Step by Step Guide to Building a Loomly API Integration in PHP

Aug 18, 2024 • 5 minute read

Introduction

Hey there, fellow developer! Ready to supercharge your social media management with Loomly's API? Let's dive into building a sleek PHP integration that'll have you posting, updating, and managing content like a pro in no time.

Prerequisites

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

A PHP environment up and running
Your Loomly API credentials (if you don't have them, grab 'em from your Loomly account)
cURL installed (we'll be using it for our HTTP requests)

Setting up the project

Let's kick things off by creating a new PHP file. Open up your favorite code editor and let's get cracking!

<?php
// Your awesome Loomly integration code will go here

Authentication

First things first, let's get you authenticated. Loomly uses API keys, so let's set that up:

$api_key = 'your_api_key_here';
$headers = [
    'Authorization: Bearer ' . $api_key,
    'Content-Type: application/json'
];

Making API requests

Now for the fun part - let's make some requests! Here's a quick GET example to fetch your calendars:

function get_calendars() {
    global $headers;
    $ch = curl_init('https://api.loomly.com/v3/calendars');
    curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, $headers);
    curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
    $response = curl_exec($ch);
    curl_close($ch);
    return json_decode($response, true);
}

$calendars = get_calendars();
print_r($calendars);

Implementing key Loomly API features

Let's create a post - because that's what it's all about, right?

function create_post($calendar_id, $post_data) {
    global $headers;
    $ch = curl_init("https://api.loomly.com/v3/calendars/{$calendar_id}/posts");
    curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, $headers);
    curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POST, 1);
    curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, json_encode($post_data));
    curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
    $response = curl_exec($ch);
    curl_close($ch);
    return json_decode($response, true);
}

$new_post = create_post(123, [
    'content' => 'Check out our awesome new product!',
    'scheduled_at' => '2023-06-01T10:00:00Z'
]);

Error handling and best practices

Always check for errors and respect those rate limits:

if (curl_errno($ch)) {
    echo 'Curl error: ' . curl_error($ch);
}

// And don't forget to add some delay between requests
sleep(1);

Testing the integration

Time to put your code through its paces! Try fetching calendars, creating a post, updating it, and then deleting it. If you hit any snags, double-check your API key and request format.

Conclusion

And there you have it! You've just built a Loomly API integration in PHP. Pretty cool, right? From here, you can expand on this foundation to create a full-fledged social media management tool. The sky's the limit!

Resources

For more in-depth info, check out:

Now go forth and create some amazing social media content with your new Loomly integration. Happy coding!