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

Introduction

Hey there, fellow developer! Ready to supercharge your productivity with Microsoft To Do? Let's dive into building an API integration using Python and the nifty pymstodo package. This guide will have you up and running in no time, so let's get cracking!

Prerequisites

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

• A Python environment (3.6+ recommended)
• pymstodo installed (pip install pymstodo)
• A Microsoft Azure account and registered app (don't worry, we'll cover this)

Authentication Setup

First things first, let's get you authenticated:

1. Head over to the Azure Portal and register a new app.
2. Grab your client ID and create a secret (keep these safe!).
3. Set up a redirect URI (http://localhost:8000 works great for testing).

Here's a quick snippet to set up your auth flow:

from pymstodo import ToDoConnection

conn = ToDoConnection(
    client_id="your_client_id",
    client_secret="your_client_secret",
    redirect_uri="http://localhost:8000"
)

auth_url = conn.get_auth_url()
print(f"Please visit: {auth_url}")

# After authorization, you'll get a code. Use it like this:
conn.authenticate(code="your_auth_code")

Initializing the Client

Now that we're authenticated, let's get that client up and running:

from pymstodo import ToDoClient

client = ToDoClient(conn)

Boom! You're ready to roll.

Basic Operations

Let's cover the essentials:

Fetching task lists

lists = client.get_lists()
for task_list in lists:
    print(f"List: {task_list.name}")

Creating a new task

new_task = client.create_task("Buy milk", list_id=lists[0].id)
print(f"Created task: {new_task.title}")

Updating a task

client.update_task(new_task.id, title="Buy almond milk")

Deleting a task

client.delete_task(new_task.id)

Advanced Features

Ready to level up? Let's explore some cool features:

Working with task details

from datetime import datetime, timedelta

due_date = datetime.now() + timedelta(days=1)
reminder = datetime.now() + timedelta(hours=2)

task = client.create_task("Finish project", 
                          due_date=due_date,
                          reminder=reminder,
                          importance="high")

Handling attachments

client.add_attachment(task.id, "project_notes.txt", "file_content_here")

Managing shared lists

shared_lists = client.get_shared_lists()
for shared_list in shared_lists:
    print(f"Shared list: {shared_list.name}")

Error Handling and Best Practices

Always wrap your API calls in try-except blocks to handle potential errors gracefully. And remember, Microsoft has rate limits, so be kind to their servers!

try:
    client.create_task("Do something awesome")
except Exception as e:
    print(f"Oops! Something went wrong: {e}")

Example Use Case: Simple CLI Tool

Let's put it all together with a quick CLI tool:

import argparse
from pymstodo import ToDoConnection, ToDoClient

def main():
    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description="Microsoft To Do CLI")
    parser.add_argument("action", choices=["list", "add", "complete"])
    parser.add_argument("--task", help="Task title")
    args = parser.parse_args()

    conn = ToDoConnection(client_id="your_id", client_secret="your_secret", redirect_uri="your_uri")
    client = ToDoClient(conn)

    if args.action == "list":
        tasks = client.get_tasks()
        for task in tasks:
            print(f"{'[X]' if task.completed else '[ ]'} {task.title}")
    elif args.action == "add":
        client.create_task(args.task)
        print(f"Added task: {args.task}")
    elif args.action == "complete":
        task = next((t for t in client.get_tasks() if t.title == args.task), None)
        if task:
            client.update_task(task.id, completed=True)
            print(f"Completed task: {args.task}")
        else:
            print("Task not found")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()

Conclusion

And there you have it! You're now equipped to build some seriously cool integrations with Microsoft To Do. Remember, this is just scratching the surface – there's plenty more to explore in the pymstodo documentation.

Now go forth and conquer those tasks! Happy coding! 🚀