Back

Step by Step Guide to Building a Microsoft To Do API Integration in JS

Aug 1, 20246 minute read

Introduction

Hey there, fellow developer! Ready to supercharge your productivity app with Microsoft To Do integration? You're in the right place. We're going to walk through building a slick API integration that'll have you managing tasks like a pro. Let's dive in!

Prerequisites

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

  • A Microsoft account (I know, obvious, right?)
  • Node.js and npm installed (you're a dev, so I'm sure you're covered)
  • A decent grasp of JavaScript and REST APIs (which I bet you do)

Setting up the project

First things first, let's get our project off the ground:

mkdir todo-api-integration cd todo-api-integration npm init -y npm install axios dotenv

Authentication

Now for the fun part - authentication:

  1. Head over to the Azure Portal and register a new application.
  2. Grab your client ID and secret (keep these safe!).
  3. Let's implement OAuth 2.0:
const axios = require('axios'); require('dotenv').config(); const getToken = async () => { const tokenEndpoint = 'https://login.microsoftonline.com/common/oauth2/v2.0/token'; const params = new URLSearchParams({ client_id: process.env.CLIENT_ID, scope: 'https://graph.microsoft.com/.default', client_secret: process.env.CLIENT_SECRET, grant_type: 'client_credentials' }); try { const response = await axios.post(tokenEndpoint, params); return response.data.access_token; } catch (error) { console.error('Error getting token:', error); } };

Making API requests

With our token in hand, let's set up our API calls:

const baseUrl = 'https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/me/todo/lists'; const apiCall = async (method, url, data = null) => { const token = await getToken(); try { const response = await axios({ method, url: `${baseUrl}${url}`, headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${token}`, 'Content-Type': 'application/json' }, data }); return response.data; } catch (error) { console.error('API call error:', error); } };

Core functionality

Now let's implement some core features:

// Fetch task lists const getTaskLists = () => apiCall('get', ''); // Create a new task const createTask = (listId, task) => apiCall('post', `/${listId}/tasks`, task); // Update a task const updateTask = (listId, taskId, updates) => apiCall('patch', `/${listId}/tasks/${taskId}`, updates); // Delete a task const deleteTask = (listId, taskId) => apiCall('delete', `/${listId}/tasks/${taskId}`);

Error handling and best practices

Always handle your errors gracefully and keep an eye on those rate limits:

const apiCall = async (method, url, data = null) => { // ... previous code ... try { // ... previous code ... } catch (error) { if (error.response) { console.error(`Error ${error.response.status}: ${error.response.data.error.message}`); } else { console.error('Error:', error.message); } // Implement exponential backoff for rate limiting } };

Testing the integration

Time to put our code to the test:

const testIntegration = async () => { const lists = await getTaskLists(); console.log('Task lists:', lists); const newTask = await createTask(lists.value[0].id, { title: 'Test task' }); console.log('New task:', newTask); // ... more tests ... }; testIntegration();

Conclusion

And there you have it! You've just built a solid Microsoft To Do API integration. Remember, this is just the beginning - there's so much more you can do with webhooks, local storage syncing, and other advanced features.

Keep exploring, keep coding, and most importantly, keep getting things done!