diff --git a/apiserver/apierrors/errors.conf b/apiserver/apierrors/errors.conf
index a78d780..e604822 100644
--- a/apiserver/apierrors/errors.conf
+++ b/apiserver/apierrors/errors.conf
@@ -1,3 +1,8 @@
+301 {
+    _: "moved_permanently"
+    1: ["not_supported", "this endpoint is no longer supported for the requested API version"]
+}
+
 400 {
     _: "bad_request"
     1: ["not_supported", "endpoint is not supported"]
diff --git a/apiserver/apimodels/projects.py b/apiserver/apimodels/projects.py
index 454c5dc..fcc7f66 100644
--- a/apiserver/apimodels/projects.py
+++ b/apiserver/apimodels/projects.py
@@ -22,7 +22,12 @@ class DeleteRequest(ProjectRequest):
     delete_contents = fields.BoolField(default=False)
 
 
-class GetHyperParamRequest(ProjectRequest):
+class ProjectOrNoneRequest(models.Base):
+    project = fields.StringField()
+    include_subprojects = fields.BoolField(default=True)
+
+
+class GetHyperParamRequest(ProjectOrNoneRequest):
     page = fields.IntField(default=0)
     page_size = fields.IntField(default=500)
 
@@ -33,6 +38,7 @@ class ProjectTagsRequest(TagsRequest):
 
 class MultiProjectRequest(models.Base):
     projects = fields.ListField(str)
+    include_subprojects = fields.BoolField(default=True)
 
 
 class ProjectTaskParentsRequest(MultiProjectRequest):
diff --git a/apiserver/bll/project/project_bll.py b/apiserver/bll/project/project_bll.py
index 236bb56..c692e4b 100644
--- a/apiserver/bll/project/project_bll.py
+++ b/apiserver/bll/project/project_bll.py
@@ -147,7 +147,7 @@ class ProjectBLL:
         user: str,
         company: str,
         name: str,
-        description: str,
+        description: str = "",
         tags: Sequence[str] = None,
         system_tags: Sequence[str] = None,
         default_output_destination: str = None,
@@ -507,20 +507,24 @@ class ProjectBLL:
         company,
         project_ids: Sequence[str],
         user_ids: Optional[Sequence[str]] = None,
-    ) -> set:
+    ) -> Set[str]:
         """
         Get the set of user ids that created tasks/models/dataviews in the given projects
         If project_ids is empty then all projects are examined
         If user_ids are passed then only subset of these users is returned
         """
         with TimingContext("mongo", "active_users_in_projects"):
-            res = set()
             query = Q(company=company)
+            if user_ids:
+                query &= Q(user__in=user_ids)
+
+            projects_query = query
             if project_ids:
                 project_ids = _ids_with_children(project_ids)
                 query &= Q(project__in=project_ids)
-            if user_ids:
-                query &= Q(user__in=user_ids)
+                projects_query &= Q(id__in=project_ids)
+
+            res = set(Project.objects(projects_query).distinct(field="user"))
             for cls_ in (Task, Model):
                 res |= set(cls_.objects(query).distinct(field="user"))
 
@@ -545,10 +549,17 @@ class ProjectBLL:
         else:
             query &= Q(company=company)
 
+        user_projects_query = query
         if project_ids:
-            query &= Q(project__in=_ids_with_children(project_ids))
+            ids_with_children = _ids_with_children(project_ids)
+            query &= Q(project__in=ids_with_children)
+            user_projects_query &= Q(id__in=ids_with_children)
 
-        res = Task.objects(query).distinct(field="project")
+        res = {p.id for p in Project.objects(user_projects_query).only("id")}
+        for cls_ in (Task, Model):
+            res |= set(cls_.objects(query).distinct(field="project"))
+
+        res = list(res)
         if not res:
             return res
 
@@ -563,6 +574,7 @@ class ProjectBLL:
         cls,
         company_id: str,
         projects: Sequence[str],
+        include_subprojects: bool,
         state: Optional[EntityVisibility] = None,
     ) -> Sequence[dict]:
         """
@@ -571,7 +583,8 @@ class ProjectBLL:
         """
         query = Q(company=company_id)
         if projects:
-            projects = _ids_with_children(projects)
+            if include_subprojects:
+                projects = _ids_with_children(projects)
             query &= Q(project__in=projects)
         if state == EntityVisibility.archived:
             query &= Q(system_tags__in=[EntityVisibility.archived.value])
diff --git a/apiserver/bll/task/task_bll.py b/apiserver/bll/task/task_bll.py
index 1335786..d3b2529 100644
--- a/apiserver/bll/task/task_bll.py
+++ b/apiserver/bll/task/task_bll.py
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ import apiserver.database.utils as dbutils
 from apiserver.apierrors import errors
 from apiserver.bll.queue import QueueBLL
 from apiserver.bll.organization import OrgBLL, Tags
-from apiserver.bll.project import ProjectBLL
+from apiserver.bll.project import ProjectBLL, project_ids_with_children
 from apiserver.config_repo import config
 from apiserver.database.errors import translate_errors_context
 from apiserver.database.model.model import Model
@@ -37,7 +37,12 @@ from apiserver.timing_context import TimingContext
 from apiserver.utilities.parameter_key_escaper import ParameterKeyEscaper
 from .artifacts import artifacts_prepare_for_save
 from .param_utils import params_prepare_for_save
-from .utils import ChangeStatusRequest, validate_status_change, update_project_time, deleted_prefix
+from .utils import (
+    ChangeStatusRequest,
+    validate_status_change,
+    update_project_time,
+    deleted_prefix,
+)
 
 log = config.logger(__file__)
 org_bll = OrgBLL()
@@ -317,12 +322,19 @@ class TaskBLL:
             cls.validate_execution_model(task)
 
     @staticmethod
-    def get_unique_metric_variants(company_id, project_ids=None):
+    def get_unique_metric_variants(
+        company_id, project_ids: Sequence[str], include_subprojects: bool
+    ):
+        if project_ids:
+            if include_subprojects:
+                project_ids = project_ids_with_children(project_ids)
+            project_constraint = {"project": {"$in": project_ids}}
+        else:
+            project_constraint = {}
         pipeline = [
             {
                 "$match": dict(
-                    company={"$in": [None, "", company_id]},
-                    **({"project": {"$in": project_ids}} if project_ids else {}),
+                    company={"$in": [None, "", company_id]}, **project_constraint,
                 )
             },
             {"$project": {"metrics": {"$objectToArray": "$last_metrics"}}},
@@ -601,11 +613,17 @@ class TaskBLL:
     @staticmethod
     def get_aggregated_project_parameters(
         company_id,
-        project_ids: Sequence[str] = None,
+        project_ids: Sequence[str],
+        include_subprojects: bool,
         page: int = 0,
         page_size: int = 500,
     ) -> Tuple[int, int, Sequence[dict]]:
-
+        if project_ids:
+            if include_subprojects:
+                project_ids = project_ids_with_children(project_ids)
+            project_constraint = {"project": {"$in": project_ids}}
+        else:
+            project_constraint = {}
         page = max(0, page)
         page_size = max(1, page_size)
         pipeline = [
@@ -613,7 +631,7 @@ class TaskBLL:
                 "$match": {
                     "company": {"$in": [None, "", company_id]},
                     "hyperparams": {"$exists": True, "$gt": {}},
-                    **({"project": {"$in": project_ids}} if project_ids else {}),
+                    **project_constraint,
                 }
             },
             {"$project": {"sections": {"$objectToArray": "$hyperparams"}}},
@@ -687,6 +705,7 @@ class TaskBLL:
         project_ids: Sequence[str],
         section: str,
         name: str,
+        include_subprojects: bool,
         allow_public: bool = True,
     ) -> HyperParamValues:
         if allow_public:
@@ -694,6 +713,8 @@ class TaskBLL:
         else:
             company_constraint = {"company": company_id}
         if project_ids:
+            if include_subprojects:
+                project_ids = project_ids_with_children(project_ids)
             project_constraint = {"project": {"$in": project_ids}}
         else:
             project_constraint = {}
diff --git a/apiserver/database/model/base.py b/apiserver/database/model/base.py
index edc37ba..b201f86 100644
--- a/apiserver/database/model/base.py
+++ b/apiserver/database/model/base.py
@@ -193,8 +193,7 @@ class GetMixin(PropsMixin):
         """
         Pop the parameters that match the specified patterns and return
         the dictionary of matching parameters
-        For backwards compatibility with the previous version of the code
-        the None values are discarded
+        Pop None parameters since they are not the real queries
         """
         if not patterns:
             return {}
@@ -351,11 +350,7 @@ class GetMixin(PropsMixin):
         q = RegexQ()
         for action in filter(None, actions):
             q &= RegexQ(
-                **{
-                    f"{mongoengine_field}__{action}": list(
-                        set(filter(None, actions[action]))
-                    )
-                }
+                **{f"{mongoengine_field}__{action}": list(set(actions[action]))}
             )
 
         if not allow_empty:
diff --git a/apiserver/database/model/project.py b/apiserver/database/model/project.py
index e4ff6d4..7588806 100644
--- a/apiserver/database/model/project.py
+++ b/apiserver/database/model/project.py
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ class Project(AttributedDocument):
         min_length=3,
         sparse=True,
     )
-    description = StringField(required=True)
+    description = StringField()
     created = DateTimeField(required=True)
     tags = SafeSortedListField(StringField(required=True))
     system_tags = SafeSortedListField(StringField(required=True))
diff --git a/apiserver/database/model/task/task.py b/apiserver/database/model/task/task.py
index 0b68af7..28d09fe 100644
--- a/apiserver/database/model/task/task.py
+++ b/apiserver/database/model/task/task.py
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ class Execution(EmbeddedDocument, ProperDictMixin):
     framework = StringField()
     artifacts: Dict[str, Artifact] = SafeMapField(field=EmbeddedDocumentField(Artifact))
     docker_cmd = StringField()
-    queue = StringField()
+    queue = StringField(reference_field="Queue")
     """ Queue ID where task was queued """
 
 
diff --git a/apiserver/schema/services/models.conf b/apiserver/schema/services/models.conf
index d7fd4d8..2bfaea3 100644
--- a/apiserver/schema/services/models.conf
+++ b/apiserver/schema/services/models.conf
@@ -151,6 +151,17 @@ get_by_id_ex {
 get_all_ex {
     internal: true
     "2.1": ${get_all."2.1"}
+    "2.13": ${get_all_ex."2.1"} {
+        request {
+            properties {
+                include_subprojects {
+                    description: "If set to 'true' and project field is set then models from the subprojects are searched too"
+                    type: boolean
+                    default: false
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }
 }
 get_all {
     "2.1" {
diff --git a/apiserver/schema/services/projects.conf b/apiserver/schema/services/projects.conf
index 6a76c98..c4d9a9a 100644
--- a/apiserver/schema/services/projects.conf
+++ b/apiserver/schema/services/projects.conf
@@ -283,17 +283,14 @@ create {
         description: "Create a new project"
         request {
             type: object
-            required :[
-                name
-                description
-            ]
+            required :[name]
             properties {
                 name {
                     description: "Project name Unique within the company."
                     type: string
                 }
                 description {
-                    description: "Project description. "
+                    description: "Project description."
                     type: string
                 }
                 tags {
@@ -677,6 +674,17 @@ get_unique_metric_variants {
             }
         }
     }
+    "2.13": ${get_unique_metric_variants."2.1"} {
+        request {
+            properties {
+                include_subprojects {
+                    description: "If set to 'true' and the project field is set then the result includes metrics/variants from the subproject tasks"
+                    type: boolean
+                    default: true
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }
 }
 get_hyperparam_values {
     "2.13" {
@@ -702,6 +710,11 @@ get_hyperparam_values {
                     description: "If set to 'true' then collect values from both company and public tasks otherwise company tasks only. The default is 'true'"
                     type: boolean
                 }
+                include_subprojects {
+                    description: "If set to 'true' and the project field is set then the result includes hyper parameters values from the subproject tasks"
+                    type: boolean
+                    default: true
+                }
             }
         }
         response {
@@ -761,6 +774,17 @@ get_hyper_parameters {
             }
         }
     }
+    "2.13": ${get_hyper_parameters."2.9"} {
+        request {
+            properties {
+                include_subprojects {
+                    description: "If set to 'true' and the project field is set then the result includes hyper parameters from the subproject tasks"
+                    type: boolean
+                    default: true
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }
 }
 
 get_task_tags {
@@ -830,7 +854,7 @@ make_private {
 }
 get_task_parents {
     "2.12" {
-        description: "Get unique parent tasks for the tasks in the specified pprojects"
+        description: "Get unique parent tasks for the tasks in the specified projects"
         request {
             type: object
             properties {
@@ -881,4 +905,15 @@ get_task_parents {
             }
         }
     }
+    "2.13": ${get_task_parents."2.12"} {
+        request {
+            properties {
+                include_subprojects {
+                    description: "If set to 'true' and the projects field is not empty then the result includes tasks parents from the subproject tasks"
+                    type: boolean
+                    default: true
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/apiserver/schema/services/tasks.conf b/apiserver/schema/services/tasks.conf
index c305735..a178290 100644
--- a/apiserver/schema/services/tasks.conf
+++ b/apiserver/schema/services/tasks.conf
@@ -583,6 +583,17 @@ get_by_id_ex {
 get_all_ex {
     internal: true
     "2.1": ${get_all."2.1"}
+    "2.13": ${get_all_ex."2.1"} {
+        request {
+            properties {
+                include_subprojects {
+                    description: "If set to 'true' and project field is set then tasks from the subprojects are searched too"
+                    type: boolean
+                    default: false
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }
 }
 get_all {
     "2.1" {
diff --git a/apiserver/services/models.py b/apiserver/services/models.py
index 1ac3138..c1988c3 100644
--- a/apiserver/services/models.py
+++ b/apiserver/services/models.py
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ from apiserver.apimodels.models import (
     DeleteModelRequest,
 )
 from apiserver.bll.organization import OrgBLL, Tags
-from apiserver.bll.project import ProjectBLL
+from apiserver.bll.project import ProjectBLL, project_ids_with_children
 from apiserver.bll.task import TaskBLL
 from apiserver.bll.task.utils import deleted_prefix
 from apiserver.config_repo import config
@@ -86,10 +86,22 @@ def get_by_task_id(call: APICall, company_id, _):
         call.result.data = {"model": model_dict}
 
 
+def _process_include_subprojects(call_data: dict):
+    include_subprojects = call_data.pop("include_subprojects", False)
+    project_ids = call_data.get("project")
+    if not project_ids or not include_subprojects:
+        return
+
+    if not isinstance(project_ids, list):
+        project_ids = [project_ids]
+    call_data["project"] = project_ids_with_children(project_ids)
+
+
 @endpoint("models.get_all_ex", required_fields=[])
 def get_all_ex(call: APICall, company_id, _):
     conform_tag_fields(call, call.data)
     with translate_errors_context():
+        _process_include_subprojects(call.data)
         with TimingContext("mongo", "models_get_all_ex"):
             models = Model.get_many_with_join(
                 company=company_id, query_dict=call.data, allow_public=True
diff --git a/apiserver/services/projects.py b/apiserver/services/projects.py
index 658f97a..eec2177 100644
--- a/apiserver/services/projects.py
+++ b/apiserver/services/projects.py
@@ -8,12 +8,14 @@ from apiserver.apierrors.errors.bad_request import InvalidProjectId
 from apiserver.apimodels.base import UpdateResponse, MakePublicRequest, IdResponse
 from apiserver.apimodels.projects import (
     GetHyperParamRequest,
-    ProjectRequest,
     ProjectTagsRequest,
     ProjectTaskParentsRequest,
     ProjectHyperparamValuesRequest,
     ProjectsGetRequest,
-    DeleteRequest, MoveRequest, MergeRequest,
+    DeleteRequest,
+    MoveRequest,
+    MergeRequest,
+    ProjectOrNoneRequest,
 )
 from apiserver.bll.organization import OrgBLL, Tags
 from apiserver.bll.project import ProjectBLL
@@ -80,14 +82,13 @@ def _adjust_search_parameters(data: dict, shallow_search: bool):
         return
 
     if "parent" not in data:
-        data["parent"] = [None, ""]
+        data["parent"] = [None]
 
 
 @endpoint("projects.get_all_ex", request_data_model=ProjectsGetRequest)
 def get_all_ex(call: APICall, company_id: str, request: ProjectsGetRequest):
     conform_tag_fields(call, call.data)
     allow_public = not request.non_public
-    shallow_search = request.shallow_search or request.include_stats
     with TimingContext("mongo", "projects_get_all"):
         data = call.data
         if request.active_users:
@@ -102,12 +103,10 @@ def get_all_ex(call: APICall, company_id: str, request: ProjectsGetRequest):
                 return
             data["id"] = ids
 
-        _adjust_search_parameters(data, shallow_search=shallow_search)
+        _adjust_search_parameters(data, shallow_search=request.shallow_search)
 
         projects = Project.get_many_with_join(
-            company=company_id,
-            query_dict=data,
-            allow_public=allow_public,
+            company=company_id, query_dict=data, allow_public=allow_public,
         )
 
         conform_output_tags(call, projects)
@@ -147,9 +146,7 @@ def get_all(call: APICall):
 
 
 @endpoint(
-    "projects.create",
-    required_fields=["name", "description"],
-    response_data_model=IdResponse,
+    "projects.create", required_fields=["name"], response_data_model=IdResponse,
 )
 def create(call: APICall):
     identity = call.identity
@@ -232,11 +229,17 @@ def delete(call: APICall, company_id: str, request: DeleteRequest):
     call.result.data = {**attr.asdict(res)}
 
 
-@endpoint("projects.get_unique_metric_variants", request_data_model=ProjectRequest)
-def get_unique_metric_variants(call: APICall, company_id: str, request: ProjectRequest):
+@endpoint(
+    "projects.get_unique_metric_variants", request_data_model=ProjectOrNoneRequest
+)
+def get_unique_metric_variants(
+    call: APICall, company_id: str, request: ProjectOrNoneRequest
+):
 
     metrics = task_bll.get_unique_metric_variants(
-        company_id, [request.project] if request.project else None
+        company_id,
+        [request.project] if request.project else None,
+        include_subprojects=request.include_subprojects,
     )
 
     call.result.data = {"metrics": metrics}
@@ -252,6 +255,7 @@ def get_hyper_parameters(call: APICall, company_id: str, request: GetHyperParamR
     total, remaining, parameters = TaskBLL.get_aggregated_project_parameters(
         company_id,
         project_ids=[request.project] if request.project else None,
+        include_subprojects=request.include_subprojects,
         page=request.page,
         page_size=request.page_size,
     )
@@ -276,6 +280,7 @@ def get_hyperparam_values(
         project_ids=request.projects,
         section=request.section,
         name=request.name,
+        include_subprojects=request.include_subprojects,
         allow_public=request.allow_public,
     )
     call.result.data = {
@@ -340,6 +345,9 @@ def get_task_parents(
 ):
     call.result.data = {
         "parents": project_bll.get_task_parents(
-            company_id, projects=request.projects, state=request.tasks_state
+            company_id,
+            projects=request.projects,
+            include_subprojects=request.include_subprojects,
+            state=request.tasks_state,
         )
     }
diff --git a/apiserver/services/tasks.py b/apiserver/services/tasks.py
index 93bc6d0..b926972 100644
--- a/apiserver/services/tasks.py
+++ b/apiserver/services/tasks.py
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ from apiserver.apimodels.tasks import (
 )
 from apiserver.bll.event import EventBLL
 from apiserver.bll.organization import OrgBLL, Tags
-from apiserver.bll.project import ProjectBLL
+from apiserver.bll.project import ProjectBLL, project_ids_with_children
 from apiserver.bll.queue import QueueBLL
 from apiserver.bll.task import (
     TaskBLL,
@@ -152,27 +152,49 @@ def get_by_id(call: APICall, company_id, req_model: TaskRequest):
     call.result.data = {"task": task_dict}
 
 
-def escape_execution_parameters(call: APICall):
-    projection = Task.get_projection(call.data)
-    if projection:
-        Task.set_projection(call.data, escape_paths(projection))
+def escape_execution_parameters(call: APICall) -> dict:
+    if not call.data:
+        return call.data
 
-    ordering = Task.get_ordering(call.data)
+    keys = list(call.data)
+    call_data = {
+        safe_key: call.data[key] for key, safe_key in zip(keys, escape_paths(keys))
+    }
+
+    projection = Task.get_projection(call_data)
+    if projection:
+        Task.set_projection(call_data, escape_paths(projection))
+
+    ordering = Task.get_ordering(call_data)
     if ordering:
-        Task.set_ordering(call.data, escape_paths(ordering))
+        Task.set_ordering(call_data, escape_paths(ordering))
+
+    return call_data
+
+
+def _process_include_subprojects(call_data: dict):
+    include_subprojects = call_data.pop("include_subprojects", False)
+    project_ids = call_data.get("project")
+    if not project_ids or not include_subprojects:
+        return
+
+    if not isinstance(project_ids, list):
+        project_ids = [project_ids]
+    call_data["project"] = project_ids_with_children(project_ids)
 
 
 @endpoint("tasks.get_all_ex", required_fields=[])
 def get_all_ex(call: APICall, company_id, _):
     conform_tag_fields(call, call.data)
 
-    escape_execution_parameters(call)
+    call_data = escape_execution_parameters(call)
 
     with translate_errors_context():
         with TimingContext("mongo", "task_get_all_ex"):
+            _process_include_subprojects(call_data)
             tasks = Task.get_many_with_join(
                 company=company_id,
-                query_dict=call.data,
+                query_dict=call_data,
                 allow_public=True,  # required in case projection is requested for public dataset/versions
             )
         unprepare_from_saved(call, tasks)
@@ -183,12 +205,12 @@ def get_all_ex(call: APICall, company_id, _):
 def get_by_id_ex(call: APICall, company_id, _):
     conform_tag_fields(call, call.data)
 
-    escape_execution_parameters(call)
+    call_data = escape_execution_parameters(call)
 
     with translate_errors_context():
         with TimingContext("mongo", "task_get_by_id_ex"):
             tasks = Task.get_many_with_join(
-                company=company_id, query_dict=call.data, allow_public=True,
+                company=company_id, query_dict=call_data, allow_public=True,
             )
 
         unprepare_from_saved(call, tasks)
@@ -199,14 +221,14 @@ def get_by_id_ex(call: APICall, company_id, _):
 def get_all(call: APICall, company_id, _):
     conform_tag_fields(call, call.data)
 
-    escape_execution_parameters(call)
+    call_data = escape_execution_parameters(call)
 
     with translate_errors_context():
         with TimingContext("mongo", "task_get_all"):
             tasks = Task.get_many(
                 company=company_id,
-                parameters=call.data,
-                query_dict=call.data,
+                parameters=call_data,
+                query_dict=call_data,
                 allow_public=True,  # required in case projection is requested for public dataset/versions
             )
         unprepare_from_saved(call, tasks)
@@ -216,7 +238,9 @@ def get_all(call: APICall, company_id, _):
 @endpoint("tasks.get_types", request_data_model=GetTypesRequest)
 def get_types(call: APICall, company_id, request: GetTypesRequest):
     call.result.data = {
-        "types": list(project_bll.get_task_types(company_id, project_ids=request.projects))
+        "types": list(
+            project_bll.get_task_types(company_id, project_ids=request.projects)
+        )
     }
 
 
diff --git a/apiserver/tests/api_client.py b/apiserver/tests/api_client.py
index b67a733..2c81f4e 100644
--- a/apiserver/tests/api_client.py
+++ b/apiserver/tests/api_client.py
@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
 import json
-import logging
 import os
 import time
 from contextlib import contextmanager
@@ -10,16 +9,14 @@ import requests
 import six
 from boltons.iterutils import remap
 from boltons.typeutils import issubclass
-from pyhocon import ConfigFactory
 from requests.adapters import HTTPAdapter
 from requests.auth import HTTPBasicAuth
 from requests.packages.urllib3.util.retry import Retry
 
 from apiserver.apierrors.base import BaseError
+from apiserver.config_repo import config
 
-config = ConfigFactory.parse_file("api_client.conf")
-
-log = logging.getLogger("api_client")
+log = config.logger(__file__)
 
 
 class APICallResult:
@@ -111,7 +108,7 @@ class APIClient:
             self.api_key = (
                 api_key
                 or os.environ.get("SM_API_KEY")
-                or config.get("api_key")
+                or config.get("apiclient.api_key")
             )
             if not self.api_key:
                 raise ValueError("APIClient requires api_key in constructor or config")
@@ -119,7 +116,7 @@ class APIClient:
             self.secret_key = (
                 secret_key
                 or os.environ.get("SM_API_SECRET")
-                or config.get("secret_key")
+                or config.get("apiclient.secret_key")
             )
             if not self.secret_key:
                 raise ValueError(
@@ -127,7 +124,7 @@ class APIClient:
                 )
 
         self.base_url = (
-            base_url or os.environ.get("SM_API_URL") or config.get("base_url")
+            base_url or os.environ.get("SM_API_URL") or config.get("apiclient.base_url")
         )
         if not self.base_url:
             raise ValueError("APIClient requires base_url in constructor or config")
@@ -139,9 +136,9 @@ class APIClient:
 
         # create http session
         self.http_session = requests.session()
-        retries = config.get("retries", 7)
-        backoff_factor = config.get("backoff_factor", 0.3)
-        status_forcelist = config.get("status_forcelist", (500, 502, 504))
+        retries = config.get("apiclient.retries", 7)
+        backoff_factor = config.get("apiclient.backoff_factor", 0.3)
+        status_forcelist = config.get("apiclient.status_forcelist", (500, 502, 504))
         retry = Retry(
             total=retries,
             read=retries,
diff --git a/apiserver/tests/automated/test_projects_retrieval.py b/apiserver/tests/automated/test_projects_retrieval.py
deleted file mode 100644
index effa739..0000000
--- a/apiserver/tests/automated/test_projects_retrieval.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,65 +0,0 @@
-from boltons.iterutils import first
-
-from apiserver.tests.automated import TestService
-
-
-class TestProjectsRetrieval(TestService):
-    def setUp(self, **kwargs):
-        super().setUp(version="2.13")
-
-    def test_active_user(self):
-        user = self.api.users.get_current_user().user.id
-        project1 = self.temp_project(name="Project retrieval1")
-        project2 = self.temp_project(name="Project retrieval2")
-        self.temp_task(project=project2)
-
-        projects = self.api.projects.get_all_ex().projects
-        self.assertTrue({project1, project2}.issubset({p.id for p in projects}))
-
-        projects = self.api.projects.get_all_ex(active_users=[user]).projects
-        ids = {p.id for p in projects}
-        self.assertFalse(project1 in ids)
-        self.assertTrue(project2 in ids)
-
-    def test_stats(self):
-        project = self.temp_project()
-        self.temp_task(project=project)
-        self.temp_task(project=project)
-        archived_task = self.temp_task(project=project)
-        self.api.tasks.archive(tasks=[archived_task])
-
-        p = self._get_project(project)
-        self.assertFalse("stats" in p)
-
-        p = self._get_project(project, include_stats=True)
-        self.assertFalse("archived" in p.stats)
-        self.assertTrue(p.stats.active.status_count.created, 2)
-
-        p = self._get_project(project, include_stats=True, stats_for_state=None)
-        self.assertTrue(p.stats.active.status_count.created, 2)
-        self.assertTrue(p.stats.archived.status_count.created, 1)
-
-    def _get_project(self, project, **kwargs):
-        projects = self.api.projects.get_all_ex(id=[project], **kwargs).projects
-        p = first(p for p in projects if p.id == project)
-        self.assertIsNotNone(p)
-        return p
-
-    def temp_project(self, **kwargs) -> str:
-        self.update_missing(
-            kwargs,
-            name="Test projects retrieval",
-            description="test",
-            delete_params=dict(force=True),
-        )
-        return self.create_temp("projects", **kwargs)
-
-    def temp_task(self, **kwargs) -> str:
-        self.update_missing(
-            kwargs,
-            type="testing",
-            name="test projects retrieval",
-            input=dict(view=dict()),
-            delete_params=dict(force=True),
-        )
-        return self.create_temp("tasks", **kwargs)
diff --git a/apiserver/tests/automated/test_subprojects.py b/apiserver/tests/automated/test_subprojects.py
index 4a9446a..87bb753 100644
--- a/apiserver/tests/automated/test_subprojects.py
+++ b/apiserver/tests/automated/test_subprojects.py
@@ -4,8 +4,10 @@ from typing import Sequence, Optional, Tuple
 from boltons.iterutils import first
 
 from apiserver.apierrors import errors
+from apiserver.config_repo import config
 from apiserver.database.model import EntityVisibility
 from apiserver.database.utils import id as db_id
+from apiserver.tests.api_client import APIClient
 from apiserver.tests.automated import TestService
 
 
@@ -14,7 +16,14 @@ class TestSubProjects(TestService):
         super().setUp(version="2.13")
 
     def test_project_aggregations(self):
-        child = self._temp_project(name="Aggregation/Pr1")
+        """This test requires user with user_auth_only... credentials in db"""
+        user2_client = APIClient(
+            api_key=config.get("apiclient.user_auth_only"),
+            secret_key=config.get("apiclient.user_auth_only_secret"),
+            base_url=f"http://localhost:8008/v2.13",
+        )
+
+        child = self._temp_project(name="Aggregation/Pr1", client=user2_client)
         project = self.api.projects.get_all_ex(name="^Aggregation$").projects[0].id
         child_project = self.api.projects.get_all_ex(id=[child]).projects[0]
         self.assertEqual(child_project.parent.id, project)
@@ -210,12 +219,13 @@ class TestSubProjects(TestService):
 
     delete_params = dict(can_fail=True, force=True)
 
-    def _temp_project(self, name, **kwargs):
+    def _temp_project(self, name, client=None, **kwargs):
         return self.create_temp(
             "projects",
             delete_params=self.delete_params,
             name=name,
             description="",
+            client=client,
             **kwargs,
         )
 
diff --git a/apiserver/tests/automated/test_tasks_edit.py b/apiserver/tests/automated/test_tasks_edit.py
index 54c26c7..d6ac6e2 100644
--- a/apiserver/tests/automated/test_tasks_edit.py
+++ b/apiserver/tests/automated/test_tasks_edit.py
@@ -225,4 +225,4 @@ class TestTasksEdit(TestService):
         self.api.tasks.enqueue(task=task_id, queue=queue_id)
         task = self.api.tasks.get_all_ex(id=task_id, projection=projection).tasks[0]
         self.assertEqual(task.status, "queued")
-        self.assertEqual(task.execution.queue, queue_id)
+        self.assertEqual(task.execution.queue.id, queue_id)