Step by Step Guide to Building a Follow Up Boss API Integration in Python

Introduction

Hey there, fellow developer! Ready to dive into the world of Follow Up Boss API integration? You're in for a treat. This guide will walk you through the process of building a robust integration using Python. The Follow Up Boss API is a powerful tool that allows you to interact with your CRM data programmatically. Whether you're looking to automate tasks, sync data, or build custom applications, this integration will set you up for success.

Prerequisites

Before we jump in, let's make sure you've got everything you need:

• A Python environment (3.6+ recommended)
• The requests library (pip install requests)
• Your Follow Up Boss API credentials (we'll cover how to get these in a sec)

Got all that? Great! Let's roll.

Authentication

First things first, you'll need to get your API key. Head over to your Follow Up Boss account settings and generate an API key. Keep this safe – it's your golden ticket to the API.

Now, let's set up our headers:

headers = {
    'Authorization': 'Basic YOUR_API_KEY',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
}

Basic API Request Structure

The Follow Up Boss API uses a RESTful structure. The base URL is https://api.followupboss.com/v1/. Endpoints are appended to this base URL. For example, to get all people, you'd use https://api.followupboss.com/v1/people.

Implementing Core Functionalities

Fetching Data

Let's start with a GET request to fetch some data:

import requests

response = requests.get('https://api.followupboss.com/v1/people', headers=headers)
data = response.json()

Pro tip: The API uses pagination. Check the X-Total-Count header to see if there's more data to fetch.

Creating Resources

Want to add a new person? Here's how you'd do a POST request:

new_person = {
    "firstName": "John",
    "lastName": "Doe",
    "email": "[email protected]"
}
response = requests.post('https://api.followupboss.com/v1/people', headers=headers, json=new_person)

Updating Resources

Updating is similar, but we use a PUT request:

updated_info = {
    "phone": "555-1234"
}
response = requests.put('https://api.followupboss.com/v1/people/123', headers=headers, json=updated_info)

Deleting Resources

And if you need to remove something, it's as simple as:

response = requests.delete('https://api.followupboss.com/v1/people/123', headers=headers)

Error Handling

The API uses standard HTTP status codes. Here's a quick way to handle errors:

if response.status_code != 200:
    print(f"Error: {response.status_code}")
    print(response.json())

Rate Limiting

Follow Up Boss has rate limits to prevent abuse. Keep an eye on the X-RateLimit-Remaining header. If you're hitting the limits, add some delay between requests:

import time

if int(response.headers.get('X-RateLimit-Remaining', 0)) < 10:
    time.sleep(1)

Webhooks

Follow Up Boss supports webhooks for real-time updates. Set up an endpoint in your application, then configure the webhook in your Follow Up Boss settings. When you receive a webhook, it'll look something like this:

from flask import Flask, request

app = Flask(__name__)

@app.route('/webhook', methods=['POST'])
def handle_webhook():
    data = request.json
    # Process the webhook data
    return '', 200

Best Practices

• Cache data when possible to reduce API calls
• Use asynchronous requests for better performance
• Always validate and sanitize data before sending it to the API

Testing

Testing is crucial. Use the unittest module and mock API responses:

import unittest
from unittest.mock import patch

class TestFollowUpBossAPI(unittest.TestCase):
    @patch('requests.get')
    def test_get_people(self, mock_get):
        mock_get.return_value.status_code = 200
        mock_get.return_value.json.return_value = {'people': []}
        # Your test code here

Example Use Case

Let's put it all together with a simple script that fetches all people and updates their tags:

import requests

def update_tags():
    people = []
    page = 1
    while True:
        response = requests.get(f'https://api.followupboss.com/v1/people?page={page}', headers=headers)
        data = response.json()
        people.extend(data['people'])
        if len(data['people']) < 100:  # Assuming 100 is the page size
            break
        page += 1

    for person in people:
        if 'VIP' not in person['tags']:
            person['tags'].append('VIP')
            requests.put(f'https://api.followupboss.com/v1/people/{person["id"]}', headers=headers, json={'tags': person['tags']})

update_tags()

Conclusion

And there you have it! You're now equipped to build a robust Follow Up Boss API integration in Python. Remember, the key to a great integration is understanding the API documentation, handling errors gracefully, and respecting rate limits.

Keep exploring the API – there's so much more you can do. Happy coding, and may your integrations be ever smooth and your data always synced!