diff --git a/.github/workflows/api_version_probe.py b/.github/workflows/api_version_probe.py
index cfefe10a..de3c756b 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/api_version_probe.py
+++ b/.github/workflows/api_version_probe.py
@@ -12,10 +12,10 @@ def compare_versions():
 
     if version.parse(default_version) < version.parse(new_version):
         print(f"Version changed from {default_version} to {new_version}")
-        sys.exit(1)  # Exit with a non-zero status to indicate change
+        sys.exit(1)
     else:
         print("No version change")
-        sys.exit(0)  # Exit with zero status to indicate no change
+        sys.exit(0)
 
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
diff --git a/.github/workflows/update_api.yml b/.github/workflows/update_api.yml
index 6bd80435..cfa95cfe 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/update_api.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/update_api.yml
@@ -19,10 +19,10 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
 
     steps:
-    - uses: actions/checkout@v3
+    - uses: actions/checkout@v4
     - uses: conda-incubator/setup-miniconda@v2
       with:
-        python-version: "3.10"
+        python-version: "3.11"
         mamba-version: "*"
         channels: conda-forge,alchem0x2a,defaults
         channel-priority: true
@@ -39,23 +39,40 @@ jobs:
     - name: Test if json api is newer than current
       id: probe
       run: |
+        # exit 0 --> no version change
         if python .github/workflows/api_version_probe.py; then
            echo "UPDATE_NEEDED=false" >> $GITHUB_ENV
         else
            echo "UPDATE_NEEDED=true" >> $GITHUB_ENV
         fi
+        echo UPDATE_NEEDED is "${UPDATE_NEEDED}"
+        echo API version is "${API_VERSION}"
       continue-on-error: true
     - name: Create Pull Request
-      if: env.UPDATE_NEEDED == true
+      if: env.UPDATE_NEEDED == 'true'
       run: |
         git config --global user.email "alchem0x2a@gmail.com"
         git config --global user.name "Github Action Bot"
         echo "New version is ${API_VERSION}"
-        git checkout -b api_version
+        BRANCH_NAME="update-api-${GITHUB_RUN_ID}"
+        echo "Checking new branch ${BRANCH_NAME}"
+        git checkout -b $BRANCH_NAME
         mv parameters.json sparc/sparc_json_api/
         git add sparc/sparc_json_api/parameters.json
         git commit -m "Add new json api version ${API_VERSION}"
-        git push --set-upstream origin api_version
-        gh pr create --base master --title "[PR Bot] New JSON API version ${API_VERSION}"  --body "Merge new JSON API version ${API_VERSION} into master" -R ${{ github.repository_owner }}/SPARC-X-API
+        git push --force --set-upstream origin ${BRANCH_NAME}
+        body_msg=""
+        body_msg="${body_msg}## Automated JSON API Update\n"
+        body_msg="${body_msg}Hello! This is an automatic pull request to merge the new JSON API version **${API_VERSION}** into the master branch.\n\n"
+        body_msg="${body_msg}### Details:\n"
+        body_msg="${body_msg}- **Workflow Trigger**: This update is triggered by the **Update JSON API (recurring job)** workflow.\n"
+        body_msg="${body_msg}- **Reason for Update**: A new JSON schema version was generated that differs from the existing one in the repository.\n\n"
+        body_msg="${body_msg}### Notes:\n"
+        body_msg="${body_msg}- If you notice any issues or have questions regarding this update, please contact @alchem0x2a or other maintainers of the repository.\n\n"
+        body_msg="${body_msg}Thank you for keeping the SPARC-X-API project up-to-date! 🚀\n"
+        gh pr create --base master \
+                     --title "[PR Bot] New JSON API version ${API_VERSION}"  \
+                     --body "${body_msg}" \
+                     -R ${{ github.repository_owner }}/SPARC-X-API
       env:
         GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
diff --git a/sparc/docparser.py b/sparc/docparser.py
index 48a33ace..a42697b7 100644
--- a/sparc/docparser.py
+++ b/sparc/docparser.py
@@ -375,11 +375,23 @@ def json_from_directory(cls, directory=".", include_subdirs=True, **kwargs):
                 try:
                     sub_dict = cls(directory=subdir, parse_version=False).to_dict()
                 except FileNotFoundError:
-                    print(subdir, " Latex files not found. Check naming conventions for Manual.tex. Expects format *Manual.tex")
+                    print(
+                        subdir,
+                        " Latex files not found. Check naming conventions for Manual.tex. Expects format *Manual.tex",
+                    )
                     continue
                 for param, param_desc in sub_dict["parameters"].items():
                     if param not in root_dict["parameters"]:
                         root_dict["parameters"][param] = param_desc
+                # Combine the subdir categories
+                for sub_category in sub_dict["categories"]:
+                    if sub_category not in root_dict["categories"]:
+                        root_dict["categories"].append(sub_category)
+                # Combine data types
+                for sub_dt in sub_dict["data_types"]:
+                    if sub_dt not in root_dict["data_types"]:
+                        root_dict["data_types"].append(sub_dt)
+
         json_string = json.dumps(root_dict, indent=True)
         return json_string