Step by Step Guide to Building a Fathom API Integration in Java

Aug 15, 2024 • 6 minute read

Introduction

Hey there, fellow developer! Ready to dive into the world of Fathom API integration? You're in for a treat. Fathom's API is a powerful tool that lets you tap into valuable analytics data, and we're going to build a slick Java integration for it. Buckle up!

Prerequisites

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

A Java development environment (I know you've got this covered)
A Fathom API key (grab one from your Fathom dashboard)
An HTTP client library (we'll use OkHttp, but feel free to use your favorite)

Setting up the project

Let's get the boring stuff out of the way:

Create a new Java project in your IDE of choice.
Add the OkHttp dependency to your pom.xml or build.gradle:

<dependency>
    <groupId>com.squareup.okhttp3</groupId>
    <artifactId>okhttp</artifactId>
    <version>4.10.0</version>
</dependency>

Authentication

Fathom keeps it simple with API key authentication. Let's set that up:

private static final String API_KEY = "your_api_key_here";
private static final String BASE_URL = "https://api.usefathom.com/v1";

OkHttpClient client = new OkHttpClient.Builder()
    .addInterceptor(chain -> chain.proceed(
        chain.request().newBuilder()
            .addHeader("Authorization", "Bearer " + API_KEY)
            .build()))
    .build();

Making API requests

Now for the fun part - let's start making some requests:

Request request = new Request.Builder()
    .url(BASE_URL + "/account")
    .build();

try (Response response = client.newCall(request).execute()) {
    if (!response.isSuccessful()) throw new IOException("Unexpected code " + response);
    System.out.println(response.body().string());
}

Implementing key Fathom API endpoints

Let's create methods for some of the most useful endpoints:

public String getSiteStats(String siteId, String from, String to) throws IOException {
    HttpUrl url = HttpUrl.parse(BASE_URL + "/stats").newBuilder()
        .addQueryParameter("site_id", siteId)
        .addQueryParameter("from", from)
        .addQueryParameter("to", to)
        .build();

    Request request = new Request.Builder().url(url).build();
    try (Response response = client.newCall(request).execute()) {
        if (!response.isSuccessful()) throw new IOException("Unexpected code " + response);
        return response.body().string();
    }
}

// Implement similar methods for events and current visitors

Parsing and handling API responses

Let's use Gson to parse our JSON responses:

Gson gson = new Gson();
SiteStats stats = gson.fromJson(getSiteStats("site_id", "2023-01-01", "2023-01-31"), SiteStats.class);

Don't forget to handle those pesky exceptions:

try {
    // API call here
} catch (IOException e) {
    System.err.println("Error making API call: " + e.getMessage());
} catch (JsonSyntaxException e) {
    System.err.println("Error parsing JSON response: " + e.getMessage());
}

Creating a reusable Fathom API client

Let's wrap all this up in a nice, reusable class:

public class FathomApiClient {
    private final OkHttpClient client;
    private final String baseUrl;
    private final Gson gson;

    public FathomApiClient(String apiKey) {
        this.client = new OkHttpClient.Builder()
            .addInterceptor(chain -> chain.proceed(
                chain.request().newBuilder()
                    .addHeader("Authorization", "Bearer " + apiKey)
                    .build()))
            .build();
        this.baseUrl = "https://api.usefathom.com/v1";
        this.gson = new Gson();
    }

    // Add methods for each endpoint here
}

Example usage

Now you can use your shiny new API client like this:

FathomApiClient fathom = new FathomApiClient("your_api_key");
SiteStats stats = fathom.getSiteStats("site_id", "2023-01-01", "2023-01-31");
System.out.println("Total pageviews: " + stats.getPageviews());

Best practices

Remember to:

Respect rate limits (Fathom is pretty generous, but don't go crazy)
Cache responses when appropriate to reduce API calls
Handle errors gracefully and provide meaningful feedback

Conclusion

And there you have it! You've just built a robust Fathom API integration in Java. You're now armed with the power to fetch and analyze your website stats programmatically. The possibilities are endless - from custom dashboards to automated reporting, you're limited only by your imagination.

Resources

Now go forth and analyze! Happy coding!