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

Introduction

Hey there, fellow Ruby enthusiast! Ready to dive into the world of Kartra API integration? You're in for a treat. Kartra's API is a powerful tool that'll let you tap into their marketing automation platform, and we're going to build that integration using our beloved Ruby. Buckle up!

Prerequisites

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

• Ruby 2.7+ installed (come on, live a little on the edge!)
• A Kartra account with API access (you've got this, right?)
• Your favorite code editor (VS Code, Sublime, vim... no judgment here)

Setting up the project

Let's kick things off:

mkdir kartra_integration
cd kartra_integration
bundle init

Now, crack open that Gemfile and add:

gem 'httparty'
gem 'dotenv'

Run bundle install, and we're off to the races!

Authenticating with Kartra API

First things first, let's get you authenticated. Create a .env file in your project root:

KARTRA_API_KEY=your_api_key_here
KARTRA_API_PASSWORD=your_api_password_here

Now, let's create a kartra_client.rb:

require 'httparty'
require 'dotenv/load'

class KartraClient
  include HTTParty
  base_uri 'https://app.kartra.com/api'

  def initialize
    @auth = {
      api_key: ENV['KARTRA_API_KEY'],
      api_password: ENV['KARTRA_API_PASSWORD']
    }
  end

  # We'll add more methods here soon!
end

Making API requests

Time to get our hands dirty with some actual requests:

def make_request(endpoint, params = {})
  self.class.post(endpoint, body: @auth.merge(params))
end

Implementing key Kartra API endpoints

Let's add some methods to interact with Kartra's core features:

def get_leads(params = {})
  make_request('/lead/query', params)
end

def create_campaign(params = {})
  make_request('/campaign/create', params)
end

def get_products(params = {})
  make_request('/product/query', params)
end

def create_order(params = {})
  make_request('/order/create', params)
end

Error handling and rate limiting

Kartra's API can be a bit... temperamental. Let's add some error handling:

def make_request(endpoint, params = {})
  response = self.class.post(endpoint, body: @auth.merge(params))
  
  case response.code
  when 200
    JSON.parse(response.body)
  when 429
    sleep(60)  # Rate limited, wait a minute
    make_request(endpoint, params)  # Try again
  else
    raise "API error: #{response.code} - #{response.message}"
  end
end

Building a simple wrapper class

Let's wrap this all up in a neat little package:

class KartraWrapper
  def initialize
    @client = KartraClient.new
  end

  def get_lead(email)
    @client.get_leads(query: { email: email }).first
  end

  def create_simple_campaign(name, description)
    @client.create_campaign(name: name, description: description)
  end

  # Add more wrapper methods as needed
end

Testing the integration

Now, let's make sure this thing actually works:

require 'minitest/autorun'
require_relative 'kartra_wrapper'

class TestKartraWrapper < Minitest::Test
  def setup
    @wrapper = KartraWrapper.new
  end

  def test_get_lead
    lead = @wrapper.get_lead('[email protected]')
    assert_equal '[email protected]', lead['email']
  end

  # Add more tests as needed
end

Best practices and optimization

To keep things speedy:

1. Cache frequently accessed data
2. Use background jobs for non-urgent API calls
3. Implement exponential backoff for rate limiting

Conclusion

And there you have it! You've just built a solid foundation for a Kartra API integration in Ruby. From here, sky's the limit. You could expand this to handle more endpoints, build a full-fledged gem, or even create a Rails engine for easy integration into your apps.

Remember, the key to mastering API integrations is patience and a good error message. Happy coding, and may your API calls always return 200 OK!