---
title: POST /api/articles
description: Create an empty draft owned by the authenticated user, returning the full new row. Pair with PATCH to set the body.
---

<Note>

The CLI's `scripto articles create --file draft.md` calls this to make an empty draft, then immediately `PATCH`es the body from your Markdown.

</Note>

Creates an **empty draft** owned by the authenticated user and returns the full new row. The article starts with a title of `Untitled` and one seed section, so it's editable immediately. Set its body with [PATCH /api/articles/[id]](/api-reference/update-article).

## Endpoint

```text
POST https://scripto.codika.io/api/articles
```

## Auth

`Authorization: Bearer scripto_…`

## Request

No body required.

## Response (201)

```json
{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "article": {
      "id": "0a1b2c3d-…",
      "title": "Untitled",
      "subtitle": null,
      "content": "<h1>…</h1>",
      "status": "draft",
      "wordCount": 0,
      "slug": null,
      "createdAt": "2026-06-25T14:30:00.000Z",
      "updatedAt": "2026-06-25T14:30:00.000Z"
    }
  }
}
```

## Errors

| HTTP | `code` | Cause |
|---|---|---|
| 401 | `unauthenticated` | Missing or invalid key. |
| 500 | `internal` | Backend error. |

## curl

```bash
# 1. Create the draft.
ID=$(curl -sS -X POST https://scripto.codika.io/api/articles \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SCRIPTO_API_KEY" | jq -r '.data.article.id')

# 2. Set the body from Markdown (the server splits it into sections).
curl -sS -X PATCH "https://scripto.codika.io/api/articles/$ID" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SCRIPTO_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"markdown":"# My title\n\nFirst paragraph."}'
```

## Next

- **[PATCH /api/articles/[id]](/api-reference/update-article)** — set the body.
- **[POST .../publish](/api-reference/publish-article)** — go live.