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

Aug 8, 2024 • 5 minute read

Introduction

Hey there, fellow developer! Ready to supercharge your content delivery with Fastly? Let's dive into building a Ruby integration that'll have you manipulating the Fastly API like a pro. We'll cover everything from basic setup to some nifty advanced features. Buckle up!

Prerequisites

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

Ruby 2.5+ installed
The fastly gem
A Fastly account and API key (if you don't have one, grab it from your account settings)

Setting up the environment

First things first, let's get our environment ready:

gem install fastly

Now, let's keep our API key safe. Create a .env file and add:

FASTLY_API_KEY=your_api_key_here

Basic API Connection

Alright, let's establish that connection:

require 'fastly'

fastly = Fastly.new(api_key: ENV['FASTLY_API_KEY'])

To test it out, try fetching your account details:

account = fastly.get_account
puts "Hello, #{account.name}!"

Key Fastly API Operations

Now for the fun part. Let's look at some key operations:

Purging content

fastly.purge('http://example.com/image.jpg')

Checking service status

service = fastly.get_service('SERVICE_ID')
puts service.active_version

Modifying VCL

version = service.version
vcl = version.vcl('my_vcl')
vcl.content = File.read('new_vcl.vcl')
vcl.save!

Handling Responses and Errors

Always handle your responses and errors gracefully:

begin
  response = fastly.purge('http://example.com/image.jpg')
  puts "Purged successfully: #{response.status}"
rescue Fastly::Error => e
  puts "Oops! #{e.message}"
end

Advanced Features

Ready to level up? Let's look at some advanced features:

Streaming logs

log_endpoint = fastly.create_s3_logging(
  service_id: 'SERVICE_ID',
  version: 1,
  name: 'my-s3-logs',
  bucket_name: 'my-log-bucket',
  access_key: 'S3_ACCESS_KEY',
  secret_key: 'S3_SECRET_KEY'
)

Real-time analytics

stats = fastly.get_service_stats('SERVICE_ID', type: 'realtime')
puts "Requests in last 120 seconds: #{stats.data.requests}"

Performance Optimization

Remember, with great power comes great responsibility. Keep these in mind:

Cache aggressively, but purge responsibly
Be mindful of rate limits (you've got 1000 requests per hour - use them wisely!)

Testing and Debugging

Always test your integration thoroughly. Here's a quick example using RSpec:

RSpec.describe Fastly do
  it "purges content successfully" do
    fastly = Fastly.new(api_key: ENV['FASTLY_API_KEY'])
    response = fastly.purge('http://example.com/image.jpg')
    expect(response.status).to eq("ok")
  end
end

Conclusion

And there you have it! You're now equipped to harness the power of Fastly through Ruby. Remember, this is just scratching the surface - there's a whole world of CDN optimization waiting for you to explore.

Happy coding, and may your content always be fast(ly)!

Code Repository

For a complete working example, check out our GitHub repo.