API Reference | Workflowy

Workflowy API reference

Nodes

A node is the fundamental unit of content in WorkFlowy. Each node represents a single bullet point that can contain text, have child nodes, and be organized hierarchically. Nodes can be expanded or collapsed, completed, tagged, and moved around to create flexible outlines and lists.

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POST	/api/v1/nodes
POST	/api/v1/nodes/:id
GET	/api/v1/nodes/:id
GET	/api/v1/nodes
DELETE	/api/v1/nodes/:id
POST	/api/v1/nodes/:id/move
POST	/api/v1/nodes/:id/complete
POST	/api/v1/nodes/:id/uncomplete
GET	/api/v1/nodes-export

The Node object

Attributes

id string

Unique identifier of the node.

parent_id string | null

Unique identifier of the parent node. null for top-level nodes.

name string

The text content of the node. This is the main bullet text that appears in your outline. Supports the following inline HTML tags:

<b>text</b>

Bold

<i>text</i>

Italic

<s>text</s>

Strikethrough

<code>text</code>

Inline code

<a href="url">text</a>

Hyperlink

data.layoutMode string

Display mode of the node.

"bullets"

Bullet point (default)

"todo"

Todo item. Completion state is tracked by completedAt

"h1"

Level 1 header

"h2"

Level 2 header

"h3"

Level 3 header

"code-block"

Code block

"quote-block"

Quote block

note string | null

Additional note content for the node. Notes appear below the main text and can contain extended descriptions or details.

priority number

Sort order of the node among its siblings. Lower values appear first.

completed boolean

Whether the node is completed. The completion timestamp is available in completedAt.

createdAt number

Unix timestamp indicating when the node was created.

modifiedAt number

Unix timestamp indicating when the node was last modified.

completedAt number | null

Unix timestamp indicating when the node was completed. null if the node is not completed.

Create a node

Parameters

parent_id string

Where to create the new node.

"6ed4b9ca-256c-bf2e-bd70-d8754237b505"

the id of any node you own

"d8754237b505"

the 12-character short id from a WorkFlowy URL for any node you own.

"https://workflowy.com/#/d8754237b505"

the URL of any node you own.

"rd"

a shortcut key you've defined to point at a node

"None"

the top level of your outline (root)

"inbox"

your Inbox node, the built-in destination for quickly captured items at the top of your outline

"calendar"

the root of your calendar

"today"

the calendar node for today's date

"tomorrow"

the calendar node for tomorrow's date

"next_week"

the calendar node for the first day of next week, based on your week-start-day setting

"YYYY" (e.g. "2026")

a year node in the calendar

"YYYY-MM" (e.g. "2026-01")

a month node in the calendar

"YYYY-MM-DD" (e.g. "2026-01-15")

a day node in the calendar

name string required

The text content of the new node.

Multiline text — when the name field contains multiple lines, the first line becomes the parent node and subsequent lines become child nodes. A single \n is joined into a space; use \n\n (double newline) to create separate children.

Inline styles — markdown is parsed into HTML tags:

Markdown	HTML	Result
`text`	`<b>text</b>`	bold
`text`	`<i>text</i>`	italic
`~~text~~`	`<s>text</s>`	~~strikethrough~~
`text`	`<code>text</code>`	inline code
`[text](url)`	`<a href="url">text</a>`	hyperlink
`[YYYY-MM-DD]`	—	date
`[YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM]`	—	date with time (24-hour, user's timezone)

Node layout — markdown prefix sets the node's layoutMode:

Markdown	layoutMode	Result
`# text`	"h1"	level 1 header
`## text`	"h2"	level 2 header
`### text`	"h3"	level 3 header
`- text`	"bullets"	bullet point (default)
`- [ ] text`	"todo"	uncompleted todo
`- [x] text`	"todo"	completed todo
`code`	"code-block"	code block
`> text`	"quote-block"	quote block

layoutMode string

The display mode of the node. See the name field above for the markdown equivalents.

"bullets"

Bullet point (default)

"todo"

Todo item. Completion state is tracked by completedAt

"h1"

Level 1 header

"h2"

Level 2 header

"h3"

Level 3 header

"code-block"

Code block

"quote-block"

Quote block

note string

Additional note content for the node. Notes appear below the main text.

position string

Where to place the new node. Options: "top" (default) or "bottom".

`POST /api/v1/nodes`

curl -X POST https://workflowy.com/api/v1/nodes \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_KEY>" \
  -d '{\n    "parent_id": "inbox",\n    "name": "Hello API",\n    "position": "top"\n  }' | jq

Response

{
  "item_id": "5b401959-4740-4e1a-905a-62a961daa8c9"
}

Update a node

Updates the specified node by setting the values of the parameters passed. Any parameters not provided will be left unchanged.

Parameters

id string required

The identifier of the node to update.

name string

The text content of the node.

Inline styles:

HTML	Result
`<b>text</b>`	bold
`<i>text</i>`	italic
`<s>text</s>`	~~strikethrough~~
`<code>text</code>`	inline code
`<a href="url">text</a>`	hyperlink

layoutMode string

The display mode of the node.

"bullets"

Bullet point (default)

"todo"

Todo item. Completion state is tracked by completedAt

"h1"

Level 1 header

"h2"

Level 2 header

"h3"

Level 3 header

"code-block"

Code block

"quote-block"

Quote block

note string

The note content of the node.

`POST /api/v1/nodes/:id`

curl -X POST https://workflowy.com/api/v1/nodes/:id \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_KEY>" \
  -d '{\n    "name": "Updated node title"\n  }' | jq

Response

{
  "status": "ok"
}

Retrieve a node

Retrieves the details of an existing node. Supply either the full node ID, short node ID, or an existing calendar target and WorkFlowy will return the corresponding node information.

Parameters

id string required

The node ID, short node ID, or calendar target to retrieve. Calendar targets resolve existing calendar structure nodes and do not create missing nodes.

"6ed4b9ca-256c-bf2e-bd70-d8754237b505"

the full id of any node you own.

"4237b505abcd"

the 12-character short id from a WorkFlowy URL for any node you own.

"calendar"

the root of your calendar.

"today"

the calendar node for today's date.

"tomorrow"

the calendar node for tomorrow's date.

"next_week"

the calendar node for the first day of next week, based on your week-start-day setting.

"YYYY" (e.g. "2026")

a year node in the calendar.

"YYYY-MM" (e.g. "2026-01")

a month node in the calendar.

"YYYY-MM-DD" (e.g. "2026-01-15")

a day node in the calendar.

`GET /api/v1/nodes/:id`

curl -X GET https://workflowy.com/api/v1/nodes/:id \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_KEY>" | jq

Response

{
  "node": {
    "id": "6ed4b9ca-256c-bf2e-bd70-d8754237b505",
    "parent_id": "5b401959-4740-4e1a-905a-62a961daa8c9",
    "name": "This is a test outline for API examples",
    "note": null,
    "priority": 200,
    "completed": false,
    "data": {
      "layoutMode": "bullets"
    },
    "createdAt": 1753120779,
    "modifiedAt": 1753120850,
    "completedAt": null
  }
}

List nodes

Returns a list of child nodes for a given parent. The nodes are returned unordered - you need to sort them yourself based on the priority field.

Parameters

parent_id string

Whose children to list. Calendar keys return 404 if the node hasn't been created yet; use Create or Move to materialize it first.

"6ed4b9ca-256c-bf2e-bd70-d8754237b505"

the id of any node you own.

"d8754237b505"

the 12-character short id from a WorkFlowy URL for any node you own.

"https://workflowy.com/#/d8754237b505"

the URL of any node you own.

"rd"

a shortcut key you've defined to point at a node.

"None"

the top level of your outline (root).

"inbox"

your Inbox node, the built-in destination for quickly captured items at the top of your outline.

"calendar"

the root of your calendar.

"today"

the calendar node for today's date.

"tomorrow"

the calendar node for tomorrow's date.

"next_week"

the calendar node for the first day of next week, based on your week-start-day setting.

"YYYY" (e.g. "2026")

a year node in the calendar.

"YYYY-MM" (e.g. "2026-01")

a month node in the calendar.

"YYYY-MM-DD" (e.g. "2026-01-15")

a day node in the calendar.

`GET /api/v1/nodes`

curl -G https://workflowy.com/api/v1/nodes \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_KEY>" \
  -d "parent_id=inbox" | jq

Response

{
  "nodes": [\
    {\
      "id": "ee1ac4c4-775e-1983-ae98-a8eeb92b1aca",\
      "parent_id": "5b401959-4740-4e1a-905a-62a961daa8c9",\
      "name": "Bullet A",\
      "note": null,\
      "priority": 100,\
      "completed": false,\
      "data": {\
        "layoutMode": "bullets"\
      },\
      "createdAt": 1753120787,\
      "modifiedAt": 1753120815,\
      "completedAt": null\
    }\
  ]
}

Delete a node

Permanently deletes a node. This cannot be undone.

Parameters

id string required

The identifier of the node to delete.

`DELETE /api/v1/nodes/:id`

curl -X DELETE https://workflowy.com/api/v1/nodes/:id \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_KEY>" | jq

Response

{
  "status": "ok"
}

Move a node

Moves the persisted node to a new location.

Parameters

parent_id string

The new parent for the node. Calendar nodes are created on demand if they don't exist yet.

"6ed4b9ca-256c-bf2e-bd70-d8754237b505"

the id of any node you own.

"d8754237b505"

the 12-character short id from a WorkFlowy URL for any node you own.

"https://workflowy.com/#/d8754237b505"

the URL of any node you own.

"rd"

a shortcut key you've defined to point at a node.

"None"

the top level of your outline (root).

"inbox"

your Inbox node, the built-in destination for quickly captured items at the top of your outline.

"calendar"

the root of your calendar.

"today"

the calendar node for today's date.

"tomorrow"

the calendar node for tomorrow's date.

"next_week"

the calendar node for the first day of next week, based on your week-start-day setting.

"YYYY" (e.g. "2026")

a year node in the calendar.

"YYYY-MM" (e.g. "2026-01")

a month node in the calendar.

"YYYY-MM-DD" (e.g. "2026-01-15")

a day node in the calendar.

position string

Where to place the node. Options: "top" (default) or "bottom".

`POST /api/v1/nodes/:id/move`

curl -X POST https://workflowy.com/api/v1/nodes/<NODE_ID>/move \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_KEY>" \
  -d '{\n    "parent_id": "inbox",\n    "position": "top"\n  }' | jq

Response

{
  "status": "ok"
}

Complete a node

Marks a node as completed. This sets the completion timestamp and updates the node's status.

Parameters

id string required

The identifier of the node to complete.

`POST /api/v1/nodes/:id/complete`

curl -X POST https://workflowy.com/api/v1/nodes/:id/complete \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_KEY>" | jq

Response

{
  "status": "ok"
}

Uncomplete a node

Marks a node as not completed. This removes the completion timestamp and updates the node's status.

Parameters

id string required

The identifier of the node to uncomplete.

`POST /api/v1/nodes/:id/uncomplete`

curl -X POST https://workflowy.com/api/v1/nodes/:id/uncomplete \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_KEY>" | jq

Response

{
  "status": "ok"
}

Export all nodes

Returns all user's nodes as a flat list. Each node includes its parent_id field to reconstruct the hierarchy. The nodes are returned unordered - you need to build the tree structure yourself based on the parent_id and priority fields.

Note: This endpoint has a rate limit of 1 request per minute due to the potentially large response size.

`GET /api/v1/nodes-export`

curl https://workflowy.com/api/v1/nodes-export \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_KEY>" | jq

Response

{
  "nodes": [\
    {\
      "id": "ee1ac4c4-775e-1983-ae98-a8eeb92b1aca",\
      "name": "Top Level Item",\
      "note": "This is a note",\
      "parent_id": null,\
      "priority": 100,\
      "completed": false,\
      "data": {\
        "layoutMode": "bullets"\
      },\
      "createdAt": 1753120787,\
      "modifiedAt": 1753120815,\
      "completedAt": null\
    },\
    {\
      "id": "ff2bd5d5-886f-2094-bf09-b9ffa93c2bdb",\
      "name": "Child Item",\
      "note": null,\
      "parent_id": "ee1ac4c4-775e-1983-ae98-a8eeb92b1aca",\
      "priority": 200,\
      "completed": false,\
      "data": {\
        "layoutMode": "bullets"\
      },\
      "createdAt": 1753120820,\
      "modifiedAt": 1753120830,\
      "completedAt": null\
    }\
  ]
}

Targets

Targets provide quick access to specific nodes in your outline. They include both system targets (like "inbox") and custom shortcuts you create (like "home").

Learn more about shortcuts in the shortcuts documentation.

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GET	/api/v1/targets

The Target object

Attributes

key string

The unique identifier for this target (e.g., "home", "inbox", "today").

type string

The type of target:

"shortcut" - User-defined shortcuts.
"system" - System-managed locations like inbox. Always returned, even if the target node hasn't been created yet.
name string | null

The name of the node that this target points to. Returns null only for system targets when the target node hasn't been created yet.

User-defined shortcut

{
  "key": "home",
  "type": "shortcut",
  "name": "My Home Page"
}

System target (before node created)

{
  "key": "inbox",
  "type": "system",
  "name": null
}

List targets

Returns all available targets, including user-defined shortcuts (like "home") and system targets (like "inbox").

Parameters

No parameters required.

`GET /api/v1/targets`

curl https://workflowy.com/api/v1/targets \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_KEY>" | jq

Response

{
  "targets": [\
    {\
      "key": "home",\
      "type": "shortcut",\
      "name": "My Home Page"\
    },\
    {\
      "key": "inbox",\
      "type": "system",\
      "name": "Inbox"\
    }\
  ]
}