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You can authenticate with Box to create your own instance of the Box connector through the UI or through APIs. Once authenticated, you can use the connector instance to access the different functionality offered by the Box platform.
Authenticate Through the UI
Use the UI to authenticate with Box and create a connector instance. Because you authenticate with Box via OAuth 2.0, all you need to do is add a name for the instance. After you create the instance, you'll log in to Box to authorize SAP Open Connectors access to your account. For more information about authenticating a connector instance, see Authenticate a Connector Instance (UI).
After successfully authenticating, we give you several options for next steps. Make requests using the API docs associated with the instance, map the instance to a common resource, or use it in a formula template.
Authenticate Through API
Authenticating through API is a multi-step process that involves:
- Getting a redirect URL. This URL sends users to the vendor to log in to their account.
- Authenticating users and receiving the authorization grant code. After the user logs in, the vendor makes a callback to the specified url with an authorization grant code.
- Authenticating the connector instance. Using the authorization code from the vendor, authenticate with the vendor to create a connector instance at SAP Open Connectors.
Getting a Redirect URL
Use the following API call to request a redirect URL where the user can authenticate with the API provider. Replace {keyOrId}
with the connector key, box
.
GET /elements/{keyOrId}/oauth/url?apiKey=<api_key>&apiSecret=<api_secret>&callbackUrl=<url>&siteAddress=<url>
Query Parameters
Query Parameter | Description |
---|---|
apiKey | The key obtained from registering your app with the provider. This is the Consumer Key that you recorded in API Provider Setup. |
apiSecret | The secret obtained from registering your app with the provider. This is the Consumer Secret that you recorded in API Provider Setup. |
callbackUrl | The URL that will receive the code from the vendor to be used to create a connector instance. This is the Callback URL that you noted at the end of the API Provider Setup. |
Example cURL
curl -X GET
-H 'Content-Type: application/json'
'https://api.openconnectors.us2.ext.hana.ondemand.com/elements/api-v2/elements/box/oauth/url?apiKey=fake_api_key&apiSecret=fake_api_secret&callbackUrl=https://httpbin.org/get&state=box'
Example Response
Use the oauthUrl
in the response to allow users to authenticate with the vendor.
{
"oauthUrl": "https://www.box.com/api/oauth2/authorize?response_type=code&client_id=57du4eiw3cseqfrs06bn9hg37ff344hv&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fhttpbin.org%2Fget&state=box",
"element": "box"
}
Authenticating Users and Receiving the Authorization Grant Code
Provide the response from the previous step to the users. After they authenticate, Box provides the following information in the response:
- code
- state
Response Parameter | Description |
---|---|
code | The Authorization Grant Code required by SAP Open Connectors to retrieve the OAuth access and refresh tokens from the endpoint. |
state | A customizable identifier, typically the connector key (box ) . |
error
instead of the code
parameter. In this case, your application can handle the error gracefully.Authenticating the Connector Instance
Use the /instances
endpoint to authenticate with Box and create a connector instance. If you are configuring events, see Box Events.
To create a connector instance:
Construct a JSON body as shown below (see Parameters):
{ "element": { "key": "box" }, "providerData": { "code": "<AUTHORIZATION_GRANT_CODE>" }, "configuration": { "oauth.callback.url": "<CALLBACK_URL>", "oauth.api.key": "<CONSUMER_KEY>", "oauth.api.secret": "<CONSUMER_SECRET>", "filter.response.nulls": true }, "tags": [ "<Add_Your_Tag>" ], "name": "<INSTANCE_NAME>" }
Call the following, including the JSON body you constructed in the previous step:
POST /instances
Note: Make sure that you include the User and Organization keys in the header. For more information, see Authorization Headers, Organization Secret, and User Secret.Locate the
token
andid
in the response and save them for all future requests using the connector instance.
Example cURL
curl -X POST \
https://api.openconnectors.us2.ext.hana.ondemand.com/elements/api-v2/instances \
-H 'authorization: User <USER_SECRET>, Organization <ORGANIZATION_SECRET>' \
-H 'content-type: application/json' \
-d '{
"element": {
"key": "box"
},
"providerData": {
"code": "xoz8AFqScK2ngM04kSSM"
},
"configuration": {
"oauth.callback.url": "<CALLBACK_URL>",
"oauth.api.key": "<CONSUMER_KEY>",
"oauth.api.secret": "<CONSUMER_SECRET>"
},
"tags": [
"MyTag"
],
"name": "My Box Instane"
}'
Parameters
API parameters not shown in SAP Open Connectors are in code formatting
.
Parameter | Description | Data Type |
---|---|---|
'key' | The connector key. box | string |
name:name | A unique name for the connector instance created during authentication. | string |
oauth.callback.url | The Redirect URL from Box that you noted in API Provider Setup. | string |
oauth.api.key | The Client Id from Box that you noted in API Provider Setup. | string |
oauth.api.secret | The Client Secret from Box that you noted in API Provider Setup. | string |
tags | Optional. User-defined tags to further identify the instance. | string |
Example Response
{
"id": 427236,
"name": "FromAPI-tags",
"createdDate": "2017-06-06T21:29:33Z",
"token": "s;dkjhsadlkjhfvlkadflvakdfvaqewcs",
"element": {
"id": 22,
"name": "Box",
"hookName": "Box",
"key": "box",
"description": "Add a Box Instance to connect your existing Box account to the Documents Hub, allowing you to manage files and folders. You will need your Box account information to add an instance.",
"image": "elements/provider_box.png",
"active": true,
"deleted": false,
"typeOauth": true,
"trialAccount": false,
"configDescription": "If you do not have an Box.net account, you can create one at <a href=\"http://www.box.com\" target=\"_blank\">Box.Net Signup</a>",
"resources": [],
"transformationsEnabled": false,
"bulkDownloadEnabled": false,
"bulkUploadEnabled": false,
"cloneable": true,
"extendable": true,
"beta": false,
"authentication": {
"type": "oauth2"
},
"extended": false,
"hub": "documents",
"protocolType": "http",
"parameters": [],
"private": false
},
"elementId": 22,
"provisionInteractions": [],
"valid": true,
"disabled": false,
"maxCacheSize": 0,
"cacheTimeToLive": 0,
"configuration": {
"base.url": "",
"oauth.api.secret": "wvyQdUrNvXbHabxPVcxZV60G0ELMEx3n",
"event.notification.subscription.id": null,
"event.metadata": "{\"webhook\": {\"file\": {\"eventTypes\": [\"created\", \"updated\", \"deleted\"]},\n \"folder\": {\"eventTypes\": [\"created\", \"updated\", \"deleted\"]}}}",
"oauth.subuser.email": null,
"oauth.user.token": "KtWxcp0Rz4VYRdHh72g1mBu0yPW8Zbq8",
"oauth.user.id": "263773421",
"filter.response.nulls": "true",
"pagination.type": "offset",
"event.notification.callback.url": null,
"oauth.callback.url": "https://httpbin.org/get",
"event.notification.signature.key": null,
"oauth.user.refresh_token": "mbqHxMQ0okd24mom1wsj3PMx41JLWpfAtmdtiSN0kWvbYGqpALCc6TldBVZrF92Z",
"oauth.user.refresh_interval": null,
"oauth.api.key": "57du4eiw3cseqfrs06bn9hg37ff344hv",
"document.tagging": null,
"oauth.user.refresh_time": "1496784574729",
"event.notification.enabled": "false"
},
"eventsEnabled": false,
"traceLoggingEnabled": false,
"cachingEnabled": false,
"externalAuthentication": "none",
"user": {
"id": 1234567
}
}