How to Get Custom Roles with the ClickUp API

The ClickUp platform offers powerful workspace permissions, and its public API lets you read custom roles so you can keep your internal systems and reporting perfectly aligned with what admins configure in the UI. This guide walks you through how to call the endpoint that returns custom roles, how to authenticate, and how to interpret the response safely.

This how-to is based on the official API documentation and is designed for developers, admins, and integrators who want a practical, copy‑paste friendly explanation of the request structure.

Understanding the ClickUp Custom Roles Endpoint

The REST endpoint you will use returns the list of custom roles configured for a specific workspace. You supply a team (workspace) ID and send a simple GET request with the correct authentication header.

The operation is a read‑only call, so you will not modify anything in the workspace when you run it. That makes it safe for scheduled jobs, reporting tools, and internal sync services that need to mirror the permission structure of your workspace.

ClickUp API endpoint overview

• HTTP method: GET
• Base path: https://api.clickup.com/api/v2
• Resource path: /team/{team_id}/customroles
• Auth type: Personal token in the request header

The only required piece of data in the path is the team_id, which uniquely identifies the workspace where your roles live.

Prerequisites for Using the ClickUp API

Before you can retrieve roles, you need a few essentials in place. These are standard for any authenticated call against the service.

What you need before calling the ClickUp endpoint

1. A ClickUp workspace (team)

   You must know the team ID of the workspace whose roles you want to read. This ID is a numeric value that you can retrieve from other API endpoints that return teams.

2. An API token

   You need a valid personal API token created from your user profile. This token will be sent in the Authorization header. Keep it secret and never hard‑code it in public repositories.

3. HTTPS client or integration tool

   You can use cURL, Postman, a backend language such as Node.js or Python, or any integration platform that can send authenticated HTTPS requests.

Once you have these pieces ready, you can prepare the actual request.

Step-by-Step: Get Custom Roles from ClickUp

The following steps outline the minimum you must do to reach the endpoint and successfully read custom roles.

Step 1: Construct the ClickUp request URL

Start with the base API domain and append the path for custom roles. Replace {team_id} with the actual numeric ID of your workspace:

https://api.clickup.com/api/v2/team/{team_id}/customroles

For example, if your workspace ID is 123456, your final URL would be:

https://api.clickup.com/api/v2/team/123456/customroles

Step 2: Add the required headers

You must send your personal token inside the Authorization header. The API also expects JSON, so it is good practice to specify the content type as well.

• Authorization: <your_api_token>
• Content-Type: application/json

Do not prefix the token with Bearer unless your tooling explicitly requires it; follow the exact format described in the official reference.

Step 3: Send the GET request to ClickUp

Use your preferred client to send the HTTPS request. In a command‑line example with cURL, the structure would look like this (replace placeholder values with real ones):

curl -X GET 
  'https://api.clickup.com/api/v2/team/123456/customroles' 
  -H 'Authorization: YOUR_CLICKUP_API_TOKEN' 
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json'

If the token and team ID are valid, you will receive a JSON response with the list of custom roles defined for that workspace.

How the ClickUp Custom Roles Response Works

The response body is returned in JSON format and contains details for each custom role. The exact field names and shapes are documented in the official endpoint reference.

Typical data you can expect

• A collection of role objects.
• IDs for each role, which you can use as stable references in your own systems.
• Human‑friendly display names that match what admins see in the workspace UI.
• Permission settings describing what each role allows users to do.

This information is especially useful if you build dashboards, management scripts, or provisioning tools that must respect the same permission boundaries as the main app.

Validating and handling the response

When you integrate with the ClickUp API, always handle potential errors gracefully:

• Check the HTTP status code before parsing the body.
• Log non‑2xx responses for investigation.
• Guard your code against null or missing fields in case the configuration changes.

Building these checks into your automation will keep your workflow stable even as your workspace evolves.

Best Practices for Using ClickUp Custom Roles Programmatically

Reading role data safely is only part of the job. Good operational practices make your integration robust and maintainable.

Security best practices for ClickUp integrations

• Protect your token

  Store your API token in environment variables or a secrets manager. Avoid embedding it directly in code or sharing it in screenshots and documentation.

• Limit token scope

  Issue tokens from accounts that have only the necessary level of access. Even though this specific endpoint only reads data, tokens can typically be used on other endpoints as well.

• Rotate credentials

  Rotate tokens periodically and on every potential security incident. Update your automation scripts as soon as you issue new tokens.

Performance and reliability tips for the ClickUp API

• Cache role data

  Custom roles do not change very frequently in most workspaces. Cache the response and refresh it on a schedule rather than calling the endpoint for every single request in your application.

• Respect rate limits

  Design your integration to back off or queue requests if you approach the API rate limits. This helps maintain reliability and avoids temporary blocks.

• Monitor integration health

  Track error rates, latency, and response changes. Add alerts so your team knows if role data stops syncing as expected.

Where to Learn More About the ClickUp API

The official documentation contains detailed reference material, request samples, and field descriptions. You should always compare your implementation against the latest version of the docs to keep your integration current.

• Official ClickUp custom roles API reference

For broader workflow and integration strategy around this platform and other tools, you can also explore implementation and advisory resources at Consultevo, which focuses on optimizing business systems and automation.

Summary: Using ClickUp Custom Roles in Your Integrations

To recap, you can retrieve custom roles from a workspace by calling the dedicated endpoint with a GET request, passing the team ID in the URL and your personal token in the Authorization header. The JSON response provides detailed role definitions that you can use in reporting, provisioning, and permission‑aware automation.

By following the steps and best practices in this article, you can build a secure, maintainable integration that stays aligned with your workspace permissions and evolves smoothly as your ClickUp environment changes.

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