REST API Guide - Alfresco Content Services - 23.4 - 23.4 - Ready - Alfresco - external

Alfresco Content Services

Platform
Alfresco
Product
Alfresco Content Services
Release
23.4
License

The Alfresco ReST API version 1.0 is a complete application interface that gives you access to all the features of the Alfresco Repository. When building remote extensions the Alfresco ReST API is the preferred interface.

The endpoint to access the API has the following format:

The URL structure for accessing an Alfresco API, broken down into different segments. The segments are labeled with colored tags above the URL, describing each part of the URL as follows: Deployed Environment (green tag): Indicates the environment where the API is deployed. Tenant (green tag): Specifies the tenant identifier. Scope (blue tag): Defines the scope of the API. API Name (blue tag): The name of the API being accessed. Version (blue tag): The version of the API.

If you are accessing a local Repository the endpoint URL will most likely look like follows for a standard Repository installation: https://localhost:8080/alfresco/api/-default-/public/alfresco/versions/1/...

The tenant part will always be -default-, unless you are running a multi-tenant Alfresco solution where you would specify what tenant you want to operate against.

The scope is important and it denotes the accessibility of the API, public means it is allowed to use and private means that the API is for internal Alfresco use only (can change at any time). You can add your own scope, such as extension, for your own APIs. The Alfresco ReST API actually contains a number of APIs and the Core API is denoted by the /alfresco path. You also have the Search, Workflow, Discovery, and Authentication APIs.

To work with an object in the Repository, such as a folder or file node, you will append to this URL as follows:

Examples of entities, such as nodes, nodes/{id}, nodes/{id}/children and nodes/{id}/copy

An object in the Repository is referred to as an Entity. Which specific instance of an entity type you are working with is specified as part of the URL path (i.e. {id}). There can be Relationships between Entities and Operations applied to Entities, which are also specified as part of the URL (i.e. children, copy).

This section provides information about Alfresco ReST API version 1.0 and how to use it.

To get started with the API follow these steps:

  1. Things to Know Before You Start
  2. Install and Authenticate
  3. Install a Tool to Make HTTP Calls
  4. Install a Tool to Format JSON Responses
  5. Authenticate with the Repository
  6. Get Repository Information - which uses and tests the auth token