Step by Step Guide to Building a Fireflies.ai API Integration in C#

Introduction

Hey there, fellow developer! Ready to supercharge your C# projects with the power of Fireflies.ai? You're in the right place. We're going to walk through building a robust integration with the Fireflies.ai API, giving you the ability to tap into their awesome transcription and meeting intelligence features. Let's dive in!

Prerequisites

Before we get our hands dirty, make sure you've got:

• A C# development environment (Visual Studio, VS Code, or your preferred IDE)
• A Fireflies.ai API key (if you don't have one, hop over to their developer portal)
• Basic knowledge of C# and RESTful APIs

Setting up the project

First things first, let's create a new C# project. Fire up your IDE and create a new Console Application. We'll be using this as our playground.

Next, we need to install some packages. Open up your Package Manager Console and run:

Install-Package Newtonsoft.Json
Install-Package RestSharp

These will help us handle JSON and make HTTP requests with ease.

Authentication

Fireflies.ai uses API key authentication. Let's create a simple class to handle this:

public class FirefliesClient
{
    private readonly string _apiKey;
    private readonly RestClient _client;

    public FirefliesClient(string apiKey)
    {
        _apiKey = apiKey;
        _client = new RestClient("https://api.fireflies.ai/graphql");
    }

    // We'll add more methods here later
}

Making API requests

Now, let's add a method to make GraphQL requests:

public async Task<string> ExecuteGraphQLQuery(string query, object variables = null)
{
    var request = new RestRequest("", Method.Post);
    request.AddHeader("Authorization", $"Bearer {_apiKey}");
    request.AddJsonBody(new { query, variables });

    var response = await _client.ExecuteAsync(request);
    return response.Content;
}

Implementing key Fireflies.ai API endpoints

Let's implement some key endpoints. We'll focus on transcriptions for this example:

public async Task<string> GetTranscription(string meetingId)
{
    var query = @"
        query($meetingId: ID!) {
            transcript(id: $meetingId) {
                id
                text
            }
        }";

    var variables = new { meetingId };
    return await ExecuteGraphQLQuery(query, variables);
}

Error handling and rate limiting

Always be a good API citizen! Let's add some basic retry logic and respect rate limits:

public async Task<string> ExecuteGraphQLQueryWithRetry(string query, object variables = null, int maxRetries = 3)
{
    for (int i = 0; i < maxRetries; i++)
    {
        try
        {
            var result = await ExecuteGraphQLQuery(query, variables);
            return result;
        }
        catch (Exception ex)
        {
            if (i == maxRetries - 1) throw;
            await Task.Delay(1000 * (i + 1)); // Exponential backoff
        }
    }
    throw new Exception("Max retries reached");
}

Example use cases

Let's put it all together with a simple example:

var client = new FirefliesClient("your-api-key-here");
var transcription = await client.GetTranscription("meeting-id-here");
Console.WriteLine(transcription);

Testing the integration

Don't forget to test! Here's a simple unit test to get you started:

[Test]
public async Task GetTranscription_ReturnsValidResponse()
{
    var client = new FirefliesClient("your-test-api-key");
    var result = await client.GetTranscription("test-meeting-id");
    Assert.IsNotNull(result);
    Assert.IsTrue(result.Contains("transcript"));
}

Best practices and optimization

Remember to implement caching where appropriate, use asynchronous operations for better performance, and always validate your inputs.

Conclusion

And there you have it! You've just built a solid foundation for integrating Fireflies.ai into your C# projects. From here, you can expand on this base, implement more endpoints, and really make it sing.

Remember, the key to great integrations is understanding the API documentation thoroughly and writing clean, maintainable code. Keep exploring, keep coding, and most importantly, have fun with it!

Happy coding, and may your meetings be ever productive with Fireflies.ai!