Overview

The monday.com API enables you to access and manipulate your monday.com data programmatically. Whether you’re automating workflows, integrating with external tools, or building custom dashboards, the API gives you full control over your workspace.

This guide is designed for beginners and includes:

• How to get started with the API
• Authentication
• Basic structure (GraphQL)
• Practical examples (GET, CREATE, UPDATE)

---

🔍 What Is the monday.com API?

The monday.com API is built on GraphQL, which allows you to specify exactly what data you need. Unlike REST, GraphQL uses a single endpoint and lets you send queries and mutations to read or write data.

API Endpoint:

arduino

https://api.monday.com/v2

🔐 Step 1: Get Your API Token

1. Log in to your monday.com account.
2. Click your profile picture > Developers > My Tokens.
3. Generate a Personal API Token (admin permission may be required).
4. Copy and securely store your token.

📌 Never expose your token publicly or commit it in code repositories.

---

🧱 Step 2: Understand Basic GraphQL Structure

Query = Read Data

query {
boards {
id
name
}
}

Mutation = Create/Update Data

mutation {
create_item(board_id: 123456789, item_name: “New Task”) {
id
}
}

🧪 Step 3: Test in monday.com API Playground

1. Visit API Playground.
2. Paste your API token at the top.
3. Try out queries and mutations using the left-hand code editor.

---

⚙️ Step 4: Make Your First API Call (in Code)

Example: Get All Boards Using curl

curl -X POST https://api.monday.com/v2 \
-H “Authorization: YOUR_API_TOKEN” \
-H “Content-Type: application/json” \
-d ‘{“query”:”{ boards { id name } }”}’

💡 Common API Use Cases with Examples

✅ 1. Get Boards and Items

query {
boards {
id
name
items {
id
name
}
}
}

✅ 2. Create a New Item (Task)

mutation {
change_column_value(
board_id: 123456789,
item_id: 987654321,
column_id: “status”,
value: “{\”label\”: \”Done\”}”
) {
id
}
}

📝 Use the Column ID Reference to understand the format for different column types.

---

🧠 Tips for Beginners

• Always test in the API Playground before running queries in production.
• Use Postman or similar tools for testing and debugging.
• Structure your queries carefully—GraphQL is strict about syntax.
• Use variables in GraphQL to avoid hardcoding data.

---

🔌 Suggested Tools for API Work

Tool	Purpose
Postman	Test and store API calls
Insomnia	Lightweight GraphQL client
monday.com Playground	Interactive testing
GraphQL Docs	Learn GraphQL basics

🚧 Rate Limits & Permissions

• monday.com’s standard API rate limit is 10M complexity points per minute per account.
• Some queries may consume more points than others.
• Make sure your API token has access to the boards/items you’re trying to access.

🧮 Check usage with limit and page arguments on large datasets.