400 Bad Request When Project ID Is Numeric

This article examines an error that might occur when you create a project using YouTrack REST API. You can face this error when the project ID in the request body contains only digits.

Error Message

            {
                "error": "invalid_properties",
                "error_description": "Project ID cannot be numeric",
                "error_children": [
                    {
                        "error": "no-type-is-invalid",
                        "error_description": "Project ID cannot be numeric",
                        "error_developer_message": "Project ID cannot be numeric"
                    }
                ]
            }
        

Request Details

Here are the details about a sample request that might result in this error.

Attribute	Value
Request method	POST
Endpoint	`/api/admin/projects?template=PT`
Request body	{ "description": "test", "name": "369 Moser Krebs Uetendorf", "shortName": "369", "leader": { "id": "1-1" } }
HTTP response code	400

Troubleshooting

Here are some possible causes and suggestions on how to overcome the error and create the project.

Cause

The value passed in the shortName attribute is used as the project ID. Project IDs cannot contain only digits.

Solution

Replace the numeric value in the shortName attribute with a non-numeric project ID.

For example, use MOKU369 or another value that contains at least one letter:

                {
                    "description": "test",
                    "name": "369 Moser Krebs Uetendorf",
                    "shortName": "MOKU369",
                    "leader": {
                        "id": "1-1"
                    }
                }
            

12 August 2026