Change Column Metadata

Update column settings, titles, and configuration.

Change Column Title

Rename a column:

require "monday_ruby"

Monday.configure do |config|
  config.token = ENV["MONDAY_TOKEN"]
end

client = Monday::Client.new

response = client.column.change_title(
  args: {
    board_id: 1234567890,
    column_id: "text_1",  # The column's ID
    title: "Project Notes"  # New title
  }
)

if response.success?
  column = response.body.dig("data", "change_column_title")
  puts "✓ Column renamed to: #{column['title']}"
else
  puts "✗ Failed to rename column"
end

Output:

✓ Column renamed to: Project Notes

Change Column Metadata

Update column settings and configuration:

require "json"

# Update column description
response = client.column.change_metadata(
  args: {
    board_id: 1234567890,
    column_id: "status",
    column_property: "description",
    value: "Current task status (Not Started, In Progress, Done)"
  }
)

if response.success?
  column = response.body.dig("data", "change_column_metadata")
  puts "✓ Column metadata updated"
end

Update Column Description

Add or update a column’s description:

def update_column_description(client, board_id, column_id, description)
  response = client.column.change_metadata(
    args: {
      board_id: board_id,
      column_id: column_id,
      column_property: "description",
      value: description
    }
  )

  if response.success?
    column = response.body.dig("data", "change_column_metadata")
    puts "✓ Description updated for: #{column['title']}"
    true
  else
    puts "✗ Failed to update description"
    false
  end
end

# Usage
update_column_description(
  client,
  1234567890,
  "status",
  "Track task completion status"
)

Update Status Column Labels

Configure status (color) column labels:

# First, get current column settings
query_response = client.column.query(
  args: { ids: [1234567890] },
  select: ["id", "title", "settings_str"]
)

boards = query_response.body.dig("data", "boards")
columns = boards.first&.dig("columns") || []
status_column = columns.find { |col| col["id"] == "status" }

# Parse current settings
current_settings = JSON.parse(status_column["settings_str"])

# Modify labels
current_settings["labels"] = {
  "0" => "Not Started",
  "1" => "In Progress",
  "2" => "Review",
  "3" => "Done",
  "4" => "Archived"
}

# Update column metadata
response = client.column.change_metadata(
  args: {
    board_id: 1234567890,
    column_id: "status",
    column_property: "labels",
    value: JSON.generate(current_settings["labels"])
  }
)

if response.success?
  puts "✓ Status labels updated"
end

Column Settings

Different column types have different metadata properties. Use column.query with settings_str to see available options for each column type.

Rename Multiple Columns

Update titles for several columns:

def rename_columns(client, board_id, renames)
  updated_count = 0

  renames.each do |column_id, new_title|
    response = client.column.change_title(
      args: {
        board_id: board_id,
        column_id: column_id,
        title: new_title
      }
    )

    if response.success?
      column = response.body.dig("data", "change_column_title")
      updated_count += 1
      puts "✓ Renamed: #{column['title']}"
    else
      puts "✗ Failed to rename: #{column_id}"
    end

    sleep(0.3)  # Rate limiting
  end

  updated_count
end

# Usage
renames = {
  "text" => "Task Description",
  "numbers" => "Estimated Hours",
  "date4" => "Target Completion"
}

count = rename_columns(client, 1234567890, renames)
puts "\n✓ Renamed #{count} columns"

Modify dropdown column options:

require "json"

# Define new dropdown options
dropdown_labels = {
  "1" => "High Priority",
  "2" => "Medium Priority",
  "3" => "Low Priority",
  "4" => "No Priority"
}

response = client.column.change_metadata(
  args: {
    board_id: 1234567890,
    column_id: "dropdown",
    column_property: "labels",
    value: JSON.generate(dropdown_labels)
  }
)

if response.success?
  puts "✓ Dropdown options updated"
end

Add Column Descriptions in Bulk

Add helpful descriptions to all columns:

def add_column_descriptions(client, board_id, descriptions)
  updated_count = 0

  descriptions.each do |column_id, description|
    response = client.column.change_metadata(
      args: {
        board_id: board_id,
        column_id: column_id,
        column_property: "description",
        value: description
      }
    )

    if response.success?
      updated_count += 1
      puts "✓ Updated: #{column_id}"
    else
      puts "✗ Failed: #{column_id}"
    end

    sleep(0.3)
  end

  updated_count
end

# Usage
descriptions = {
  "status" => "Current status of the task",
  "people" => "Person responsible for this task",
  "date4" => "When this task is due",
  "numbers" => "Estimated budget in USD"
}

count = add_column_descriptions(client, 1234567890, descriptions)
puts "\n✓ Added descriptions to #{count} columns"

Error Handling

Handle metadata update errors:

def change_column_title_safe(client, board_id, column_id, new_title)
  response = client.column.change_title(
    args: {
      board_id: board_id,
      column_id: column_id,
      title: new_title
    }
  )

  if response.success?
    column = response.body.dig("data", "change_column_title")
    puts "✓ Renamed to: #{column['title']}"
    true
  else
    puts "✗ Failed to rename column"
    puts "  Status: #{response.status}"

    if response.body["errors"]
      response.body["errors"].each do |error|
        puts "  Error: #{error['message']}"
      end
    end

    false
  end
rescue Monday::AuthorizationError
  puts "✗ Invalid API token"
  false
rescue Monday::InvalidRequestError => e
  puts "✗ Invalid request: #{e.message}"
  false
rescue Monday::Error => e
  puts "✗ API error: #{e.message}"
  false
end

# Usage
success = change_column_title_safe(
  client,
  1234567890,
  "text",
  "New Column Name"
)

Get Updated Column Info

Retrieve column details after update:

response = client.column.change_title(
  args: {
    board_id: 1234567890,
    column_id: "text",
    title: "Project Description"
  },
  select: [
    "id",
    "title",
    "description",
    "type",
    "settings_str"
  ]
)

if response.success?
  column = response.body.dig("data", "change_column_title")

  puts "Column Updated:"
  puts "  ID: #{column['id']}"
  puts "  Title: #{column['title']}"
  puts "  Type: #{column['type']}"
  puts "  Description: #{column['description']}" if column['description']
end

Complete Example

Set up complete column metadata:

require "monday_ruby"
require "dotenv/load"
require "json"

Monday.configure do |config|
  config.token = ENV["MONDAY_TOKEN"]
end

client = Monday::Client.new

board_id = 1234567890

puts "\n📝 Configuring Board Columns\n#{'=' * 50}\n"

# 1. Rename columns
column_renames = {
  "text" => "Task Description",
  "numbers" => "Budget (USD)",
  "status" => "Task Status"
}

puts "Renaming columns..."
column_renames.each do |column_id, new_title|
  response = client.column.change_title(
    args: {
      board_id: board_id,
      column_id: column_id,
      title: new_title
    }
  )

  if response.success?
    puts "  ✓ #{column_id} → #{new_title}"
  end

  sleep(0.3)
end

# 2. Add descriptions
column_descriptions = {
  "text" => "Detailed description of the task and requirements",
  "numbers" => "Estimated budget in US Dollars",
  "status" => "Current completion status of the task",
  "people" => "Team member assigned to this task",
  "date4" => "Target completion date for this task"
}

puts "\nAdding descriptions..."
column_descriptions.each do |column_id, description|
  response = client.column.change_metadata(
    args: {
      board_id: board_id,
      column_id: column_id,
      column_property: "description",
      value: description
    }
  )

  if response.success?
    puts "  ✓ #{column_id}"
  end

  sleep(0.3)
end

# 3. Configure status labels
puts "\nConfiguring status labels..."
status_labels = {
  "0" => "Not Started",
  "1" => "Planning",
  "2" => "In Progress",
  "3" => "Review",
  "4" => "Done"
}

response = client.column.change_metadata(
  args: {
    board_id: board_id,
    column_id: "status",
    column_property: "labels",
    value: JSON.generate(status_labels)
  }
)

if response.success?
  puts "  ✓ Status labels configured"
end

puts "\n#{'=' * 50}"
puts "✓ Column configuration complete"
puts "#{'=' * 50}"

Output:

📝 Configuring Board Columns
==================================================

Renaming columns...
  ✓ text → Task Description
  ✓ numbers → Budget (USD)
  ✓ status → Task Status

Adding descriptions...
  ✓ text
  ✓ numbers
  ✓ status
  ✓ people
  ✓ date4

Configuring status labels...
  ✓ Status labels configured

==================================================
✓ Column configuration complete
==================================================

Validate Column Title

Check for valid column titles before updating:

def valid_column_title?(title)
  return false if title.nil? || title.empty?
  return false if title.length > 255

  true
end

new_title = "Updated Column Name"

if valid_column_title?(new_title)
  response = client.column.change_title(
    args: {
      board_id: 1234567890,
      column_id: "text",
      title: new_title
    }
  )
else
  puts "Invalid column title"
end

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Change Column Metadata

Change Column Title

Change Column Metadata

Update Column Description

Update Status Column Labels

Rename Multiple Columns

Update Dropdown Options

Add Column Descriptions in Bulk

Error Handling

Get Updated Column Info

Complete Example

Validate Column Title