Hootsuite Authenticate an Element Instance

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

Authenticate Through the UI

Use the UI to authenticate with Hootsuite and create an element instance. Because you authenticate with Hootsuite 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 Hootsuite 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 similar to authenticating via the UI. Instead of clicking and typing through a series of buttons, text boxes, and menus, you will instead send a request to our /instances endpoint. The end result is the same, though: an authenticated element instance with a token and id.

Authenticating through API follows a multi-step OAuth 2.0 process that involves:

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 element key, hootsuite.

curl -X 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 REST API Client ID that you recorded in the API Provider Setup section.
apiSecretThe secret obtained from registering your app with the provider. This is the REST API Client Secret that you recorded in the API Provider Setup section.
callbackUrlThe URL that will receive the code from the vendor to be used to create an element instance.

Example cURL

curl -X GET \
  'https://api.cloud-elements.com/elements/api-v2/elements/hootsuite/oauth/url?apiKey=fake_api_key&apiSecret=fake_api_secret&callbackUrl=https://www.mycoolapp.com/auth&state=hootsuite' \

Example Response

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

{
"element": "hootsuite",
"oauthUrl": "https://apis.hootsuite.com/auth/oauth/v2/authorize?scope=oob&response_type=code&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fhttpbin.org%2Fget&state=hootsuite&client_id=l7xx1cf795a3144b42ac96cbb3f301af6b7b"
}

Authenticating Users and Receiving the Authorization Grant Code

Provide the response from the previous step to the users. After they authenticate, Hootsuite 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 (hootsuite) .
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

Use the /instances endpoint to authenticate with Hootsuite and create an element instance. If you are configuring events, see the Events section.

Note: The endpoint returns an element instance token and id 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": "hootsuite"
      },
      "providerData": {
        "code": "<AUTHORIZATION_GRANT_CODE>"
      },
      "configuration": {
        "oauth.callback.url": "<CALLBACK_URL>",
        "oauth.api.key": "<CONSUMER_KEY>",
        "oauth.api.secret": "<CONSUMER_SECRET>"
      },
      "tags": [
        "<Add_Your_Tag>"
      ],
      "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. Locate the token and id in the response 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": "hootsuite"
  },
  "providerData": {
    "code": "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"
  },
  "configuration": {
    "oauth.callback.url": "https;//mycoolapp.com",
    "oauth.api.key": "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx",
    "oauth.api.secret": "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"
  },
  "tags": [
    "Docs"
  ],
  "name": "API Instance"
}'

Parameters

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

Note: Event related parameters are described in Events.
ParameterDescriptionData Type
keyThe element key.
hootsuite
string
codeThe authorization grant code returned from the API provider in an OAuth 2.0 authentication workflow.string
Name
name
The name for the element instance created during authentication.string
oauth.callback.urlThe URL where you want to redirect users after they grant access. This is the API Callback URL that you noted in the API Provider Setup section.string
oauth.api.keyThe REST API Client ID from Hootsuite. This is the REST API Client ID that you noted in the API Provider Setup section.string
oauth.api.secretThe REST API Client Secret from Hootsuite. This is the REST API Client Secret that you noted in the API Provider Setup section.string
tagsOptional. User-defined tags to further identify the instance.string

Example Response for an Authenticated Element Instance

In this example, the instance ID is 12345 and the instance token starts with "ABC/D...". The actual values returned to you will be unique: make sure you save them for future requests to this new instance.

{
  "id": 12345,
  "name": "API Instance",
  "createdDate": "2017-08-04T14:56:20Z",
  "token": "ABC/Dxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx",
  "element": {
      "id": 6791,
      "name": "Hootsuite",
      "hookName": "",
      "key": "hootsuite",
      "description": "Add a Hootsuite instance to connect to Hootsuite account to the social Hub, allowing you to manage messages, teams , members of the organizations across multiple social elements. You will need  Hootsuite account information to add an instance.",
      "image": "elements/provider_hootsuite.png",
      "active": false,
      "deleted": false,
      "typeOauth": false,
      "trialAccount": false,
      "resources": [ ],
      "transformationsEnabled": true,
      "bulkDownloadEnabled": true,
      "bulkUploadEnabled": true,
      "cloneable": true,
      "extendable": false,
      "beta": true,
      "authentication": {
          "type": "oauth2"
      },
      "extended": false,
      "hub": "social",
      "protocolType": "http",
      "parameters": [],
      "private": false
    },
    "elementId": 4066,
    "tags": [
      "Docs"
      ],
    "provisionInteractions": [  ],
    "valid": true,
    "disabled": false,
    "maxCacheSize": 0,
    "cacheTimeToLive": 0,
    "configuration": {    },
    "eventsEnabled": false,
    "traceLoggingEnabled": false,
    "cachingEnabled": false,
    "externalAuthentication": "none",
    "user": {
        "id": 12345
      }
    }
 }