In case you missed it, back in the March update we released the brand new OneDesk API. Like the old API, you can push and pull information from your OneDesk account to other applications. However, the new API is a complete overhaul with tons of improvements. It features many new properties and entities, plus better and more comprehensive documentation. In this blog I’d like to go over some basics of using the new API and some of the major improvements.
Accessing the new API
To start, the new API can be found by heading to our public API page.
The API key is what will be used to authorize your API calls. To create an API key you will need to be the account owner in your OneDesk. Then go to Admin > Integrations > API. Here you can generate an API key. You can create as many keys as you’d like but it does require a user license.
What can I do with the OneDesk API?
The new OneDesk API offers a ton of new options. For one, it now supports the newer features of OneDesk such as our invoicing and quoting features. As such, you can now update or create quotes and invoices via API. Secondly, there is also increased support for previously existing work objects. Moreover, you should also find the new API much easier to understand as it now uses standard and up-to-date naming conventions. In addition, the API structure is organized based on the different work objects in OneDesk, such as timesheets, tickets, etc.
Take a look at the API, but here are just a few things you can do with the API:
- Creating new customer profiles
- Updating customer information
- Creating tickets
- Starting timers
- Updating user data
Example API call with Postman
Updating a OneDesk item (ticket, task)
Let’s use GET (https://app.onedesk.com/rest/public/items/externalId/{externalId} )to update an item in our OneDesk account based on its external id.
- Access OneDesk’s API documentation and locate the “update item by external id” call.
2. Copy its URL and note the required parameters.
For this call, authorization via the API key using OD-Public-API-Key as a header parameter is required, in addition to the “externalId” parameter.
3. In Postman, create a new HTTP GET.
4. Paste in the URL where prompted in the GET request.
5. Add OD-Public-API-Key as a parameter in your “Headers” section and add your API key.
6. Now, you can replace {externalId} in the URL with the desired external id and select “Send” to complete the call.
– You can locate an item’s external id by running a similar call to get this item’s information using the item’s internal ID (the ID shown in your main OneDesk application), such as /rest/public/items/id/{id}
7. Alternatively, you can add the external id as a path variable to your “Params” section in postman by replacing {externalId} with :externalId
You can then enter the external id in the “value” column of the path variable section and send the call without modifying the URL further.