HTTP request

Action block allows you to set up the custom integration between Buraq & third party tools having REST APIs

REST APIs are used to push / pull data to / from third party systems. Using the Service Call action block, you can directly integrate a third party system's REST APIs in the flow.

You can integrate GET, POST or PUT type REST API through Service Call action block from the bot builder page.

How do I set up the integration?

To set up the integration with third party tool, you can use service call block. You can follow the following steps to configure the same;

• Add an action block on canvas by clicking on '+'

• Choose 'HTTP request'

• Double click on 'HTTP request' to configure it on the right panel Below are various fields that you would be filling values in. If you are a developer, you would feel at home here. For other, you may need to refer to the APIs documentation to find what to fill on the right panel.

  1. Type of Method: You first need to select the 'Type of Method' from the drop down list from the available options. Buraq currently supports three methods, they are;

     • GET

     • POST

     • PUT

  2. Endpoint URL: You will need to provide the absolute URL i.e URL starting with HTTP or HTTPS. You can use the variables too in the URL by typing '#' as some of the APIs do not have headers and everything is mentioned in the URL itself. For Instance:

     https://api.weatherapi.com/v1/current.json?key=e943b863ebed4572b55140350200312&q=#city#
     
     Here in the above URL #city# is the variable that has been used

  3. Headers: 'Request Headers' allows you to authenticate the API based on its tokens. You can also use the variables as token too by typing '#'

     You need to ensure that you add following token in the header: 
     
     Key: Content-type
     Value/Variable: application/JSON

  4. Body: Under 'Request Body' you can define what information needs to be sent or retrieved by calling the API. There are two ways through which the information can be sent or retrieved, they are;

     • Raw: It is normal JSON format in which the request needs to be passed

       {	
       	"User_name": "John",
       	"City": "New York"
       }

     • Form: It allows you to map the fields. You can either provide static value or map the variables

       The values can be mapped in following way
       
       Key1: User_name
       Value/Variable1: John / #name#
       
       Key 2: City
       Value/Variable: New York / #city#

  5. Response: You can further store the responses received from the API into variables which can be further used in the bot flow or message. Buraq follows the dot pattern to store the responses into the variables. Below are few of the ways in which the path can be defined

     Object path for storing the response into variable where list is returned
     
     result.data.list[0].'variable name'
     
     Here the 'variable name' is name of the variable where the response will be stored

     Object path for storing the response into variable where single value is returned
     
     result.data.'variable name' 
     
     Here the 'variable name' is name of the variable where the response will be stored

Can I test the integration?

With the recent upgrades, you now have the ability not only to test the API within the block itself but also to define the variables and store the responses in them.

How do I test it?

To test the integration, you can follow the following steps;

• Click on 'Test this API'

• Provide the input in the variable (optional)

• Click on 'Test the API' again to check the results

How do I store the responses?

To store the API responses directly into the variables, you can follow the following steps;

• Click on 'Expand Icon' to expand the results

• Click on '+' sign against the field to store the value into the variable

• Define the variable in 'Save the field in this variable'

• Click on 'Right Tick' to save the variable