJuYW1lIjoiRmxpZ2h0anMiLCJpZCI6IjI2IiwiX2tkIjoibiJ9` that
+excludes already-retrieved records.
+
+The type of filter depends on the
+`order_by` option used, and we can have more than one additional filter.
+
+WARNING:
+The `Links` header was removed in GitLab 14.0 to be aligned with the
+[W3C `Link` specification](https://www.w3.org/wiki/LinkHeader). The `Link`
+header was [added in GitLab 13.1](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/merge_requests/33714)
+and should be used instead.
+
+When the end of the collection is reached and there are no additional
+records to retrieve, the `Link` header is absent and the resulting array is
+empty.
+
+We recommend using only the given link to retrieve the next page instead of
+building your own URL. Apart from the headers shown, we don't expose additional
+pagination headers.
+
+Keyset-based pagination is supported only for selected resources and ordering
+options:
+
+| Resource | Options | Availability |
+|:---------------------------------------------------------|:---------------------------------|:-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
+| [Projects](../projects.md) | `order_by=id` only | Authenticated and unauthenticated users |
+| [Groups](../groups.md) | `order_by=name`, `sort=asc` only | Unauthenticated users only |
+| [Group audit events](../audit_events.md#group-audit-events) | `order_by=id`, `sort=desc` only | Authenticated users only ([introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/333968) in GitLab 15.2) |
+| [Jobs](../jobs.md) | `order_by=id`, `sort=desc` only | Authenticated users only ([introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/362172) in GitLab 15.9) |
+
+### Pagination response headers
+
+For performance reasons, if a query returns more than 10,000 records, GitLab
+doesn't return the following headers:
+
+- `x-total`.
+- `x-total-pages`.
+- `rel="last"` `link`
+
+## Path parameters
+
+If an endpoint has path parameters, the documentation displays them with a
+preceding colon.
+
+For example:
+
+```plaintext
+DELETE /projects/:id/share/:group_id
+```
+
+The `:id` path parameter needs to be replaced with the project ID, and the
+`:group_id` needs to be replaced with the ID of the group. The colons `:`
+shouldn't be included.
+
+The resulting cURL request for a project with ID `5` and a group ID of `17` is then:
+
+```shell
+curl --request DELETE --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects/5/share/17"
+```
+
+Path parameters that are required to be URL-encoded must be followed. If not,
+it doesn't match an API endpoint and responds with a 404. If there's
+something in front of the API (for example, Apache), ensure that it doesn't decode
+the URL-encoded path parameters.
+
+## Namespaced path encoding
+
+If using namespaced API requests, make sure that the `NAMESPACE/PROJECT_PATH` is
+URL-encoded.
+
+For example, `/` is represented by `%2F`:
+
+```plaintext
+GET /api/v4/projects/diaspora%2Fdiaspora
+```
+
+A project's _path_ isn't necessarily the same as its _name_. A project's path is
+found in the project's URL or in the project's settings, under
+**General > Advanced > Change path**.
+
+## File path, branches, and tags name encoding
+
+If a file path, branch or tag contains a `/`, make sure it is URL-encoded.
+
+For example, `/` is represented by `%2F`:
+
+```plaintext
+GET /api/v4/projects/1/repository/files/src%2FREADME.md?ref=master
+GET /api/v4/projects/1/branches/my%2Fbranch/commits
+GET /api/v4/projects/1/repository/tags/my%2Ftag
+```
+
+## Request Payload
+
+API Requests can use parameters sent as [query strings](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Query_string)
+or as a [payload body](https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-ietf-httpbis-p3-payload-14#section-3.2).
+GET requests usually send a query string, while PUT or POST requests usually
+send the payload body:
+
+- Query string:
+
+ ```shell
+ curl --request POST "https://gitlab/api/v4/projects?name=<example-name>&description=<example-description>"
+ ```
+
+- Request payload (JSON):
+
+ ```shell
+ curl --request POST --header "Content-Type: application/json" \
+ --data '{"name":"<example-name>", "description":"<example-description>"}' "https://gitlab/api/v4/projects"
+ ```
+
+URL encoded query strings have a length limitation. Requests that are too large
+result in a `414 Request-URI Too Large` error message. This can be resolved by
+using a payload body instead.
+
+## Encoding API parameters of `array` and `hash` types
+
+You can request the API with `array` and `hash` types parameters:
+
+### `array`
+
+`import_sources` is a parameter of type `array`:
+
+```shell
+curl --request POST --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" \
+-d "import_sources[]=github" \
+-d "import_sources[]=bitbucket" \
+"https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/some_endpoint"
+```
+
+### `hash`
+
+`override_params` is a parameter of type `hash`:
+
+```shell
+curl --request POST --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" \
+--form "namespace=email" \
+--form "path=impapi" \
+--form "file=@/path/to/somefile.txt" \
+--form "override_params[visibility]=private" \
+--form "override_params[some_other_param]=some_value" \
+"https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects/import"
+```
+
+### Array of hashes
+
+`variables` is a parameter of type `array` containing hash key/value pairs
+`[{ 'key': 'UPLOAD_TO_S3', 'value': 'true' }]`:
+
+```shell
+curl --globoff --request POST --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" \
+"https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects/169/pipeline?ref=master&variables[0][key]=VAR1&variables[0][value]=hello&variables[1][key]=VAR2&variables[1][value]=world"
+
+curl --request POST --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" \
+--header "Content-Type: application/json" \
+--data '{ "ref": "master", "variables": [ {"key": "VAR1", "value": "hello"}, {"key": "VAR2", "value": "world"} ] }' \
+"https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects/169/pipeline"
+```
+
+## `id` vs `iid`
+
+Some resources have two similarly-named fields. For example, [issues](../issues.md),
+[merge requests](../merge_requests.md), and [project milestones](../merge_requests.md).
+The fields are:
+
+- `id`: ID that is unique across all projects.
+- `iid`: Additional, internal ID (displayed in the web UI) that's unique in the
+ scope of a single project.
+
+If a resource has both the `iid` field and the `id` field, the `iid` field is
+usually used instead of `id` to fetch the resource.
+
+For example, suppose a project with `id: 42` has an issue with `id: 46` and
+`iid: 5`. In this case:
+
+- A valid API request to retrieve the issue is `GET /projects/42/issues/5`.
+- An invalid API request to retrieve the issue is `GET /projects/42/issues/46`.
+
+Not all resources with the `iid` field are fetched by `iid`. For guidance
+regarding which field to use, see the documentation for the specific resource.
+
+## Data validation and error reporting
+
+When working with the API you may encounter validation errors, in which case
+the API returns an HTTP `400` error.
+
+Such errors appear in the following cases:
+
+- A required attribute of the API request is missing (for example, the title of
+ an issue isn't given).
+- An attribute did not pass the validation (for example, the user bio is too
+ long).
+
+When an attribute is missing, you receive something like:
+
+```http
+HTTP/1.1 400 Bad Request
+Content-Type: application/json
+{
+ "message":"400 (Bad request) \"title\" not given"
+}
+```
+
+When a validation error occurs, error messages are different. They hold
+all details of validation errors:
+
+```http
+HTTP/1.1 400 Bad Request
+Content-Type: application/json
+{
+ "message": {
+ "bio": [
+ "is too long (maximum is 255 characters)"
+ ]
+ }
+}
+```
+
+This makes error messages more machine-readable. The format can be described as
+follows:
+
+```json
+{
+ "message": {
+ "<property-name>": [
+ "<error-message>",
+ "<error-message>",
+ ...
+ ],
+ "<embed-entity>": {
+ "<property-name>": [
+ "<error-message>",
+ "<error-message>",
+ ...
+ ],
+ }
+ }
+}
+```
+
+## Unknown route
+
+When you attempt to access an API URL that doesn't exist, you receive a
+404 Not Found message.
+
+```http
+HTTP/1.1 404 Not Found
+Content-Type: application/json
+{
+ "error": "404 Not Found"
+}
+```
+
+## Encoding `+` in ISO 8601 dates
+
+If you need to include a `+` in a query parameter, you may need to use `%2B`
+instead, due to a [W3 recommendation](https://www.w3.org/Addressing/URL/4_URI_Recommentations.html)
+that causes a `+` to be interpreted as a space. For example, in an ISO 8601 date,
+you may want to include a specific time in ISO 8601 format, such as:
+
+```plaintext
+2017-10-17T23:11:13.000+05:30
+```
+
+The correct encoding for the query parameter would be:
+
+```plaintext
+2017-10-17T23:11:13.000%2B05:30
+```
+
+## Clients
+
+Many unofficial GitLab API Clients are available for most of the popular programming
+languages. For a complete list, see the [GitLab website](https://about.gitlab.com/partners/technology-partners/#api-clients).
+
+## Rate limits
+
+For administrator documentation on rate limit settings, see
+[Rate limits](../../security/rate_limits.md). To find the settings that are
+specifically used by GitLab.com, see
+[GitLab.com-specific rate limits](../../user/gitlab_com/index.md#gitlabcom-specific-rate-limits).
+
+## Content type
+
+The GitLab API supports the `application/json` content type by default, though
+some API endpoints also support `text/plain`.
+
+In [GitLab 13.10 and later](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/250342),
+API endpoints do not support `text/plain` by default, unless it's explicitly documented.
+
+## Resolve requests detected as spam
+
+> [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/352913) in GitLab 14.9.
+
+REST API requests can be detected as spam. If a request is detected as spam and:
+
+- A CAPTCHA service is not configured, an error response is returned. For example:
+
+ ```json
+ {"message":{"error":"Your snippet has been recognized as spam and has been discarded."}}
+ ```
+
+- A CAPTCHA service is configured, you receive a response with:
+ - `needs_captcha_response` set to `true`.
+ - The `spam_log_id` and `captcha_site_key` fields set.
+
+ For example:
+
+ ```json
+ {"needs_captcha_response":true,"spam_log_id":42,"captcha_site_key":"REDACTED","message":{"error":"Your snippet has been recognized as spam. Please, change the content or solve the reCAPTCHA to proceed."}}
+ ```
+
+- Use the `captcha_site_key` to obtain a CAPTCHA response value using the appropriate CAPTCHA API.
+ Only [Google reCAPTCHA v2](https://developers.google.com/recaptcha/docs/display) is supported.
+- Resubmit the request with the `X-GitLab-Captcha-Response` and `X-GitLab-Spam-Log-Id` headers set.
+
+```shell
+export CAPTCHA_RESPONSE="<CAPTCHA response obtained from CAPTCHA service>"
+export SPAM_LOG_ID="<spam_log_id obtained from initial REST response>"
+curl --request POST --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: $PRIVATE_TOKEN" --header "X-GitLab-Captcha-Response: $CAPTCHA_RESPONSE" --header "X-GitLab-Spam-Log-Id: $SPAM_LOG_ID" "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/snippets?title=Title&file_name=FileName&content=Content&visibility=public"
+```