Using REST API in Communifire

REST API is the preferred method to access Communifire data and perform operations on it. REST is an acronym standing for Representational State Transfer and it is an architecture style of networked systems.  The REST API in Communifire is created using ASP.NET Web API.

REST means that each unique URL is a representation of some object. Below are the main REST API method calls and their HTTP verbs.

To start using the REST API, first make sure that the admin has enabled REST API access in Communifire. Once the REST API is enabled, you need to get your REST API access key.

REST API Samples

Let's start with a simple example which shows how to create a new user in Communifire using the REST API. The following C# code shows how to add a user using Communifire REST API. You will need to download and install this NuGet package: https://www.nuget.org/packages/Newtonsoft.Json/

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Collections.ObjectModel;
using System.IO;
using System.Linq;
using System.Net;
using System.Reflection;
using System.Text;
using System.Xml;
using System.Xml.Serialization;
using Newtonsoft.Json;
using Newtonsoft.Json.Linq;
using NUnit.Framework;

string ROOT_URL = "http://domain.com/api";
string API_KEY = "Your-Key-goes-here";

// Method to add a user
try
{
    string postData = "{
                         "UserName":"alan-john",
                         "Email": "alan.john@acme.com",
                         "Password": "X34b890fbn*9%@df4"
                       }";
    
    string serviceUrl = string.Format("{0}/users", ROOT_URL);

    var myRequest = (HttpWebRequest)WebRequest.Create(serviceUrl);
    myRequest.Method = "POST";
    // Note: only JSON is supported, XML is not supported anymore.
    myRequest.ContentType = "application/json";
    byte[] data = Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(postData);
    myRequest.ContentLength = data.Length;
    // Add the API key
    myRequest.Headers.Add("Rest-Api-Key", API_KEY);
    // Add the data to be posted in the request stream
    var requestStream = myRequest.GetRequestStream();
    requestStream.Write(data, 0, data.Length);
    requestStream.Close();

    // Post the request and get the response details
    using (var response = myRequest.GetResponse())
    {
        using (var reader = new StreamReader(response.GetResponseStream()))
        {
            // Read the results string
            string result = reader.ReadToEnd();
            WebApiResponse webApiResponse = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject(result);

            bool isError = webApiResponse.IsError;
            if (isError)
             {
                responseMessage = webApiResponse.ResponseMessage;
                Assert.Fail(responseMessage);
             }
            else
             {
                responseData = Convert.ToString(webApiResponse.ResponseData);
                userID = Convert.ToInt32(responseData);
                Assert.IsTrue(userID > 0);
             }
        }
    }
}
catch (Exception exception)
{
    Console.WriteLine(exception.Message);
}

   // REST API RESPONSE CLASS
    [DataContract(Namespace = "")]
    public class WebApiResponse
    {

        [DataMember]
        public bool IsError
        { get; set; }

        [DataMember]
        public string ResponseMessage
        { get; set; }

        [DataMember]
        public object ResponseData
        { get; set; }

    }//end class

NoteIf you are calling the REST API via JavaScript the token must be passed via querystring.

REST API Documentation

We have created a detailed documentation guide listing out each and every method available in the Communifire REST API along with usage instructions. Each method listed shows the neccessary parameters along with the results in the ouput format. Refer to pages in right wiki tree for detailed documentation listing all methods of the REST API in Communifire.

Note:
If you are using HTTPS you should set the value of "SslOption" setting to "3" in CFAppSettings.config:

<!-- 1 = Only Http Mode 2 = Only Https Mode 3 = Both Http and Https Modes -->
<add key="SslOption" value="3"/>

Communifire REST API Samples

In case you need C# Visual Studio samples for REST API code, contact Axero Support.