Create a Work Item using REST API - Visual Studio Online

Sometimes it can be useful to add a new Work Item to our Team Project programmatically, maybe in response of a certain event and so on.

The new "WIT REST API v1.0 (preview 2)" (released on September 4) exposed by Visual Studio Online allow us to do it.

When you create a work item, you can provide values for any of the work item fields.

To use them, you have to send a HTTP PATCH request to:

https://your_account.visualstudio.com/defaultcollection/team_project_name/_apis/wit/workitems/$work_item_type_name?api-version=1.0-preview.2

The request body has to be set using this format:

[
    {
        "op": "add",
        "path": { string }
        "value": { string or int, depending on the field }
    },
    {
        "op": "add",
        "path": "/relations/-",
        "value":
        {
            "rel": { string },
            "url": { string },
            "attributes":
            {
                { name/value pairs }
            }
        }
    }
]

An example request could be:

https://myAccount.visualstudio.com/defaultcollection/myProject/_apis/wit/workitems/$task?api-version=1.0-preview.2

[
  {
    "op": "add",
    "path": "/fields/System.Title",
    "value": "Change blog title height"
  }
]

This request produces a response like this one, in which you'll find all the informations related to newly created Work Item:

{
  "id": 88,
  "rev": 1,
  "fields": {
    "System.AreaPath": "myProject",
    "System.TeamProject": "myProject",
    "System.IterationPath": "myProject",
    "System.WorkItemType": "Task",
    "System.State": "To Do",
    "System.Reason": "New task",
    "System.CreatedDate": "2014-09-30T10:25:12.943Z",
    "System.CreatedBy": "Davide Benvegnu",
    "System.ChangedDate": "2014-09-30T10:25:12.943Z",
    "System.ChangedBy": "Davide Benvegnu,
    "System.Title": "Change blog title height"
  },
  "_links": {
    "self": {
      "href": "https://myAccount.visualstudio.com/DefaultCollection/_apis/wit/workItems/88"
    },
    "workItemUpdates": {
      "href": "https://myAccount.visualstudio.com/DefaultCollection/_apis/wit/workItems/88/updates"
    },
    "workItemRevisions": {
      "href": "https://myAccount.visualstudio.com/DefaultCollection/_apis/wit/workItems/88/revisions"
    },
    "workItemHistory": {
      "href": "https://myAccount.visualstudio.com/DefaultCollection/_apis/wit/workItems/88/history"
    },
    "html": {
      "href": "https://myAccount.visualstudio.com/web/wi.aspx?pcguid=0fa87894-6f48-4458-957d-3438b6bb9343&id=88"
    },
    "workItemType": {
      "href": "https://myAccount.visualstudio.com/DefaultCollection/c4637008-2068-4b3f-828d-a214e2ba5210/_apis/wit/workItemTypes/Task"
    },
    "fields": {
      "href": "https://myAccount.visualstudio.com/DefaultCollection/_apis/wit/fields"
    }
  },
  "url": "https://myAccount.visualstudio.com/DefaultCollection/_apis/wit/workItems/88"
}