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GET
/
department
/
hierarchy
Get department hierarchy
curl --request GET \
  --url http://localhost:2000/department/hierarchy \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer <token>'
{
  "message": "<string>",
  "data": {
    "departments": [
      {
        "_id": "64ef3c29f9a1c27e1b2c3a4d",
        "name": "Engineering",
        "parentDepartment": {
          "_id": "64ef3c29f9a1c27e1b2c3aaa",
          "name": "Technology",
          "description": "Some description for this department",
          "code": "TECH"
        },
        "manager": {
          "_id": "64ef3c29f9a1c27e1b2c3a4d",
          "emails": [
            "[email protected]"
          ],
          "personalInformation": {
            "firstName": "John",
            "lastName": "Doe",
            "name": "John Doe"
          }
        },
        "description": "Handles all software engineering operations",
        "employeesCount": 25,
        "children": "<array>"
      }
    ]
  }
}
Admin-only endpoint that retrieves the full hierarchical structure of all departments. Each department may include nested child departments inside the children array.

​
Request

​
Headers

NameTypeRequiredDescription
AuthorizationstringYesBearer token

​
Response

​
200 OK - Successfully retrieved department hierarchy

{
  "message": "Department hierarchy retrieved successfully",
  "data": {
    "departments": [
      {
        "_id": "64b7f2b3e4b0a5d3f9c54321",
        "name": "Customer Support",
        "description": "Handles customer inquiries and support tickets",
        "parentId": null,
        "createdAt": "2024-01-15T10:30:00.000Z",
        "updatedAt": "2024-01-15T10:30:00.000Z",
        "children": [
          {
            "_id": "64b7f3c4e4b0a5d3f9c98765",
            "name": "Tier 1 Support",
            "description": "First level customer support",
            "parentId": "64b7f2b3e4b0a5d3f9c54321",
            "createdAt": "2024-01-15T10:30:00.000Z",
            "updatedAt": "2024-01-15T10:30:00.000Z",
            "children": [
              {
                "_id": "64b7f4d5e4b0a5d3f9c11111",
                "name": "Email Support",
                "description": "Email-based customer support",
                "parentId": "64b7f3c4e4b0a5d3f9c98765",
                "createdAt": "2024-01-15T10:30:00.000Z",
                "updatedAt": "2024-01-15T10:30:00.000Z",
                "children": []
              }
            ]
          },
          {
            "_id": "64b7f5e6e4b0a5d3f9c22222",
            "name": "Tier 2 Support",
            "description": "Second level escalated support",
            "parentId": "64b7f2b3e4b0a5d3f9c54321",
            "createdAt": "2024-01-15T10:30:00.000Z",
            "updatedAt": "2024-01-15T10:30:00.000Z",
            "children": []
          }
        ]
      },
      {
        "_id": "64b7f6f7e4b0a5d3f9c33333",
        "name": "Engineering",
        "description": "Software development and technical operations",
        "parentId": null,
        "createdAt": "2024-01-15T10:30:00.000Z",
        "updatedAt": "2024-01-15T10:30:00.000Z",
        "children": []
      }
    ]
  }
}

​
401 Unauthorized

{
  "error": {
    "code": "UNAUTHORIZED",
    "message": "Missing or invalid token or insufficient permissions"
  }
}

​
500 Internal Server Error

{
  "error": {
    "code": "SERVER_ERROR",
    "message": "Internal server error"
  }
}

​
Example

curl -X GET 'http://localhost:2000/department/hierarchy' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer your-jwt-token'

​
Notes

  • This is an admin-only endpoint - requires administrative privileges
  • Returns departments in a hierarchical tree structure
  • Root departments have parentId: null
  • Child departments are nested in the children array
  • The hierarchy can have multiple levels of nesting
  • Use this for organizational charts or department trees
  • Departments are sorted alphabetically within each level
  • Empty children arrays indicate leaf departments (no sub-departments)

​
Use Cases

  • Organizational Charts: Display company structure
  • Department Selection: Create hierarchical dropdown menus
  • Reporting Structure: Show management hierarchy
  • Access Control: Implement department-based permissions
  • Analytics: Analyze departmental data with hierarchy context

​
Performance Considerations

  • Large organizational hierarchies may take longer to load
  • Consider caching the hierarchy for frequently accessed data
  • The endpoint returns the complete hierarchy in a single request
  • For very large organizations, consider using the list endpoint with pagination

Authorizations

​
Authorization
string
header
required

Bearer authentication header of the form Bearer <token>, where <token> is your auth token.

Response

Successfully retrieved department hierarchy

​
message
string
​
data
object