Enable work item types

POST/api/v2/workspaces/{slug}/projects/{project_id}/work-item-types/enable/

Turn the work item types feature on for a project. This is the first call in the project-mode lifecycle — until it succeeds the project has no types, so there is nothing to create properties against and nothing for a work item's type_id to point at.

Enabling also provisions a default type, normally named Task, and returns it. That returned id is the type new work items land on when no type_id is supplied, and it is a valid target for attaching properties straight away.

There is no request body. The path carries everything the call needs.

This write requires project mode

If the workspace manages types at the workspace level, this returns 409 work_item_types_managed_at_workspace. In that mode there is nothing to enable per project — the workspace already owns the types, and you import them into the project 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.

project_id:requiredstring (uuid)

The project to turn work item types on for.

Body Parameters

None. Send the request without a body.

Scopes

projects.work_item_types:write

Errors

Status	Code	Cause
400	validation_error	The request could not be processed as sent.
401	unauthorized	Missing or invalid credentials.
403	forbidden	Your role or token scope can't configure this project's work item types.
404	resource_not_found	No such workspace or project, or it's outside your tenant.
409	work_item_types_managed_at_workspace	The workspace manages types at the workspace level. Import instead of enabling.
429	rate_limited	Throttled. Honor the Retry-After header before retrying.

Enable work item types

curl -X POST \
  "https://api.plane.so/api/v2/workspaces/my-team/projects/4af68566-94a4-4eb3-94aa-50dc9427067b/work-item-types/enable/" \
  -H "X-Api-Key: $PLANE_API_KEY"

import requests

response = requests.post(
    "https://api.plane.so/api/v2/workspaces/my-team/projects/4af68566-94a4-4eb3-94aa-50dc9427067b/work-item-types/enable/",
    headers={"X-Api-Key": "your-api-key"},
)
default_type = response.json()
print(default_type["id"], default_type["name"])

const response = await fetch(
  "https://api.plane.so/api/v2/workspaces/my-team/projects/4af68566-94a4-4eb3-94aa-50dc9427067b/work-item-types/enable/",
  {
    method: "POST",
    headers: {
      "X-Api-Key": "your-api-key",
    },
  }
);
const defaultType = await response.json();

Response200

{
  "id": "9c2f8e51-4a63-47d8-b1e0-5f7a2c40d693",
  "name": "Task",
  "description": "Default work item type with the option to add new properties",
  "is_active": true,
  "is_default": true,
  "is_epic": false,
  "level": 0,
  "logo_props": {
    "in_use": "icon",
    "icon": {
      "name": "Check",
      "background_color": "#1FA191"
    }
  },
  "created_at": "2026-01-14T09:22:41.478363Z"
}

Response409

{
  "type": "https://api.plane.so/errors/work_item_types_managed_at_workspace",
  "title": "Work Item Types Managed At Workspace",
  "status": 409,
  "code": "work_item_types_managed_at_workspace",
  "detail": "Work item types are managed at the workspace level for this workspace."
}

Calling it twice is safe

A project that already has a default type gets that type back rather than a second one. You can put this call at the head of a provisioning script without guarding it — 200 either way, and the id you need in the body.

What comes next

With the feature on and a default type in hand, the rest of the setup runs in order:

1. Create your own types — Bug, Spike, and so on.
2. Create the properties they should carry.
3. Attach each property to a type, deciding there whether it is required.
4. Read the schema to confirm what a work item of that type now accepts.

The full sequence is laid out in the work item types overview.