Step by Step Guide to Building a Confluence API Integration in Ruby

Aug 3, 2024 • 6 minute read

Introduction

Hey there, fellow dev! Ready to supercharge your Confluence experience with some Ruby magic? Let's dive into building a Confluence API integration using the nifty confluence-rest-api package. This guide will have you up and running in no time, automating your Confluence tasks like a pro.

Prerequisites

Before we jump in, make sure you've got:

A Ruby environment set up (you're a Ruby dev, so I'm sure you're covered!)
A Confluence account with an API token (if you don't have one, hop over to your Confluence settings and grab it)

Installation

First things first, let's get that gem installed:

gem install confluence-rest-api

Easy peasy, right?

Authentication

Now, let's get you authenticated and ready to roll:

require 'confluence-rest-api'

client = ConfluenceRestApi::Client.new(
  base_url: 'https://your-domain.atlassian.net/wiki',
  username: '[email protected]',
  api_token: 'your-api-token'
)

Boom! You're in.

Basic Operations

Let's start with some bread-and-butter operations:

Fetching Spaces

spaces = client.spaces.all
spaces.each { |space| puts space.name }

Retrieving Pages

pages = client.content.all(space_key: 'YOURSPACE', type: 'page')
pages.each { |page| puts page.title }

Creating New Pages

new_page = client.content.create(
  type: 'page',
  title: 'My Awesome New Page',
  space: { key: 'YOURSPACE' },
  body: { storage: { value: '<p>Hello, Confluence!</p>', representation: 'storage' } }
)

Updating Existing Pages

client.content.update(
  id: 'page_id',
  type: 'page',
  title: 'Updated Page Title',
  body: { storage: { value: '<p>Updated content</p>', representation: 'storage' } }
)

Advanced Features

Ready to level up? Let's tackle some cooler stuff:

Working with Attachments

client.content.attach_file(
  id: 'page_id',
  file: File.new('/path/to/file.pdf')
)

Managing Page Permissions

client.content.restrict_page(
  id: 'page_id',
  restrictions: {
    user: ['username1', 'username2'],
    group: ['group1', 'group2']
  }
)

Searching Content

results = client.search.search('your search query')
results.each { |result| puts result.title }

Error Handling and Best Practices

Always wrap your API calls in error handling:

begin
  # Your API call here
rescue ConfluenceRestApi::Error => e
  puts "Oops! #{e.message}"
end

And remember, be nice to the API - use rate limiting and pagination when dealing with large datasets.

Example Project: Content Syncing Tool

Here's a quick snippet to get you started on a content syncing tool:

def sync_content(source_space, target_space)
  source_pages = client.content.all(space_key: source_space, type: 'page')
  source_pages.each do |page|
    existing_page = client.content.find_by_title(target_space, page.title)
    if existing_page
      # Update existing page
      client.content.update(id: existing_page.id, type: 'page', title: page.title, body: page.body)
    else
      # Create new page
      client.content.create(type: 'page', title: page.title, space: { key: target_space }, body: page.body)
    end
  end
end

Performance Optimization

To keep things speedy:

Cache frequently accessed data
Use batch operations when possible
Implement pagination for large datasets

Conclusion

And there you have it! You're now equipped to build some seriously cool Confluence integrations with Ruby. Remember, the Confluence API is vast, so don't be afraid to explore and experiment. Happy coding, and may your wikis always be in sync!

For more details, check out the confluence-rest-api documentation and the official Confluence API docs.

Now go forth and automate all the things! 🚀