Update Category

Endpoint

PATCH /api/taskCategories/:id

Updates the name of an existing task category. All tasks assigned to this category will automatically reflect the updated name.

Path Parameters

string

required

The unique identifier (UUID) of the category to update.Example: a1b2c3d4-e5f6-4a5b-8c9d-0e1f2a3b4c5d

Request Body

name

string

required

The new category name.Validation:

Minimum length: 2 characters
Maximum length: 25 characters
Automatically trimmed (whitespace removed)

Example: "Work Projects", "Personal Tasks"

Response

Returns the updated category object.

_id

string

The category’s unique identifier (unchanged).

name

string

The updated category name.

Status Codes

200 OK - Category successfully updated
400 Bad Request - Validation failed (invalid name)
404 Not Found - No category exists with the provided ID

Examples

curl -X PATCH http://localhost:3000/api/taskCategories/a1b2c3d4-e5f6-4a5b-8c9d-0e1f2a3b4c5d \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name":"Work Projects"}'

Request Examples

{
  "name": "Work Projects"
}

Response Examples

{
  "_id": "a1b2c3d4-e5f6-4a5b-8c9d-0e1f2a3b4c5d",
  "name": "Work Projects"
}

Validation Rules

All validation is performed server-side using Zod schemas. Invalid requests will return detailed error messages.

Field	Required	Type	Min	Max
name	✓	string	2	25

Usage Notes

ID Unchanged: The category’s _id remains the same after updating. All tasks assigned to this category will automatically have the updated category name when you fetch them.

Task References: Updating a category name does NOT require updating individual tasks. Since tasks reference categories by ID, the relationship is maintained automatically.

Whitespace Handling: The API automatically trims whitespace, so " Work " becomes "Work".

Avoid Duplicates: While not enforced by the API, avoid renaming a category to a name that already exists to prevent user confusion.

Common Use Cases

Rename Category

async function renameCategory(categoryId, newName) {
  const response = await fetch(
    `http://localhost:3000/api/taskCategories/${categoryId}`,
    {
      method: 'PATCH',
      headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
      body: JSON.stringify({ name: newName })
    }
  );
  
  if (response.ok) {
    const updated = await response.json();
    console.log(`Category renamed to: ${updated.name}`);
    return updated;
  }
  
  return null;
}

Update with Duplicate Check

async function updateCategoryWithDuplicateCheck(categoryId, newName) {
  // First, check if another category with this name exists
  const allCategoriesRes = await fetch('http://localhost:3000/api/taskCategories');
  const categories = await allCategoriesRes.json();
  
  const duplicate = categories.find(
    cat => cat._id !== categoryId && 
           cat.name.toLowerCase() === newName.toLowerCase()
  );
  
  if (duplicate) {
    console.error('A category with this name already exists');
    return null;
  }
  
  // Proceed with update
  const response = await fetch(
    `http://localhost:3000/api/taskCategories/${categoryId}`,
    {
      method: 'PATCH',
      headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
      body: JSON.stringify({ name: newName })
    }
  );
  
  if (response.ok) {
    return await response.json();
  }
  
  return null;
}

Capitalize Category Name

async function capitalizeCategoryName(categoryId) {
  // Get current category
  const getResponse = await fetch(
    `http://localhost:3000/api/taskCategories/${categoryId}`
  );
  
  if (!getResponse.ok) {
    return null;
  }
  
  const category = await getResponse.json();
  
  // Capitalize first letter of each word
  const capitalizedName = category.name
    .split(' ')
    .map(word => word.charAt(0).toUpperCase() + word.slice(1).toLowerCase())
    .join(' ');
  
  // Update if different
  if (capitalizedName !== category.name) {
    const updateResponse = await fetch(
      `http://localhost:3000/api/taskCategories/${categoryId}`,
      {
        method: 'PATCH',
        headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
        body: JSON.stringify({ name: capitalizedName })
      }
    );
    
    if (updateResponse.ok) {
      return await updateResponse.json();
    }
  }
  
  return category;
}

Bulk Rename Categories

async function renameCategoriesBulk(updates) {
  // updates = [{ id: 'uuid', name: 'new name' }, ...]
  const results = await Promise.all(
    updates.map(async ({ id, name }) => {
      const response = await fetch(
        `http://localhost:3000/api/taskCategories/${id}`,
        {
          method: 'PATCH',
          headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
          body: JSON.stringify({ name })
        }
      );
      
      return {
        id,
        success: response.ok,
        category: response.ok ? await response.json() : null
      };
    })
  );
  
  const successful = results.filter(r => r.success).length;
  console.log(`Updated ${successful} of ${updates.length} categories`);
  
  return results;
}

// Usage
await renameCategoriesBulk([
  { id: 'uuid-1', name: 'Work Projects' },
  { id: 'uuid-2', name: 'Personal Tasks' },
  { id: 'uuid-3', name: 'Shopping List' }
]);

Integration Examples

React Edit Form

import { useState, useEffect } from 'react';

function EditCategoryForm({ categoryId, onUpdated }) {
  const [name, setName] = useState('');
  const [loading, setLoading] = useState(true);
  const [saving, setSaving] = useState(false);
  const [error, setError] = useState(null);
  
  useEffect(() => {
    async function fetchCategory() {
      try {
        const response = await fetch(
          `http://localhost:3000/api/taskCategories/${categoryId}`
        );
        
        if (!response.ok) {
          throw new Error('Category not found');
        }
        
        const category = await response.json();
        setName(category.name);
      } catch (err) {
        setError(err.message);
      } finally {
        setLoading(false);
      }
    }
    
    fetchCategory();
  }, [categoryId]);
  
  const handleSubmit = async (e) => {
    e.preventDefault();
    setSaving(true);
    setError(null);
    
    try {
      const response = await fetch(
        `http://localhost:3000/api/taskCategories/${categoryId}`,
        {
          method: 'PATCH',
          headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
          body: JSON.stringify({ name })
        }
      );
      
      if (response.status === 400) {
        setError('Invalid category name');
        return;
      }
      
      if (response.status === 404) {
        setError('Category not found');
        return;
      }
      
      if (!response.ok) {
        throw new Error('Failed to update category');
      }
      
      const updated = await response.json();
      onUpdated(updated);
      
    } catch (err) {
      setError(err.message);
    } finally {
      setSaving(false);
    }
  };
  
  if (loading) return <div>Loading...</div>;
  
  return (
    <form onSubmit={handleSubmit}>
      <input
        type="text"
        value={name}
        onChange={(e) => setName(e.target.value)}
        minLength={2}
        maxLength={25}
        required
      />
      <button type="submit" disabled={saving}>
        {saving ? 'Saving...' : 'Update Category'}
      </button>
      {error && <div style={{color: 'red'}}>{error}</div>}
    </form>
  );
}

Inline Edit Component

function InlineEditCategory({ category, onUpdate }) {
  const [editing, setEditing] = useState(false);
  const [name, setName] = useState(category.name);
  
  const handleSave = async () => {
    if (name === category.name) {
      setEditing(false);
      return;
    }
    
    const response = await fetch(
      `http://localhost:3000/api/taskCategories/${category._id}`,
      {
        method: 'PATCH',
        headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
        body: JSON.stringify({ name })
      }
    );
    
    if (response.ok) {
      const updated = await response.json();
      onUpdate(updated);
      setEditing(false);
    } else {
      // Reset on error
      setName(category.name);
      alert('Failed to update category');
    }
  };
  
  const handleCancel = () => {
    setName(category.name);
    setEditing(false);
  };
  
  if (editing) {
    return (
      <div>
        <input
          value={name}
          onChange={(e) => setName(e.target.value)}
          onBlur={handleSave}
          onKeyPress={(e) => {
            if (e.key === 'Enter') handleSave();
            if (e.key === 'Escape') handleCancel();
          }}
          autoFocus
        />
      </div>
    );
  }
  
  return (
    <div onClick={() => setEditing(true)}>
      {category.name}
    </div>
  );
}

Validation

Client-Side Validation

function validateCategoryName(name) {
  if (!name || typeof name !== 'string') {
    return { valid: false, error: 'Name is required and must be a string' };
  }
  
  const trimmed = name.trim();
  
  if (trimmed.length < 2) {
    return { valid: false, error: 'Name must be at least 2 characters' };
  }
  
  if (trimmed.length > 25) {
    return { valid: false, error: 'Name must be at most 25 characters' };
  }
  
  return { valid: true, name: trimmed };
}

async function updateCategoryWithValidation(categoryId, newName) {
  const validation = validateCategoryName(newName);
  
  if (!validation.valid) {
    console.error('Validation error:', validation.error);
    return null;
  }
  
  const response = await fetch(
    `http://localhost:3000/api/taskCategories/${categoryId}`,
    {
      method: 'PATCH',
      headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
      body: JSON.stringify({ name: validation.name })
    }
  );
  
  if (response.ok) {
    return await response.json();
  }
  
  return null;
}

Best Practices

Check for Duplicates: Before updating, check if another category with the same name exists to maintain unique category names.

Optimistic Updates: Update your UI immediately, then sync with the API. Revert if the API call fails.

Preserve User Input: If validation fails, preserve the user’s input and show an error message rather than silently failing or resetting the form.

Don’t Rename to “uncategorized”: Avoid renaming categories to “uncategorized” as this is a reserved system value.

Get Category by ID - Retrieve current category state
Create Category - Create a new category
Delete Categories - Remove categories
Get All Categories - List all categories

Overview

Endpoints

Endpoint

Path Parameters

Request Body

Response

Status Codes

Examples

Request Examples

Response Examples

Validation Rules

Usage Notes

Common Use Cases

Rename Category

Update with Duplicate Check

Capitalize Category Name

Bulk Rename Categories

Integration Examples

React Edit Form

Inline Edit Component

Validation

Client-Side Validation

Best Practices

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Overview

Endpoints

​Endpoint

​Path Parameters

​Request Body

​Response

​Status Codes

​Examples

​Request Examples

​Response Examples

​Validation Rules

​Usage Notes

​Common Use Cases

​Rename Category

​Update with Duplicate Check

​Capitalize Category Name

​Bulk Rename Categories

​Integration Examples

​React Edit Form

​Inline Edit Component

​Validation

​Client-Side Validation

​Best Practices

​Related Endpoints

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Endpoint

Path Parameters

Request Body

Response

Status Codes

Examples

Request Examples

Response Examples

Validation Rules

Usage Notes

Common Use Cases

Rename Category

Update with Duplicate Check

Capitalize Category Name

Bulk Rename Categories

Integration Examples

React Edit Form

Inline Edit Component

Validation

Client-Side Validation

Best Practices

Related Endpoints