General
=======

This is the standard REST API for external programs that want to interact
with Bugzilla. It provides a REST interface to various Bugzilla functions.

Basic Information
-----------------

**Data Format**

The REST API only supports JSON input, and either JSON or JSONP output.
So objects sent and received must be in JSON format.

If you need JSONP output, you must set the ``Accept: application/javascript``
HTTP header and add a ``callback`` parameter to name your callback.

Parameters may also be passed in as part of the query string for non-GET
requests and will override any matching parameters in the request body.

Example request which returns the current version of Bugzilla:

.. code-block:: http

   GET /rest/version HTTP/1.1
   Host: bugzilla.example.com

Example response:

.. code-block:: http

   HTTP/1.1 200 OK
   Vary: Accept
   Content-Type: application/json

   {
     "version" : "4.2.9+"
   }

**Errors**

When an error occurs over REST, an object is returned with the key ``error``
set to ``true``.

The error contents look similar to:

.. code-block:: js

   {
     "error": true,
     "message": "Some message here",
     "code": 123
   }

To protect the application from large requests, Bugzilla returns a 302 redirect
to the homepage when your query string is too long. The current limit is 10 KB,
which can accept roughly 1,000 bug IDs in the ``id`` parameter for the
``/rest/bug`` method, but it could be smaller or may lead to a 414 URI Too Long
HTTP error depending on the server configuration. Split your query into multiple
requests if you encounter the issue.

Common Data Types
-----------------

The Bugzilla API uses the following various types of parameters:

========  ======================================================================
 type     description
========  ======================================================================
int       Integer.
double    A floating-point number.
string    A string.
email     A string representing an email address. This value, when returned,
          may be filtered based on if the user is logged in or not.
date      A specific date. Example format: ``YYYY-MM-DD``.
datetime  A date/time. Timezone should be in UTC unless otherwise noted.
          Example format: ``YYYY-MM-DDTHH24:MI:SSZ``.
boolean   ``true`` or ``false``.
base64    A base64-encoded string. This is the only way to transfer
          binary data via the API.
array     An array. There may be mixed types in an array. ``[`` and ``]`` are
          used to represent the beginning and end of arrays.
object    A mapping of keys to values. Called a "hash", "dict", or "map" in
          some other programming languages. The keys are strings, and the
          values can be any type. ``{`` and ``}`` are used to represent the
          beginning and end of objects.
========  ======================================================================

Parameters that are required will be displayed in **bold** in the parameters
table for each API method.

Authentication
--------------

Some methods do not require you to log in. An example of this is
:ref:`rest_single_bug`. However, authenticating yourself allows you to see
non-public information, for example, a bug that is not publicly visible.

To authenticate yourself, you will need to use API keys:

**API Keys**

You can specify 'X-BUGZILLA-API-KEY' header with the API key as a value to
any request, and you will be authenticated as that user if the key is correct and has not been revoked.

You can set up an API key by using the :ref:`API Keys tab <api-keys>` in the
Preferences pages.

API keys may also be requested via :ref:`Authentication Delegation <auth-delegation>`.

**WARNING**: It should be noted that additional authentication methods exist, but they are **not recommended** for use and are likely to be deprecated in future versions of BMO, due to security concerns.  These additional methods include the following:

 - username and password via ``Bugzilla_login`` and ``Bugzilla_password`` or simply ``login`` and ``password`` respectively in query parameters.
 - username and password via ``X-BUGZILLA-LOGIN`` and ``X-BUGZILLA-PASSWORD`` headers respectively.
 - api key via ``Bugzilla_api_key`` or simply ``api_key`` in query parameters.

Useful Parameters
-----------------

Many calls take common arguments. These are documented below and linked from
the individual calls where these parameters are used.

**Including Fields**

Many calls return an array of objects with various fields in the objects. (For
example, :ref:`rest_single_bug` returns a list of ``bugs`` that have fields like
``id``, ``summary``,  ``creation_time``, etc.)

These parameters allow you to limit what fields are present in the objects, to
improve performance or save some bandwidth.

``include_fields``: The (case-sensitive) names of fields in the response data.
Only the fields specified in the object will be returned, the rest will not be
included. Fields should be comma delimited.

Invalid field names are ignored.

Example request to :ref:`rest_user_get`:

.. code-block:: text

   GET /rest/user/1?include_fields=id,name

would return something like:

.. code-block:: js

   {
     "users" : [
       {
         "id" : 1,
         "name" : "user@domain.com"
       }
     ]
   }

**Excluding Fields**

``exclude_fields``: The (case-sensitive) names of fields in the return value. The
fields specified will not be included in the returned objects. Fields should
be comma delimited.

Invalid field names are ignored.

Specifying fields here overrides ``include_fields``, so if you specify a
field in both, it will be excluded, not included.

Example request to :ref:`rest_user_get`:

.. code-block:: js

   GET /rest/user/1?exclude_fields=name

would return something like:

.. code-block:: js

   {
     "users" : [
       {
         "id" : 1,
         "real_name" : "John Smith"
       }
     ]
   }

Some calls support specifying "subfields". If a call states that it supports
"subfield" restrictions, you can restrict what information is returned within
the first field. For example, if you call :ref:`rest_product_get` with an
``include_fields`` of ``components.name``, then only the component name would be
returned (and nothing else). You can include the main field, and exclude a
subfield.

There are several shortcut identifiers to ask for only certain groups of
fields to be returned or excluded:

=========  =====================================================================
value      description
=========  =====================================================================
_all       All possible fields are returned if this is specified in
           ``include_fields``.
_default   Default fields are returned if ``include_fields`` is empty or
           this is specified. This is useful if you want the default
           fields in addition to a field that is not normally returned.
_extra     Extra fields are not returned by default and need to be manually
           specified in ``include_fields`` either by exact field name, or adding
           ``_extra``.
 _custom   Custom fields are normally returned by default unless this is added
           to ``exclude_fields``. Also you can use it in ``include_fields`` if
           for example you want specific field names plus all custom fields.
           Custom fields are normally only relevant to bug objects.
=========  =====================================================================
