A story represents a piece of planned work in Atono. It typically includes a user story statement written from the user's perspective, acceptance criteria (ACs), and optional context to guide implementation or review.

Story attributes

The table below lists the fields available on stories, including those you can specify when creating or updating a story, as well as fields returned in API responses.

The Usage column shows which endpoints accept values for that field. If the Usage column is blank, the field is read-only—it's returned in responses but can't be manually specified in any request.

Field	Type	Description	Usage
`title`	string	The title of the story.	POST, PATCH
`handle`	string	A unique identifier for the story, shown in the Atono application as the item ID (e.g., `STORY-123`).
`position`	integer	The story’s vertical order within its current workflow step, where `0` is the topmost item. Position is relative to the step and team backlog.
`content`	array of content chunks	Displayed at the top of the story and represents the user story statement ("As a... I want... so that..."). The array may include `TEXT`, `PERSONA`, and `DISPLAY_HTML` chunks. Use `DISPLAY_HTML` when you want to include HTML formatting. If you include a `PERSONA` chunk, its value appears in the Atono web app as a selectable persona for future suggestions.	POST, PATCH
`additionalContent`	array of content chunks	Optional context shown below the acceptance criteria. Often used for background info, technical notes, or decisions. Supports `DISPLAY_HTML` and `TEXT` content chunks.	POST, PATCH
`cycleTimeMode`	string	Indicates whether the story is marked as an `OUTLIER` (excluded) or remains `NORMAL` (included) in average cycle time calculations, reports, and staleness indicators.
`stalenessIndicatorSnoozeUntil`	datetime (ISO 8601)	The date and time until which the staleness indicator is hidden for this story in its current step and team backlog. Once the date passes, the indicator is shown again if the story is still stale.
`createdAt`	datetime (ISO 8601)	The date and time the story was created.
`updatedAt`	datetime (ISO 8601)	The date and time the story was last updated.
`doneAt`	datetime (ISO 8601)	The date and time when the story was completed.
`deleted`	boolean	Whether the story has been deleted.

Story relationships

Stories can be assigned to a user or team, include acceptance criteria, and be associated with a feature flag and workflow step. They also record the user who created the story.

When requesting a story, only the type and id of each related resource are returned by default. To include full details or additional metadata in the response, use the ?include= query parameter.

Field	Type	Description
`acceptanceCriteria`	array of acceptance_criterion	The list of acceptance criteria linked to the story. Use `?include=ACCEPTANCE_CRITERIA` to retrieve full details.
`assignee`	user	The user assigned to the story. Use `?include=ASSIGNEE` to retrieve full details.
`team`	team	The team backlog the story is assigned to. Use `?include=TEAM` to retrieve full details.
`featureFlag`	flag	The feature flag associated with the story. Use `?include=FEATURE_FLAG` to retrieve full details.
`creator`	user	The user who created the story. Use `?include=CREATOR` to retrieve full details.
`workflowStep`	workflow_step	The workflow step the story is currently assigned to. Use `?include=WORKFLOW_STEP` to retrieve full details.

Full-text metadata

Stories also support a full-text include for search and analysis use cases. To add a flattened, human readable version of the story's content and acceptance criteria to the response, use ?include=FULL_TEXT. When included, the full text appears in the meta.fulltext field.

"meta": {
  "fulltext": "Title: Feature Engagement – Top Customers – Bar Chart\n\nContent:\nAs a product team member..."
}

Creating or updating a story

You can specify the assignee, team, acceptanceCriteria, and workflowStep in the relationships object when creating or updating a story. A story must belong to a team to be assigned to a workflow step. The workflow step determines where the story appears in that team’s backlog.

The creator is automatically set to the user making the creation request and cannot be modified. Feature flags cannot currently be added to a story via the API.

Story relationship objects

The examples below show how to structure the relationship objects when creating or updating a story. You can reference existing resources (like users and teams) or define new acceptance criteria inline.

assignee
Reference an existing user by id. To find valid user ids, use the Get users endpoint.

"assignee": {
  "data": {
    "type": "user",
    "id": "d73f1297-825d-4f9a-9529-51ab0f8b0cfe"
  }
}

team
Reference an existing team by id. To find valid team ids, use the Get teams endpoint.

"team": {
  "data": {
    "type": "team",
    "id": "0cd0c8b8-734f-4c17-a07c-e993b04af480"
  }
}

To unassign a user or remove a story from a team's backlog, set the value to null:

"assignee": { "data": null },
"team": { "data": null }

acceptanceCriteria
To define acceptance criteria inline, provide an array of objects. Each object must include a type and attributes with a description. You can also set position and level to control ordering and hierarchy.

"acceptanceCriteria": {
  "data": [
    {
      "type": "acceptance_criterion",
      "attributes": {
        "description": "The user can select a waveform from the dropdown.",
        "position": 0,
        "level": 0
      }
    },
    {
      "type": "acceptance_criterion",
      "attributes": {
        "description": "The selected waveform is applied immediately.",
        "position": 1,
        "level": 0
      }
    }
  ]
}

Field	Type	Description
`description`	string	A short statement describing the expected behavior.
`position`	integer ≥ 0	The order of the criterion within the list.
`level`	integer 0–10	The nesting level of the criterion. Level `0` is top-level; higher values represent subcriteria.

When you include the acceptanceCriteria relationship in a request, you are replacing the entire set of acceptance criteria. To retain existing criteria, you must include them in your update. Partial updates (for example, adding or editing a single criterion) are not currently supported.

workflowStep
Reference an existing workflow step by id. To find valid ids, use the Get workflow steps endpoint.

"team": {
  "data": {
    "type": "workflow-step",
    "id": "21368cc7-7f95-4de1-8320-78cc56be92ad"
  }
}

Example: Get a story

This example shows a GET response for a single story, including its attributes, relationships, and related resources in the included array.

{
  "data": {
    "type": "story",
    "id": "55fff8eb-1370-4cd5-b716-d019d94f8da9",
    "attributes": {
      "title": "Sync virtual instruments to external MIDI Clock",
      "handle": "STORY-134",
      "position": 6,
      "content": [
        {
          "type": "DISPLAY_HTML",
          "value": "<p>As a performer using Virtual Vintage live, I want to sync virtual instruments to an external MIDI clock so that loops and effects stay in time with the rest of my gear.</p>"
        },
        {
          "type": "TEXT",
          "value": "As a "
        },
        {
          "type": "PERSONA",
          "value": "performer using Virtual Vintage live"
        },
        {
          "type": "TEXT",
          "value": ", I want to"
        },
        {
          "type": "TEXT",
          "value": " sync virtual instruments to an external MIDI clock"
        },
        {
          "type": "TEXT",
          "value": " so that "
        },
        {
          "type": "TEXT",
          "value": "loops and effects stay in time with the rest of my gear."
        }
      ],
      "additionalContent": [
        {
          "type": "DISPLAY_HTML",
          "value": "<p>This helps maintain tempo consistency during live sets, even if the external signal is interrupted.</p>"
        }
      ],
      "cycleTimeMode": "NORMAL",
      "createdAt": "2025-08-01T17:38:33Z",
      "updatedAt": "2025-08-01T18:36:51Z",
      "deleted": false
    },
    "relationships": {
      "acceptanceCriteria": {
        "data": [
          {
            "type": "acceptance_criterion",
            "id": "fdfbb9fb-9a69-4894-a05c-7b68affab074"
          },
          {
            "type": "acceptance_criterion",
            "id": "8f997cc6-ef8c-4ebb-9e88-509eb5989c0c"
          },
          {
            "type": "acceptance_criterion",
            "id": "fccfbcfb-8ced-4556-8cd5-6ac8c64d9744"
          }
        ],
        "meta": {
          "count": 3
        }
      },
      "assignee": {
        "links": {
          "related": "/api/v1/users/b1c51488-9bcd-495c-bb90-e718f384b32c"
        },
        "data": {
          "type": "user",
          "id": "b1c51488-9bcd-495c-bb90-e718f384b32c"
        }
      },
      "team": {
        "links": {
          "related": "/api/v1/teams/409bb1af-3498-406b-9df0-d2ac7eb83aab"
        },
        "data": {
          "type": "team",
          "id": "409bb1af-3498-406b-9df0-d2ac7eb83aab"
        }
      },
      "workflowStep": {
        "links": {
          "related": "/api/v1/workflow-steps/014806ef-a67c-4835-b80c-e75683044c07"
        },
        "data": {
          "type": "workflow_step",
          "id": "014806ef-a67c-4835-b80c-e75683044c07"
        }
      },
      "featureFlag": {
        "links": {
          "related": "/api/v1/flags/7efd5b19-75be-4d88-81dc-38ab17c05923"
        },
        "data": {
          "type": "flag",
          "id": "7efd5b19-75be-4d88-81dc-38ab17c05923"
        }
      },
      "creator": {
        "links": {
          "related": "/api/v1/users/bf60edfc-be09-4fea-8597-33c5b333ce05"
        },
        "data": {
          "type": "user",
          "id": "bf60edfc-be09-4fea-8597-33c5b333ce05"
        }
      }
    }
  },
  "included": [
    {
      "type": "acceptance_criterion",
      "id": "fdfbb9fb-9a69-4894-a05c-7b68affab074",
      "attributes": {
        "description": "Users can enable MIDI Clock sync in instrument settings.",
        "position": 0,
        "level": 0
      }
    },
    {
      "type": "acceptance_criterion",
      "id": "8f997cc6-ef8c-4ebb-9e88-509eb5989c0c",
      "attributes": {
        "description": "When enabled, Virtual Vintage follows incoming MIDI Clock tempo.",
        "position": 1,
        "level": 0
      }
    },
    {
      "type": "acceptance_criterion",
      "id": "fccfbcfb-8ced-4556-8cd5-6ac8c64d9744",
      "attributes": {
        "description": "If MIDI Clock is lost, a fallback tempo is used and a warning is shown.",
        "position": 2,
        "level": 0
      }
    },
    {
      "type": "user",
      "id": "bf60edfc-be09-4fea-8597-33c5b333ce05",
      "attributes": {
        "createdAt": "2024-04-29T16:45:22Z",
        "updatedAt": "2025-05-08T20:52:56Z",
        "invitedAt": "2025-01-23T22:58:21Z",
        "email": "max.harmon@virtualvintage.com",
        "fullName": "Max Harmon",
        "deleted": false
      }
    },
    {
      "type": "user",
      "id": "b1c51488-9bcd-495c-bb90-e718f384b32c",
      "attributes": {
        "createdAt": "2024-12-11T00:12:16Z",
        "updatedAt": "2025-06-03T23:32:20Z",
        "invitedAt": "2025-01-23T22:58:21Z",
        "email": "belle.tinker@virtualvintage.com",
        "fullName": "Belle Tinker",
        "deleted": false
      }
    },
    {
      "type": "team",
      "id": "409bb1af-3498-406b-9df0-d2ac7eb83aab",
      "attributes": {
        "name": "Frequency Finders",
        "description": "Focuses on search and navigation, ensuring customers can easily find the perfect vintage audio gear on the website.",
        "createdAt": "2024-12-05T22:41:27Z",
        "updatedAt": "2025-02-06T23:39:04Z",
        "isPublic": true,
        "backlogManagementByOwners": true
      },
      "relationships": {
        "members": {
          "links": {
            "self": "/api/v1/teams/409bb1af-3498-406b-9df0-d2ac7eb83aab/relationships/members"
          },
          "data": [],
          "meta": {
            "count": 0
          }
        }
      }
    },
    {
      "type": "workflow_step",
      "id": "014806ef-a67c-4835-b80c-e75683044c07",
      "attributes": {
        "name": "Review",
        "category": "IN_PROGRESS",
        "position": 2,
        "color": "966bec",
        "stepType": "REVIEW",
        "forStory": true,
        "forBug": true,
        "allowNewItems": true
      }
    },
    {
      "type": "flag",
      "id": "7efd5b19-75be-4d88-81dc-38ab17c05923",
      "attributes": {
        "key": "sync_virtual_instruments_to_external_midi_clock",
        "variants": {
          "on": true,
          "off": false
        },
        "createdAt": "2025-08-01T18:36:51Z",
        "updatedAt": "2025-08-01T18:36:51Z"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Example: Create a story

This example shows a POST request for creating a new story with a structured user story statement, multi-level acceptance criteria, and an assigned workflow step.

The id values for the user, team, and workflow step must reference existing resources in your workspace. You can retrieve them using the Get users, Get teams, and Get workflow steps endpoints.

{
  "data": {
    "type": "story",
    "attributes": {
      "title": "Add support for MIDI Clock sync in virtual instruments",
      "content": [
        { "type": "TEXT", "value": "As a " },
        { "type": "PERSONA", "value": "performer " },
        {
          "type": "TEXT",
          "value": "using Virtual Vintage’s soundboards in a live setup, I want the virtual instruments to sync with an external MIDI clock, so that tempo-dependent effects and loops stay in time with the rest of my gear."
        }
      ]
    },
    "relationships": {
      "acceptanceCriteria": {
        "data": [
          {
            "type": "acceptance_criterion",
            "attributes": {
              "description": "Enable external MIDI Clock sync",
              "position": 0,
              "level": 0
            }
          },
          {
            "type": "acceptance_criterion",
            "attributes": {
              "description": "Users can toggle MIDI Clock sync on/off in the instrument settings.",
              "position": 0,
              "level": 1
            }
          },
          {
            "type": "acceptance_criterion",
            "attributes": {
              "description": "When enabled, Virtual Vintage follows the incoming MIDI Clock tempo and start/stop commands.",
              "position": 0,
              "level": 1
            }
          },
          {
            "type": "acceptance_criterion",
            "attributes": {
              "description": "Fall back to internal tempo",
              "position": 1,
              "level": 0
            }
          },
          {
            "type": "acceptance_criterion",
            "attributes": {
              "description": "If MIDI Clock is enabled but not received, a fallback tempo is used and a warning is shown in the interface.",
              "position": 1,
              "level": 1
            }
          }
        ]
      },
      "assignee": {
        "data": { "type": "user", "id": "d73f1297-825d-4f9a-9529-51ab0f8b0cfe" }
      },
      "team": {
        "data": { "type": "team", "id": "0cd0c8b8-734f-4c17-a07c-e993b04af480" }
      },
      "workflowStep": {
        "data": { "type": "workflow_step", "id": "014806ef-a67c-4835-b80c-e75683044c07" }
      }
    }
  }
}