> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.open-metadata.org/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Update a Glossary Term

> Update glossary term properties using JSON Patch

# Update a Glossary Term

Update a glossary term's properties using JSON Merge Patch. You can update by ID or by fully qualified name.

## Update by ID

<ParamField path="id" type="string" required>
  UUID of the glossary term to update.
</ParamField>

## Update by Name

Use `PATCH /v1/glossaryTerms/name/{fqn}` to update by fully qualified name.

<ParamField path="fqn" type="string" required>
  Fully qualified name of the glossary term (e.g., `BusinessGlossary.Revenue`).
</ParamField>

## Body Parameters

Send a JSON object with the fields to update. Only provided fields are changed.

<ParamField body="description" type="string">
  Updated description in Markdown format.
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="displayName" type="string">
  Updated display name.
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="synonyms" type="array">
  Updated list of synonym strings.
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="relatedTerms" type="array">
  Updated list of related term FQNs.
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="owners" type="array">
  Updated list of owner references.

  <Expandable title="properties">
    <ParamField body="id" type="string">
      UUID of the owner entity.
    </ParamField>

    <ParamField body="type" type="string">
      Type of owner entity (e.g., `user`, `team`).
    </ParamField>
  </Expandable>
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="tags" type="array">
  Updated classification tags.

  <Expandable title="properties">
    <ParamField body="tagFQN" type="string" required>
      Fully qualified name of the tag.
    </ParamField>

    <ParamField body="labelType" type="string">
      Type of label (e.g., `Manual`, `Derived`, `Propagated`).
    </ParamField>

    <ParamField body="state" type="string">
      State of the tag (e.g., `Suggested`, `Confirmed`).
    </ParamField>
  </Expandable>
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="style" type="object">
  Updated visual styling.

  <Expandable title="properties">
    <ParamField body="color" type="string">
      Hex color code (e.g., `#FF5733`).
    </ParamField>

    <ParamField body="iconURL" type="string">
      URL to a custom icon.
    </ParamField>
  </Expandable>
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="domain" type="string">
  Updated domain FQN.
</ParamField>

<RequestExample dropdown>
  ```python PATCH /v1/glossaryTerms/{id} theme={null}
  from metadata.sdk import configure
  from metadata.sdk.entities import GlossaryTerms

  configure(
      host="https://your-company.open-metadata.org/api",
      jwt_token="your-jwt-token"
  )

  # Retrieve, modify, and update
  term = GlossaryTerms.retrieve("d3a50b09-g258-7h57-defg-42g1d5517ed4")
  term.description = "Updated: Total income from all business operations before deductions"
  term.synonyms = ["Income", "Earnings", "Sales", "Turnover"]
  updated = GlossaryTerms.update(term)

  print(f"Updated to version {updated.version}")
  ```

  ```java PATCH /v1/glossaryTerms/{id} theme={null}
  import static org.openmetadata.sdk.fluent.GlossaryTerms.*;

  // Retrieve, modify, and update
  var term = GlossaryTerms.retrieve("d3a50b09-g258-7h57-defg-42g1d5517ed4");
  term.setDescription("Updated: Total income from all business operations before deductions");
  var updated = GlossaryTerms.update(term);
  ```

  ```bash PATCH /v1/glossaryTerms/{id} theme={null}
  # Update by ID
  curl -X PATCH "{base_url}/api/v1/glossaryTerms/d3a50b09-g258-7h57-defg-42g1d5517ed4" \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer {access_token}" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json-patch+json" \
    -d '[
      {"op": "replace", "path": "/description", "value": "Updated: Total income from all business operations before deductions"}
    ]'

  # Update by name
  curl -X PATCH "{base_url}/api/v1/glossaryTerms/name/BusinessGlossary.Revenue" \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer {access_token}" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json-patch+json" \
    -d '[
      {"op": "replace", "path": "/description", "value": "Updated: Total income from all business operations before deductions"}
    ]'
  ```
</RequestExample>

<ResponseExample>
  ```json Response theme={null}
  {
    "id": "d3a50b09-g258-7h57-defg-42g1d5517ed4",
    "name": "Revenue",
    "fullyQualifiedName": "BusinessGlossary.Revenue",
    "displayName": "Revenue",
    "description": "Updated: Total income from all business operations before deductions",
    "synonyms": ["Income", "Earnings", "Sales", "Turnover"],
    "glossary": {
      "id": "c2940a98-f147-6g46-cdef-31f0c4406dc3",
      "type": "glossary",
      "name": "BusinessGlossary",
      "fullyQualifiedName": "BusinessGlossary",
      "deleted": false
    },
    "version": 0.2,
    "updatedAt": 1769984330261,
    "updatedBy": "admin",
    "href": "http://localhost:8585/api/v1/glossaryTerms/d3a50b09-g258-7h57-defg-42g1d5517ed4",
    "deleted": false,
    "owners": [],
    "tags": [],
    "children": [],
    "relatedTerms": []
  }
  ```
</ResponseExample>

***

## Returns

Returns the updated glossary term object with the new version number.

## Response

<ResponseField name="id" type="string">
  Unique identifier for the glossary term (UUID format).
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="name" type="string">
  Glossary term name.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="fullyQualifiedName" type="string">
  Fully qualified name of the glossary term.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="description" type="string">
  Updated description.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="version" type="number">
  Incremented version number.
</ResponseField>

***

## Error Handling

| Code  | Error Type     | Description                                        |
| ----- | -------------- | -------------------------------------------------- |
| `400` | `BAD_REQUEST`  | Invalid JSON patch or malformed request            |
| `401` | `UNAUTHORIZED` | Invalid or missing authentication token            |
| `403` | `FORBIDDEN`    | User lacks permission to update this glossary term |
| `404` | `NOT_FOUND`    | Glossary term with given ID or FQN does not exist  |
| `409` | `CONFLICT`     | Concurrent modification detected                   |