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API call

Function: API call​

Effortlessly connect and retrieve data from external systems through their APIs, simplifying data integration and enhancing the functionality of your applications. This action provides a user-friendly, code-free interface to interact with any REST API that returns JSON or text data.

Input​

  • Authentication method: Choose how you want to prove your identity to the API.
    • Basic authentication: A simple method where you provide a username and password.
    • Bearer Token: A security token passed in the request header.
    • API Token: A specific token for API access, also passed in the request header.
    • OAuth 1.0: A more complex authorization standard using signed requests.
    • None: No authentication is used (for public APIs).
    • Default Value: None
  • Username: (Only visible if "Basic authentication" is selected) The username for basic authentication.
  • Password: (Only visible if "Basic authentication" is selected) The password for basic authentication.
  • Consumer Key: (Only visible if "OAuth 1.0" is selected) The public identifier for your OAuth 1.0 client.
  • Consumer Secret: (Only visible if "OAuth 1.0" is selected) The private key associated with your Consumer Key.
  • Token ID: (Only visible if "OAuth 1.0" is selected) The access token for OAuth 1.0 requests.
  • Token Secret: (Only visible if "OAuth 1.0" is selected) The secret associated with the access token.
  • Realm: (Only visible if "OAuth 1.0" is selected) An optional identifier for the OAuth 1.0 credentials.
  • Read timeout: The maximum time (in milliseconds) the system will wait for the entire response message to be received.
  • Connect timeout: The maximum time (in milliseconds) the system will wait to establish a connection with the API.
  • Token: (Only visible if "Bearer Token" or "API Token" is selected) The token used for Bearer or API Token authentication.
  • Headers: Custom key-value pairs to include in the API request header (e.g., Content-Type: application/json).
  • Endpoint: The complete URL of the API you want to call (e.g., https://api.example.com/data). This is a required input.
  • Query parameters: Key-value pairs to add to the URL as query strings (e.g., ?id=123&status=active).
  • Method: The HTTP method to use for the API call.
    • GET: Retrieve data.
    • PUT: Update existing data.
    • POST: Create new data.
    • DELETE: Remove data.
    • PATCH: Partially update data.
    • Default Value: GET
  • Request body: (Only visible if "POST", "PUT", or "PATCH" is selected) The data you want to send with your request, typically as a JSON object.
  • Response type: The format you expect the API to return.
    • JSON: Structured data in JSON format.
    • Text: Plain text.
    • List: A list of items.
    • Default Value: JSON

Output​

  • Response: The name of the variable where the retrieved data from the API will be stored.
    • Default Value: RESPONSE
  • Response format: Defines the structure or schema of the data returned by the API.
  • Status: The name of the variable that will hold the outcome of the API call. Possible values include:
    • SUCCESS: The API call was successful.
    • BAD_REQUEST: Your request was incorrectly formatted.
    • UNAUTHORIZED: The authentication credentials provided were invalid or insufficient.
    • NOT_FOUND: The specified API endpoint could not be found.
    • READ_TIMEOUT: The connection timed out while waiting for the API to send its response.
    • CONNECT_TIMEOUT: The connection timed out while trying to establish a link with the API.
    • Default Value: STATUS

Execution Flow​

Real-Life Examples​

Example 1: Fetching Product Details from an E-commerce API​

Imagine you want to display product information from an external e-commerce platform on your application.

  • Inputs:
    • Authentication method: None (assuming the product catalog is public)
    • Endpoint: https://api.example-shop.com/products/12345
    • Method: GET
    • Response type: JSON
    • Response: ProductDetails
    • Status: API_Call_Status
  • Result: The ProductDetails variable will contain a JSON object with information about product ID 12345 (e.g., name, price, description). The API_Call_Status variable will be set to SUCCESS.

Example 2: Submitting a New Customer Order​

You need to send new order details from your application to a fulfillment service.

  • Inputs:
    • Authentication method: Bearer Token
    • Token: your_secure_bearer_token_123
    • Endpoint: https://api.fulfillment-service.com/orders
    • Method: POST
    • Headers: 
      \{
        "Content-Type": "application/json"
      \}
    • Request body: 
      \{
        "customerName": "Jane Doe",
        "items": [
          \{"productId": "P001", "quantity": 2\},
          \{"productId": "P005", "quantity": 1\}
        ],
        "shippingAddress": "123 Main St, Anytown"
      \}
    • Response type: JSON
    • Response: OrderConfirmation
    • Status: Order_Submission_Status
  • Result: A new order will be created in the fulfillment service. The OrderConfirmation variable will contain the API's response, likely including an order ID and status. The Order_Submission_Status variable will be set to SUCCESS.

Example 3: Updating User Profile Information​

You want to allow users to update their profile details in an external CRM system.

  • Inputs:
    • Authentication method: Basic authentication
    • Username: crm_user
    • Password: crm_password_secure
    • Endpoint: https://api.crm-system.com/users/john.doe
    • Method: PUT
    • Headers: 
      \{
        "Content-Type": "application/json"
      \}
    • Request body: 
      \{
        "email": "[email protected]",
        "phone": "555-123-4567"
      \}
    • Response type: JSON
    • Response: UserProfileUpdate
    • Status: Profile_Update_Status
  • Result: John Doe's email and phone number will be updated in the CRM system. The UserProfileUpdate variable will hold the API's confirmation of the update. The Profile_Update_Status variable will be set to SUCCESS. If the username or password were incorrect, Profile_Update_Status would be UNAUTHORIZED.