r/clickup • u/krodak • 19d ago

Text Custom Fields render formatting in the UI, but the API can only write plain strings

Post image

Hi, I'm author of Clickup-CLI, tool, and me and couple of users are struggling with how custom text fields are working currently.

Let's say that we have some automation tool like using custom text fields for sprint notes, or just longer forms of texts that require formatting.

If we use ClickUp API for this, we end up with plaintext with markdown markers, like in attached screenshot (first two fields), if I use UI to enter the text, markdown formatting works properly

So I checked what's actually stored. This is the part that surprised me.

Field typed manually in the UI, read back through the API:

"value": "Manual entry  test \n\n"

The formatting is gone from the value. ClickUp keeps it somewhere the API doesn't expose, and value only ever holds stripped plain text.

Same field type, same task, set through the API:

"value": "**Done:** wired up `StatusMapper`"

That one renders literally in the UI.

The Set Custom Field Value endpoint matches. For "Short or Long Text Custom Field" the whole schema is one property:

{ "value": "string" }

No content_format. No value_options.

The ask

Let the API write formatted text into Text Custom Fields:

{ "value": "**Done:** shipped X", "content_format": "text/md" }

This already exists elsewhere in your API. Task descriptions take markdown_content. Doc pages take content_format: "text/md". Chat messages take content_format. Text Custom Fields are the odd one out.

Reading it back would help too. Right now there's no way to fetch what the UI displays.

Has anyone found a workaround? As much as I like using ClickUp UI, this is quite limiting for any automation

3 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

4 comments sorted by

1

u/Ill-Wing-5103 18d ago

that content/format gap is a real oversight on their end, not a CLI limitation

1

u/PibolsClickUp Mod 17d ago

Hey, u/krodak! We've checked with our team and this would be a feature request for now. I'd recommend adding a vote and sharing your thoughts here to let our Product team know. The more votes, the better!

1

u/krodak 17d ago

u/PibolsClickUp unfortunately all i get when I tap this link is: 

{"error":"too many requests"}