Labels
Repo-scoped labels for issues and pull requests. The default label set is seeded at repo create and can be edited or removed freely.
Label shape
{
"id": 7,
"name": "bug",
"color": "ee0701",
"description": "Something isn't working",
"created_at": "2026-05-12T05:00:00Z"
}
color is six hex chars without the leading #.
List labels
GET /api/v1/repos/{owner}/{repo}/labels
Required scope: repo:read. Sorted alphabetically by name.
Get a single label
GET /api/v1/repos/{owner}/{repo}/labels/{name}
Required scope: repo:read. 404 when the label does not exist.
Create a label
POST /api/v1/repos/{owner}/{repo}/labels
Required scope: repo:write. Policy: ActionIssueLabel.
{ "name": "needs-triage", "color": "ff00aa", "description": "triage me" }
| Field | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
name |
string | Required, 1–50 chars. |
color |
string | Required, six hex chars (no #). |
description |
string | Optional, ≤100 chars. |
Returns 201. 409 when the name is already taken on the repo;
422 on invalid color or empty name.
Update a label
PATCH /api/v1/repos/{owner}/{repo}/labels/{name}
Required scope: repo:write. Send only the fields you want to
change. Renaming a label is allowed via name.
{ "color": "00ff00", "description": "ready for triage" }
Delete a label
DELETE /api/v1/repos/{owner}/{repo}/labels/{name}
Required scope: repo:write. Returns 204. Issue / PR label
associations cascade away automatically.
View source
| 1 | # Labels |
| 2 | |
| 3 | Repo-scoped labels for issues and pull requests. The default |
| 4 | label set is seeded at repo create and can be edited or removed |
| 5 | freely. |
| 6 | |
| 7 | ## Label shape |
| 8 | |
| 9 | ```json |
| 10 | { |
| 11 | "id": 7, |
| 12 | "name": "bug", |
| 13 | "color": "ee0701", |
| 14 | "description": "Something isn't working", |
| 15 | "created_at": "2026-05-12T05:00:00Z" |
| 16 | } |
| 17 | ``` |
| 18 | |
| 19 | `color` is six hex chars without the leading `#`. |
| 20 | |
| 21 | ## List labels |
| 22 | |
| 23 | ``` |
| 24 | GET /api/v1/repos/{owner}/{repo}/labels |
| 25 | ``` |
| 26 | |
| 27 | Required scope: `repo:read`. Sorted alphabetically by name. |
| 28 | |
| 29 | ## Get a single label |
| 30 | |
| 31 | ``` |
| 32 | GET /api/v1/repos/{owner}/{repo}/labels/{name} |
| 33 | ``` |
| 34 | |
| 35 | Required scope: `repo:read`. `404` when the label does not exist. |
| 36 | |
| 37 | ## Create a label |
| 38 | |
| 39 | ``` |
| 40 | POST /api/v1/repos/{owner}/{repo}/labels |
| 41 | ``` |
| 42 | |
| 43 | Required scope: `repo:write`. Policy: `ActionIssueLabel`. |
| 44 | |
| 45 | ```json |
| 46 | { "name": "needs-triage", "color": "ff00aa", "description": "triage me" } |
| 47 | ``` |
| 48 | |
| 49 | | Field | Type | Notes | |
| 50 | |---------------|--------|----------------------------------------| |
| 51 | | `name` | string | Required, 1–50 chars. | |
| 52 | | `color` | string | Required, six hex chars (no `#`). | |
| 53 | | `description` | string | Optional, ≤100 chars. | |
| 54 | |
| 55 | Returns `201`. `409` when the name is already taken on the repo; |
| 56 | `422` on invalid color or empty name. |
| 57 | |
| 58 | ## Update a label |
| 59 | |
| 60 | ``` |
| 61 | PATCH /api/v1/repos/{owner}/{repo}/labels/{name} |
| 62 | ``` |
| 63 | |
| 64 | Required scope: `repo:write`. Send only the fields you want to |
| 65 | change. Renaming a label is allowed via `name`. |
| 66 | |
| 67 | ```json |
| 68 | { "color": "00ff00", "description": "ready for triage" } |
| 69 | ``` |
| 70 | |
| 71 | ## Delete a label |
| 72 | |
| 73 | ``` |
| 74 | DELETE /api/v1/repos/{owner}/{repo}/labels/{name} |
| 75 | ``` |
| 76 | |
| 77 | Required scope: `repo:write`. Returns `204`. Issue / PR label |
| 78 | associations cascade away automatically. |