Step by Step Guide to Building a Keap API Integration in Python

Introduction

Hey there, fellow developer! Ready to dive into the world of Keap API integration? You're in for a treat. Keap's API is a powerhouse for managing contacts, automating marketing, and streamlining sales processes. And guess what? We're going to harness all that power using the nifty keap-python package. Let's get cracking!

Prerequisites

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

• A Python environment (3.6+ recommended)
• A Keap account with API credentials (if you don't have these, hop over to Keap's developer portal)

Installation

First things first, let's get that keap-python package installed:

pip install keap-python

Easy peasy, right?

Authentication

Now, let's tackle authentication. Keap uses OAuth2, so we'll need to set that up:

1. Get your OAuth2 credentials from Keap's developer portal
2. Set up your authentication flow:

from keap import OAuth2Client

client_id = 'your_client_id'
client_secret = 'your_client_secret'
redirect_uri = 'your_redirect_uri'

oauth = OAuth2Client(client_id, client_secret, redirect_uri)
auth_url = oauth.get_authorization_url()

# Direct user to auth_url and get the authorization code
code = 'authorization_code_from_user'

# Exchange code for access token
token = oauth.get_access_token(code)

Basic API Operations

With authentication sorted, let's initialize our Keap client and perform some CRUD operations:

from keap import Client

client = Client(token['access_token'])

# Create a contact
new_contact = client.contacts.create({
    'given_name': 'John',
    'family_name': 'Doe',
    'email_addresses': [{'email': '[email protected]'}]
})

# Retrieve a contact
contact = client.contacts.retrieve(new_contact['id'])

# Update a contact
client.contacts.update(contact['id'], {'given_name': 'Jane'})

# Delete a contact
client.contacts.delete(contact['id'])

Advanced Usage

Handling Pagination

Keap's API uses pagination for large result sets. Here's how to handle it:

contacts = []
page = 1
while True:
    response = client.contacts.list(page=page)
    contacts.extend(response['contacts'])
    if not response['next']:
        break
    page += 1

Error Handling and Retries

Always be prepared for errors and implement retries:

import time
from keap.exceptions import KeapError

def retry_operation(func, max_retries=3):
    for attempt in range(max_retries):
        try:
            return func()
        except KeapError as e:
            if attempt == max_retries - 1:
                raise
            time.sleep(2 ** attempt)

Best Practices

1. Use batch operations when possible to reduce API calls
2. Store your API credentials securely (use environment variables or a secrets manager)
3. Implement proper error handling and logging

Example Project: Simple Contact Manager

Let's put it all together with a basic contact management system:

class ContactManager:
    def __init__(self, token):
        self.client = Client(token)

    def add_contact(self, first_name, last_name, email):
        return self.client.contacts.create({
            'given_name': first_name,
            'family_name': last_name,
            'email_addresses': [{'email': email}]
        })

    def get_all_contacts(self):
        contacts = []
        page = 1
        while True:
            response = self.client.contacts.list(page=page)
            contacts.extend(response['contacts'])
            if not response['next']:
                break
            page += 1
        return contacts

    def update_contact(self, contact_id, **kwargs):
        return self.client.contacts.update(contact_id, kwargs)

    def delete_contact(self, contact_id):
        return self.client.contacts.delete(contact_id)

Troubleshooting

Running into issues? Here are some common pitfalls:

• Token expiration: Implement token refresh
• Rate limiting: Use exponential backoff for retries
• Data validation errors: Double-check your payload against Keap's API docs

Conclusion

And there you have it! You're now equipped to build robust Keap API integrations using Python. Remember, the key to mastering any API is practice and exploration. So go forth and code, my friend!

For more in-depth info, check out the keap-python documentation and Keap's official API docs.

Happy coding!