> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://help.orderdesk.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://help.orderdesk.com/api-documentation/v2-api-reference/order-items/create-order-item.md).

# Create Order Item

Adds a line item to an existing order and recalculates the order totals.

To add several items at once, pass them in an `order_items` array to the `PUT /orders/{order_id}` operation instead, which consumes a single rate limit token rather than one per item.

```json
{"openapi":"3.0.3","info":{"title":"Order Desk API","version":"2.0"},"tags":[{"name":"Order Items"}],"servers":[{"url":"https://app.orderdesk.me/api/v2","description":"Production"}],"security":[{"OrderDeskStoreId":[],"OrderDeskApiKey":[]}],"components":{"securitySchemes":{"OrderDeskStoreId":{"type":"apiKey","in":"header","name":"ORDERDESK-STORE-ID","description":"Your store ID, found under Store Settings on the API tab."}},"schemas":{"OrderItemWrite":{"allOf":[{"type":"object","properties":{"id":{"type":"integer","description":"If an `id` field is passed the item will be updated. Otherwise it will be added.\n"}}},{"$ref":"#/components/schemas/OrderItemFields"}]},"OrderItemFields":{"type":"object","properties":{"name":{"type":"string"},"price":{"type":"number","format":"double","default":0},"quantity":{"type":"integer","default":1},"weight":{"type":"number","format":"double"},"code":{"type":"string","description":"Item SKU or product code."},"delivery_type":{"$ref":"#/components/schemas/DeliveryType"},"category_code":{"type":"string","description":"Further details about the type of item. Freeform text."},"fulfillment_method":{"type":"string","description":"Fulfillment method responsible for this item, when one applies."},"variation_list":{"allOf":[{"$ref":"#/components/schemas/KeyValue"}],"description":"Collection of variations in key/value format, such as `{\"Size\": \"Large\", \"Color\":\n\"Red\"}`. Maximum total size is 5,000 characters when JSON-encoded.\n"},"metadata":{"allOf":[{"$ref":"#/components/schemas/KeyValue"}],"description":"Collection of extra (hidden) item details in key/value format. Maximum total size is\n15,000 characters when JSON-encoded.\n"}}},"DeliveryType":{"type":"string","default":"ship","description":"Available options are `ship`, `noship`, `download`, or `future`. Defaults to `ship`.\n","enum":["ship","noship","download","future"]},"KeyValue":{"type":"object","additionalProperties":true,"description":"A collection in key/value format. Must be flat, with no nested arrays. Keys must be\nstrings, and values must be strings, numbers, booleans, or null.\n\nWhen the collection is empty, the API returns an empty array (`[]`) rather than an\nempty object. Treat both as \"no entries\" when parsing.\n"},"ResponseEnvelope":{"type":"object","required":["status"],"properties":{"status":{"type":"string","enum":["success","error"],"description":"Either `success` or `error`."},"message":{"type":"string","description":"Describes the result. Always present when an error occurs."},"execution_time":{"type":"string","description":"Time taken to process the request."}}}},"responses":{"BadRequest":{"description":"The request was rejected. `message` names the problem.","content":{"application/json":{"schema":{"$ref":"#/components/schemas/ResponseEnvelope"}}}},"Unauthorized":{"description":"Authentication failed. See the Authentication guide, and\nnote that an invalid store ID blocks your store rather than simply\nfailing the request.\n","content":{"application/json":{"schema":{"$ref":"#/components/schemas/ResponseEnvelope"}}}},"NotFound":{"description":"No record matches that ID in your store.","content":{"application/json":{"schema":{"$ref":"#/components/schemas/ResponseEnvelope"}}}},"PayloadTooLarge":{"description":"An item's `metadata` or `variation_list` is over the limit. See\nthe Errors guide for the sizes.\n","content":{"application/json":{"schema":{"$ref":"#/components/schemas/ResponseEnvelope"}}}},"RateLimited":{"description":"You are sending too fast. Wait `X-Retry-After` seconds. See\nthe Rate Limits guide.\n","headers":{"X-Tokens-Remaining":{"description":"Number of request tokens currently available.","schema":{"type":"integer"}},"X-Retry-After":{"description":"Seconds to wait before requests can resume.","schema":{"type":"integer"}}},"content":{"application/json":{"schema":{"$ref":"#/components/schemas/ResponseEnvelope"}}}},"Error":{"description":"The request could not be completed.","content":{"application/json":{"schema":{"$ref":"#/components/schemas/ResponseEnvelope"}}}}}},"paths":{"/orders/{order_id}/order-items":{"post":{"tags":["Order Items"],"summary":"Create Order Item","description":"Adds a line item to an existing order and recalculates the order totals.\n\nTo add several items at once, pass them in an `order_items` array to the\n`PUT /orders/{order_id}` operation instead, which consumes a single rate\nlimit token rather than one per item.\n","operationId":"createOrderItem","requestBody":{"required":true,"content":{"application/json":{"schema":{"$ref":"#/components/schemas/OrderItemWrite"}}}},"responses":{"200":{"description":"The item was added.","content":{"application/json":{"schema":{"$ref":"#/components/schemas/ResponseEnvelope"}}}},"400":{"$ref":"#/components/responses/BadRequest"},"401":{"$ref":"#/components/responses/Unauthorized"},"404":{"$ref":"#/components/responses/NotFound"},"413":{"$ref":"#/components/responses/PayloadTooLarge"},"429":{"$ref":"#/components/responses/RateLimited"},"default":{"$ref":"#/components/responses/Error"}}}}}}
```


---

# Agent Instructions
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## Querying This Documentation
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Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter, and the optional `goal` query parameter:

```
GET https://help.orderdesk.com/api-documentation/v2-api-reference/order-items/create-order-item.md?ask=<question>&goal=<endgoal>
```

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