DocuShare Flex Authenticate an Element Instance

You can authenticate with DocuShare Flex to create your own instance of the DocuShare Flex element through the UI or through APIs. Once authenticated, you can use the element instance to access the different functionality offered by the DocuShare Flex platform.

Authenticate Through the UI

Use the UI to authenticate with DocuShare Flex and create an element instance. Because you authenticate with DocuShare Flex via OAuth 2.0, all you need to do is add a name for the instance and provide your OAuth API key and secret, which you identified in DocuShare Flex API Provider Setup, and your DocuShare domain. After you create the instance, you'll log in to DocuShare Flex to authorize Cloud Elements access to your account. For more information about authenticating an element instance, see Authenticate an Element 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 virtual data resource, or use it in a formula template.

Authenticate Through API

Authenticating through API is a multi-step process that involves:


1
Redirect URL




2
Authenticate Users




3
Authenticate Instance


Getting a Redirect URL


1
Redirect URL




2
Authenticate Users




3
Authenticate Instance


Use the following API call to request a redirect URL where the user can authenticate with the vendor. Replace {keyOrId} with the element key, docushareflex.

GET /elements/{keyOrId}/oauth/url?apiKey=<api_key>&apiSecret=<api_secret>&callbackUrl=<url>&siteAddress=<url>

Query Parameters

Query ParameterDescription
apiKeyThe key obtained from registering your app with the provider. This is the Application ID that you recorded in DocuShare Flex API Provider Setup.
apiSecretThe client secret obtained from registering your app with the provider. This is the Application Secret that you recorded in DocuShare Flex API Provider Setup.
callbackUrlThe URL that will receive the code from the vendor to be used to create an element instance. This is https://auth.cloudelements.io/oauth, the redirect URL you added to your app during DocuShare Flex API Provider Setup.

Example cURL

curl -X GET
-H 'Content-Type: application/json'
'https://api.cloud-elements.com/elements/api-v2/elements/docushareflex/oauth/url?apiKey=<INSERT_API_KEY>&apiSecret=<INSERT_API_SERET>&callbackUrl=https://auth.cloudelements.io/oauth&state=docushareflex'

Example Response

Use the oauthUrl in the response to allow users to authenticate with the vendor.

{
"oauthUrl": "https://flexdemo3.docushareflex.com/xcm/oauth/authorize?response_type=code&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fauth.cloudelements.io%2Foauth&state=docushareflex&client_id=xxxxxxxxxxxxx",
"element": "docushareflex"
}

Authenticating users and receiving the authorization grant code


1
Redirect URL




2
Authenticate Users




3
Authenticate Instance


Provide the response from the previous step to the users. After they authenticate, DocuShare Flex provides the following information in the response:

  • code
  • state
Response ParameterDescription
codeThe Authorization Grant Code required by Cloud Elements to retrieve the OAuth access and refresh tokens from the endpoint.
stateA customizable identifier, typically the element key (docushareflex) .
Note: If the user denies authentication and/or authorization, there will be a query string parameter called error instead of the code parameter. In this case, your application can handle the error gracefully.

Authenticating the Element Instance


1
Redirect URL




2
Authenticate Users




3
Authenticate Instance


Use the /instances endpoint to authenticate with DocuShare Flex and create an element instance. If you are configuring events, see DocuShare Flex Events (coming soon).

Note: The endpoint returns an element id and token upon successful completion. Retain the token and id for all subsequent requests involving this element instance.

To create an element instance:

  1. Construct a JSON body as shown below (see Parameters):

    {
      "element": {
        "key": "docushareflex"
      },
      "providerData": {
        "code": "{AUTHORIZATION_GRANT_CODE}"
      },
      "configuration": {
        "docushare.domain": "mydomain.docushareflex.com",
        "oauth.api.key": "xxxxxxxxxxxxx",
        "oauth.api.secret": "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx",
        "oauth.callback.url": "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"
      },
      "tags": [
        "{ADD_YOUR_TAGS}"
      ],
      "name": "{INSTANCE_NAME}"
    }
  2. 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.
  3. Note the Token and ID and save them for all future requests using the element instance.

Example cURL

curl -X POST \
  https://api.cloud-elements.com/elements/api-v2/instances \
  -H 'authorization: User <USER_SECRET>, Organization <ORGANIZATION_SECRET>' \
  -H 'content-type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "element": {
      "key": "docushareflex"
    },
    "providerData": {
      "code": "5nh78yt2ee89nj2eq42h42fjsdue44ddf45jiopa7"
    },
    "configuration": {
      "docushare.domain": "mydomain.docushareflex.com",
      "oauth.api.key": "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx",
      "oauth.api.secret": "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx",
      "oauth.callback.url": "https://auth.cloudelements.io/oauth"
    },
    "tags": [
      "Test"
    ],
    "name": "API Instance"
  }'

Parameters

API parameters not shown in Cloud Elements are in code formatting.

Note: Event related parameters are described in Events (documentation coming soon).
ParameterDescriptionData Type
'key'The element key.
docushareflex
string
Name
name
The name for the element instance created during authentication.Body
oauth.callback.urlThe Callback URL for the application you created for DocuShare Flex. This is the Redirect URI that you recorded in DocuShare Flex API Provider Setup.string
oauth.api.keyThe key obtained from registering your application with the provider. This is the Application ID that you recorded in DocuShare Flex API Provider Setup.string
oauth.api.secretThe client secret obtained from registering your application with the provider. This is the Application Secret that you recorded in DocuShare Flex API Provider Setup.string
docushare.domain
The domain of your DocuShare Flex site, in the format of <domain>.docushareflex.com, the site you navigated to in DocuShare Flex API Provider Setup.string
tagsOptional. User-defined tags to further identify the instance.string

Example Response for an Authenticated Element Instance

{
  "id": 598306,
  "name": "myCoolApp",
  "createdDate": "2019-07-19T17:18:10Z",
  "token": "EfE6IOPeiddoqiJtw6EkfaFcOwqEFPlfMr8hE3qEWpf=",
  "elementId": 5923,
  "tags": [
    "myCoolApp"
  ],

  "element": {
    "id": 5923,
    "name": "DocuShare Flex",
    "key": "docushareflex",
    "description": "Add a DocuShare Flex Instance to connect your existing DocuShare Flex account to the Cloud Storage and Documents Hub, allowing you to manage files and folders. You will need your DocuShare Flex account information to add an instance.",
    "image": "elements/custom-element-default-logo.png",
    "logo": "docushareflex",
    "active": true,
    "deleted": false,
    "typeOauth": false,
    "trialAccount": false,
    "resources": [ ],
    "objects": [ ],
    "transformationsEnabled": true,
    "bulkDownloadEnabled": false,
    "bulkUploadEnabled": false,
    "cloneable": true,
    "extendable": true,
    "beta": false,
    "authentication": {
      "type": "oauth2"
    },
    "extended": false,
    "useModelsForMetadata": true,
    "hub": "documents",
    "protocolType": "http",
    "parameters": [],
    "private": false
  }
}