Sharpen APIs

What are APIs?
APIs (Application Programming Interface) can be integrated with external applications to interact directly with the Sharpen application. APIs are a great way to get additional information out of the Sharpen Application. Our system is built on a foundation of APIs as this allows us to rapidly build and expand on already existing features.

How do I Access APIs?
You can access APIs via the Sharpen application. If you have APIs enabled for your account, you will be able to select Developer from the drop down navigation menu in the upper left hand corner.

Dashboard
The dashboard provides an overview of API activity for your account.

Here are the functions found on the Dashboard:

• # of API Calls / Hour - This chart displays how many API calls are made each hour.

• # of API Calls / IP Address - This chart displays how many API calls are made from individual IP Addresses over the last 7 days. System API calls will appear as a 54.x.x.x IP Address. Other calls will have likely display your Public IP address.

• Call Volume - Displays a basic outline of Inbound / Outbound calls made on your account.

• Total Hourly Calls / Rate - For system stability there is a limit of how many calls can be made per account per hour. This tells you how many calls have been made in the current hour. The default limit is 1000 calls per hour.

• Sent SMS Messages - This tells you how many SMS Messages have been sent from your account in the past 7 days.

• API Keys - The API Keys are how an external application authenticates with our system when making API calls. These Keys are unique to each account and must be protected as they provide access to our system. When you hover your cursor over each individual API Key the filter will be removed allowing you to copy the Key from the form.

• Recent API Calls - Provides a brief history of recent API calls that have been made on the account.
  

API History
The API History page provides a detailed view of API calls that have been made on your account. You can use the Filter to narrow the history down to a certain period of time, as well as certain API calls.

Clicking the “View” button on an individual API allows you to see the timestamp for that individual call, the Request that was made, and the Response our application provided.

If an API call was successful a green checkmark will be displayed to the left of the call. If there was an issue with the API call the row will have a red X and be highlighted in red.

Documentation
Documentation provides information on each individual API that is accessible for your account. Each individual API provides useful information on interacting with the application:

Variables
Displays each of the variables the API can accept. The Variables table will tell you the Name of the variable, what Type of variable it is (string / integer / boolean / etc), if there are predesignated Accepted Values, if there are Default Values, and any additional comments about that particular variable. Variables that are required will be marked with a red “REQUIRED” icon.

Returns
Displays each of the variables the system will return when the API call is made. The Returns table will tell you the Name of the Variable, what Type of variable it is, and any additional comments about that particular variable. Arrays will have an additional menu describing each of the fields within that array, including details of the Name, Type, & additional Comments.

Code Examples
Displays a snippet of code that demonstrates the use of the API. These are typically PHP as this we use PHP extensively in our application.

API Console
The API Console allows you to interact directly with the API system. The API console executes commands on the live API for the selected account. Please use the API Console with caution as it is possible to make changes to the account with this tool.

The API Console will provide a field for each of the variables the API will accept, and will mark required fields as such with the red “REQUIRED” icon. Once you have filled the necessary fields, press the green “POST” button. The system will run the API call and display the response below.