Tags

Tags are free-form string labels you attach to devices. They provide a lightweight way to categorise your fleet without the overhead of creating device groups. Common uses include marking environment (production, staging), function (print-server, kiosk), location shorthand (floor-3), or compliance status (pci-scope).

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How it works

Tags are stored as a PostgreSQL text[] (text array) column on the devices table. Each device can hold zero or more tags. There is no separate tag definition table — any string you assign becomes a tag automatically, and tags that are no longer assigned to any device simply stop appearing in listings.

Because tags are plain strings stored directly on the device record, reading and writing them is fast and does not require joins or secondary tables.

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Setting tags on a device

Tags are set by patching a device with the tags field. The value is an array of strings that replaces the entire tag list on the device (unlike custom fields, which are merged).

cURL

curl -X PATCH /api/v1/devices/<device-id> \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <token>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "tags": ["production", "web-server", "pci-scope"]
  }'

Response

{
  "id": "d1e2f3a4-...",
  "hostname": "web-prod-01",
  "tags": ["production", "web-server", "pci-scope"],
  "updatedAt": "2026-02-18T14:30:00.000Z"
}

Caution

Sending "tags": [] removes all tags from the device. The array you provide fully replaces the existing tags — it does not append to them. To add a tag without removing existing ones, include the current tags in the array alongside the new tag.

The update is validated with the Zod schema z.array(z.string()).optional(), so each tag must be a string. The API accepts any string value, giving you full flexibility over your tagging convention.

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Listing tags with device counts

The GET /api/v1/tags endpoint returns every unique tag across all devices visible to your auth scope, along with the number of devices carrying each tag.

cURL

curl "/api/v1/tags" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <token>"

Response

{
  "data": [
    { "id": "production", "name": "production", "tag": "production", "deviceCount": 48 },
    { "id": "web-server", "name": "web-server", "tag": "web-server", "deviceCount": 12 },
    { "id": "pci-scope", "name": "pci-scope", "tag": "pci-scope", "deviceCount": 7 }
  ],
  "total": 3
}

Results are sorted by device count (descending), then alphabetically by tag name. The id, name, and tag fields all contain the same tag string for consistency with other list endpoints.

Searching tags

Pass a search query parameter to filter the tag list. The search is case-insensitive and matches any substring of the tag:

curl "/api/v1/tags?search=prod" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <token>"

This returns only tags that contain prod (e.g. production, non-prod).

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Filtering devices by tag

Use the GET /api/v1/tags/devices endpoint to retrieve all devices that carry a specific tag:

cURL

curl "/api/v1/tags/devices?tag=production" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <token>"

Response

{
  "data": [
    {
      "id": "d1e2f3a4-...",
      "hostname": "web-prod-01",
      "displayName": "Web Production 1",
      "status": "online",
      "osType": "linux",
      "tags": ["production", "web-server", "pci-scope"]
    }
  ],
  "total": 1
}

The tag query parameter is required and must be a non-empty string. The endpoint uses the PostgreSQL ANY() array operator to match devices efficiently.

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Multi-tenant access control

Tag endpoints respect the same multi-tenant hierarchy as the rest of Breeze:

| Auth scope | Visibility | |---|---| | Organisation | Tags on devices belonging to the authenticated user’s organisation | | Partner | Tags on devices across all organisations the partner can access | | System | Tags on all devices in the platform |

Both the tag listing and device-by-tag endpoints enforce these access rules. An organisation user will never see tags from devices in another organisation.

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Using tags with policies

Configuration policies and compliance policies support tags as a target type. When you create or update a policy, set targetType to "tags" and provide the tag strings in targetIds:

{
  "name": "PCI Compliance Check",
  "targetType": "tags",
  "targetIds": ["pci-scope"],
  "rules": [
    { "type": "required_software", "softwareName": "CrowdStrike Falcon" }
  ],
  "enforcement": "enforce"
}

The policy engine matches devices whose tags array includes any of the specified tag strings. This means you can control which devices a policy applies to by simply adding or removing a tag — no need to restructure groups or site assignments.

Note

When using the targets object format instead of the flat targetType/targetIds fields, supply tags in targets.tags as an array of strings. See the Policy Management documentation for full details.

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API reference

All endpoints require authentication. Scopes: organization, partner, or system.

Tag endpoints

| Method | Path | Description | |---|---|---| | GET | /api/v1/tags | List all unique tags with device counts | | GET | /api/v1/tags/devices | List devices matching a specific tag |

Tag-related device endpoints

| Method | Path | Description | |---|---|---| | PATCH | /api/v1/devices/:id | Set tags on a device (include tags in request body) | | GET | /api/v1/devices/:id | Returns the device including its tags array | | GET | /api/v1/devices | Lists devices; each includes its tags array |

Query parameters

GET /api/v1/tags

| Parameter | Type | Required | Description | |---|---|---|---| | search | string | No | Case-insensitive substring filter on tag names |

GET /api/v1/tags/devices

| Parameter | Type | Required | Description | |---|---|---|---| | tag | string | Yes | Exact tag to match (minimum 1 character) |

Device update body (tags)

{
  tags?: string[];  // Replaces the full tag array on the device
}

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Database schema

Tags are stored directly on the devices table:

| Column | Type | Default | Description | |---|---|---|---| | tags | text[] | [] | Array of tag strings |

There is no separate tags table. Tag aggregation (listing unique tags and counts) is computed at query time by scanning the tags column across all accessible devices.

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Troubleshooting

Tags disappeared from the listing

The GET /api/v1/tags endpoint derives its list from the current state of devices. If no device carries a particular tag, that tag will not appear in the response. Tags are not stored independently — they exist only as values in device records.

”No updates provided” when patching tags

Ensure the request body includes the tags key. Sending an empty object {} returns a 400 error. To clear all tags, send {"tags": []}.

Tag search returns no results

The search parameter on GET /api/v1/tags performs a case-insensitive substring match. Verify the search term is part of an existing tag. If you are an organisation-scoped user, you will only see tags from devices in your own organisation.

Tags not matching policy targets

When a policy uses targetType: "tags", the targetIds array must contain the exact tag strings (case-sensitive). A policy targeting ["Production"] will not match devices tagged "production". Use a consistent casing convention across your fleet to avoid mismatches.

Updating tags removes existing ones

The tags field on device PATCH is a full replacement, not a merge. To add a new tag while preserving existing ones, first read the device to get its current tags, then send the combined array.