Mark a workspace work item type as default

POST/api/v2/workspaces/{slug}/work-item-types/{pk}/mark-default/

Promote a type to the workspace default — the type a work item gets when none is supplied. Exactly one type holds the flag, so marking this one clears it on the type that held it before.

is_default is read-only on create and update, which is why this is its own call. Send no body.

Workspace mode required

This write only succeeds while the workspace manages work item types at the workspace level. In project mode it returns 409 with code work_item_types_managed_at_project — set the default on the project endpoint instead. See Work item type modes.

Path Parameters

slug:requiredstring

The workspace slug. It appears in your Plane URLs — in https://app.plane.so/my-team/projects/, the slug is my-team.

pk:requiredstring (uuid)

The id of the work item type to make the default.

Body Parameters

None. The type is identified entirely by pk; send an empty request.

Response shaping

fields:optionalstring

Comma-separated list of fields to return. Unrequested keys are omitted from the response, not returned as null, so absent means "not requested" and null means "actually null". id always comes back whether or not you name it.

Pass all for every requestable field. An unknown name is a 400 that lists the valid set and suggests the closest match, so a typo can't silently cost you the saving.

Requestable here: created_at, description, id, is_active, is_default, is_epic, level, logo_props, name.

See Sparse fields.

Scopes

workspaces.work_item_types:write

Errors

Status	Code	Cause
400	invalid_request	The type can't be made default as requested. See errors[].
401	unauthorized	Missing or invalid credentials.
402	payment_required	The feature this endpoint belongs to isn't enabled on your plan, or is switched off.
403	forbidden	Your role or token scope can't write workspace types.
404	not_found	No such type or workspace, or it's outside your tenant.
406	not_acceptable	The Accept header asks for a representation the API can't produce.
409	conflict	The default can't be moved in the current state — the response detail says why.
413	payload_too_large	The request body is over the size limit.
415	unsupported_media_type	The Content-Type isn't one this endpoint accepts.
429	rate_limited	Throttled. Honor the Retry-After header before retrying.

Mark a workspace work item type as default

curl -X POST \
  "https://api.plane.so/api/v2/workspaces/my-team/work-item-types/9d2f1b73-4c85-4a06-b3e1-7f8c25a0d914/mark-default/" \
  -H "X-Api-Key: $PLANE_API_KEY"

import requests

response = requests.post(
    "https://api.plane.so/api/v2/workspaces/my-team/work-item-types/9d2f1b73-4c85-4a06-b3e1-7f8c25a0d914/mark-default/",
    headers={"X-Api-Key": "your-api-key"},
)
print(response.json())

const response = await fetch(
  "https://api.plane.so/api/v2/workspaces/my-team/work-item-types/9d2f1b73-4c85-4a06-b3e1-7f8c25a0d914/mark-default/",
  {
    method: "POST",
    headers: {
      "X-Api-Key": "your-api-key",
    },
  },
);
const data = await response.json();

Response200

{
  "id": "9d2f1b73-4c85-4a06-b3e1-7f8c25a0d914",
  "name": "Task",
  "description": "Standard unit of work",
  "is_active": true,
  "is_default": true,
  "is_epic": false,
  "level": 0,
  "logo_props": {},
  "created_at": "2026-01-14T09:22:41.548221Z"
}

Response409

{
  "type": "conflict",
  "code": "work_item_types_managed_at_project",
  "detail": "This workspace manages work item types at the project level. Mark the default on the project's work item types endpoint."
}

Confirm the swap in one read

The response is the promoted type, not the pair. If you need to show the change, re-read the set with List workspace work item types — the previous default now reports is_default: false.