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PATCH
/
api
/
categories
/
:id
Update Category
curl --request PATCH \
  --url https://api.example.com/api/categories/:id \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '
{
  "name": "<string>",
  "type": {},
  "isFixed": true,
  "color": "<string>",
  "icon": "<string>",
  "parentId": "<string>"
}
'
{
  "id": "<string>",
  "userId": "<string>",
  "name": "<string>",
  "type": "<string>",
  "isFixed": true,
  "color": "<string>",
  "icon": "<string>",
  "parentId": "<string>",
  "createdAt": "<string>",
  "updatedAt": "<string>",
  "deletedAt": "<string>"
}

​
Endpoint

PATCH /api/categories/:id
Updates one or more fields of an existing category. All fields are optional - only provided fields will be updated.

​
Authentication

Requires JWT authentication via Authorization: Bearer <token> header.

​
Path Parameters

​
id
string
required
UUID of the category to update. Must belong to the authenticated user.

​
Request Body

All fields are optional. Only include fields you want to update.
​
name
string
New category name (2-50 characters). Must be unique per user, type, and parent.
​
type
enum
New category type. One of:
  • INCOME
  • EXPENSE
  • BOTH
​
isFixed
boolean
Update fixed expense status
​
color
string
New hex color code (e.g., #FF5733). Must match pattern ^#[0-9A-Fa-f]{6}$
​
icon
string
New icon identifier (max 50 characters)
​
parentId
string
Change parent category. Set to update hierarchical relationship. Parent must:
  • Exist and belong to the authenticated user
  • Not be the category itself
  • Not be a subcategory (2-level nesting limit)

​
Validation Rules

  • Name uniqueness: If changing name, it must be unique for the user’s other categories of the same type and parent
  • Parent validation:
    • Parent must exist and belong to the user
    • Category cannot be its own parent
    • Parent cannot be a subcategory (prevents deep nesting)
  • Ownership: Category must belong to the authenticated user

​
Response

Returns the updated category object:
​
id
string
Category UUID (unchanged)
​
userId
string
Owner user ID
​
name
string
Updated category name
​
type
string
Updated category type
​
isFixed
boolean
Updated fixed expense status
​
color
string
Updated hex color code
​
icon
string
Updated icon identifier
​
parentId
string
Updated parent ID
​
createdAt
string
Original creation timestamp
​
updatedAt
string
New update timestamp (reflects the update)
​
deletedAt
string
Deletion timestamp (null for active categories)

​
Example Request

{
  "name": "Video Streaming",
  "color": "#3498DB",
  "isFixed": true
}

​
Example Response

{
  "id": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000",
  "userId": "user-uuid-here",
  "name": "Video Streaming",
  "type": "EXPENSE",
  "isFixed": true,
  "color": "#3498DB",
  "icon": "tv",
  "parentId": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000",
  "createdAt": "2026-03-04T10:30:00.000Z",
  "updatedAt": "2026-03-04T11:45:00.000Z",
  "deletedAt": null
}

​
Error Responses

​
404 Not Found

{
  "statusCode": 404,
  "message": "Category not found"
}

​
409 Conflict

{
  "statusCode": 409,
  "message": "Category \"Video Streaming\" already exists"
}

​
400 Bad Request (Invalid Parent)

{
  "statusCode": 400,
  "message": "Invalid parent category"
}

​
400 Bad Request (Self-Reference)

{
  "statusCode": 400,
  "message": "Category cannot be its own parent"
}

​
Update Examples

​
Change only the name

{
  "name": "Subscriptions"
}

​
Update color and icon

{
  "color": "#FF5733",
  "icon": "star"
}

​
Move to a different parent

{
  "parentId": "new-parent-uuid"
}

​
Make it a root category (remove parent)

{
  "parentId": null
}

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