Shortcut API

Name: Shortcut API API
Brand: Shortcut API
Availability: InStock

★ Only Publicly Available OpenAPI DocumentDeveloper ToolsProject ManagementapiKey123 EndpointsREST

For Agents

Create stories, manage epics and iterations, search the workspace, and update workflow states so an agent can run sprint planning and triage from outside the Shortcut UI.

Quickstart

Get started with Shortcut API in minutes using your preferred integration method.

# Add to your MCP client config (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf)
{
  "jentic": {
    "url": "https://api.jentic.com/mcp",
    "auth": "oauth"
  }
}

# Then ask your agent:
"create a shortcut story"

# → Jentic returns the GET /events tool with parameter schema, agent executes.

Capabilities

What an agent can do with Shortcut API API.

Create and update stories via /api/v3/stories with workflow state and assignee fields

Manage epics, iterations, and milestones for higher-level planning

Search the workspace using Shortcut's filter language via /api/v3/search

Comment on epics and stories programmatically

Link repositories and external pull requests to stories

GET STARTED

Start building with Shortcut API API

Explore with Jentic

View OpenAPI Document

Jentic publishes the only available OpenAPI document for Shortcut API, keeping it validated and agent-ready.

The Shortcut API gives engineering teams programmatic control over the issue tracker behind their planning workflow, covering stories, epics, iterations, milestones, objectives, projects, workflows, and members. The 123 endpoints span search, comment threads, custom fields, key results, repository links, and entity templates so external automations can drive sprint planning end to end. Authentication uses the Shortcut-Token header, and the API exposes a search operation that mirrors the in-app filter language.

Use Cases

Patterns agents use Shortcut API API for, with concrete tasks.

★ Inbound Bug Triage Automation

Convert customer-reported bugs into Shortcut stories automatically by calling POST /api/v3/stories with the bug description, label, and the right project ID. The triage agent watches the support inbox, dedupes against existing open stories via /api/v3/search, and assigns the new story to the on-call engineer through the workflow_state_id field. This removes the manual copy-paste from Zendesk or Slack into Shortcut.

On a new bug ticket, search Shortcut via POST /api/v3/search for matching stories, and if none exist call POST /api/v3/stories with the bug summary, label 'bug', and the on-call assignee

Iteration Planning Reports

Generate a weekly iteration plan report by listing /api/v3/iterations and walking each iteration's stories to summarise points, owners, and workflow states. The report can be posted to Slack at the start of the sprint so the team has a single canonical view of committed work, removing the need to browse Shortcut filters manually.

List active iterations via GET /api/v3/iterations, for each iteration enumerate stories via /api/v3/iterations/{id}/stories, and post a summary to the team's Slack channel

Repository and Deployment Linkage

Attach commit and deployment context to stories by creating external links via /api/v3/external-link/stories whenever a CI run completes. The agent reads the commit message for a story-id reference, calls the linkage endpoint, and posts a comment via /api/v3/stories/{id}/comments with the deployment status, giving PMs a single place to see whether a story has shipped.

Parse the story ID from the merge commit, call POST /api/v3/external-link/stories with the deploy URL, and add a comment confirming the deploy timestamp

Custom Field Workflow Enforcement

Enforce process rules by creating and validating custom fields on stories — for example, requiring a 'Customer Impact' selection on every bug. The agent reads /api/v3/custom-fields, then on every new story checks whether the required field is populated and posts a comment if it is missing, removing the need for human reviewers to police story hygiene.

List /api/v3/custom-fields, then for every newly created story confirm the 'Customer Impact' field is populated and otherwise add a comment requesting it

Agent-Driven Planning Assistant

Let an AI assistant create and update Shortcut stories from natural-language messages by searching Jentic for 'create a shortcut story', loading the operation schema, and executing. The agent never holds the Shortcut-Token header value, which matters because Shortcut tokens carry write access to the entire workspace.

Search Jentic for 'create a shortcut story', load POST /api/v3/stories schema, and execute with the title and description from the user's chat message

Key Endpoints

123 endpoints — the shortcut api gives engineering teams programmatic control over the issue tracker behind their planning workflow, covering stories, epics, iterations, milestones, objectives, projects, workflows, and members.

METHOD

PATH

DESCRIPTION

POST

/api/v3/stories

Create a story

GET

/api/v3/stories/{story-public-id}

Fetch a specific story

POST

/api/v3/search

Search the workspace

GET

/api/v3/epics

List epics

POST

/api/v3/epics/{epic-public-id}/comments

Comment on an epic

GET

/api/v3/iterations

List iterations

POST

/api/v3/external-link/stories

Link external URLs to stories

GET

/api/v3/workflows

List workflow definitions

POST

/api/v3/stories

Create a story

GET

/api/v3/stories/{story-public-id}

Fetch a specific story

POST

/api/v3/search

Search the workspace

GET

/api/v3/epics

List epics

POST

/api/v3/epics/{epic-public-id}/comments

Comment on an epic

GET

Why though Jentic?

Three things that make agents converge on Jentic-routed access.

Credential isolation

Shortcut-Token API keys are stored encrypted in the Jentic vault (MAXsystem). Agents call operations through scoped tokens — the raw Shortcut workspace token never enters the agent's context, which matters because Shortcut tokens grant full workspace write access.

Intent-based discovery

Agents search by intent (e.g. 'create a story' or 'list iteration stories') and Jentic returns the matching stories, search, or iteration operations with input schemas, so the agent calls the right endpoint without learning Shortcut's filter language up front.

Time to first call

Direct Shortcut integration: 1-2 days for auth, search query construction, and pagination. Through Jentic: under 1 hour — search, load schema, execute.

Related APIs

Alternatives and complements available in the Jentic catalogue.

Alternative

Linear API

Linear is a streamlined issue tracker focused on speed and keyboard workflows

Pick Linear when teams want minimal UI overhead; pick Shortcut for richer iteration and epic structure

Alternative

Asana API

Asana focuses on cross-functional project tracking beyond engineering

Use Asana for marketing, ops, or general project workflows; use Shortcut when engineering planning is the primary need

Complementary

GitHub API

GitHub holds the source code; Shortcut holds the planning context — link them via external-link/stories

Use GitHub for the code and PR truth; use Shortcut for the planning truth and connect them with external links

Alternative

ClickUp API

ClickUp covers tasks, docs, and goals across the company beyond engineering

Pick ClickUp for company-wide work tracking; pick Shortcut for engineering-specific planning

FAQs

Specific to using Shortcut API API through Jentic.

What authentication does the Shortcut API use?

API key in the Shortcut-Token header. Tokens are issued from the Shortcut user settings page. Through Jentic the token is stored encrypted in the vault (MAXsystem) and never enters agent context — agents receive scoped access only.

Can I create a story with the Shortcut API?

Yes. POST /api/v3/stories creates a story with title, description, project_id, workflow_state_id, and optional epic_id, iteration_id, and labels. The response returns the story's public ID for follow-up calls.

What are the rate limits for the Shortcut API?

The OpenAPI spec does not encode explicit rate limits. Shortcut publicly documents a 200-request-per-minute soft limit per token; sustained over-limit traffic returns HTTP 429. Inspect the X-RateLimit headers in responses for live state.

How do I create a story through Jentic?

Run pip install jentic, then search 'create a shortcut story'. Jentic returns POST /api/v3/stories with its input schema — load the schema, populate name and project_id, and execute. The agent never sees the Shortcut-Token value.

How do I search across the workspace?

POST /api/v3/search accepts a query string in Shortcut's filter language (e.g. 'is:story owner:foo state:in-progress') and returns matching stories, epics, and iterations. Search is the recommended way to dedupe before creating new stories.

Can I link external pull requests to a story?

Yes. POST /api/v3/external-link/stories registers an external URL against one or more stories. Combined with /api/v3/stories/{id}/comments this is the typical pattern for surfacing CI/CD status inside the story timeline.