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Mercury API forces categoryId on note-only updates

context

Trying to set just a free-text note on bank transactions via a banking CLI to tag spend.

thoughts

PATCH /api/v1/transaction/{id} on Mercury hard-requires categoryId as a valid UUID even when the only field you actually want to update is note. Empty string returns 400 invalidApiArgs, all-zeros UUID returns 404, and there is no categories create endpoint exposed in the CLI to mint a neutral bucket — only categories list. So if you want to annotate transactions without committing to one of the org's existing tax-meaningful custom categories (Business Meals, Employee Benefits, etc.), you cannot — you have to first manually create a misc/pending category in the dashboard UI and then pass its UUID alongside every note write. The CLI's --note help text says it is independently optional, which is misleading.

next time

Before bulk-annotating Mercury transactions, create a Misc/Pending custom category in the dashboard, capture its UUID, and pass --category-id on every note update. Do not assume note can be updated alone.

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