Step by Step Guide to Building a SendFox API Integration in JS

Introduction

Hey there, fellow dev! Ready to supercharge your email marketing game with SendFox? Let's dive into building a slick API integration that'll have you managing contacts and campaigns like a pro. We'll keep things snappy and focus on what matters most.

Prerequisites

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

• Node.js and npm (you know the drill)
• A SendFox account with an API key (if you don't have one, go grab it!)

Setting up the project

Let's get our project off the ground:

mkdir sendfox-integration && cd sendfox-integration
npm init -y
npm install axios dotenv

Authentication

First things first, let's keep that API key safe:

1. Create a .env file in your project root:

   SENDFOX_API_KEY=your_api_key_here
   

2. Now, let's set up our authentication headers:

require('dotenv').config();
const axios = require('axios');

const api = axios.create({
  baseURL: 'https://api.sendfox.com/v1',
  headers: { 'Authorization': `Bearer ${process.env.SENDFOX_API_KEY}` }
});

Making API Requests

Time to start making some requests! Here's a quick example:

async function getContacts() {
  try {
    const response = await api.get('/contacts');
    return response.data;
  } catch (error) {
    console.error('Error fetching contacts:', error);
  }
}

Core Functionalities

Managing Contacts

Adding a new contact is a breeze:

async function addContact(email, firstName, lastName) {
  try {
    const response = await api.post('/contacts', { email, first_name: firstName, last_name: lastName });
    return response.data;
  } catch (error) {
    console.error('Error adding contact:', error);
  }
}

Creating and Sending Campaigns

Let's create a campaign and send it out:

async function createAndSendCampaign(name, subject, body, listId) {
  try {
    const campaign = await api.post('/campaigns', { name, subject, body, list_id: listId });
    await api.post(`/campaigns/${campaign.data.id}/send`);
    return campaign.data;
  } catch (error) {
    console.error('Error creating or sending campaign:', error);
  }
}

Error Handling and Rate Limiting

Always wrap your API calls in try-catch blocks (as we've been doing). For rate limiting, consider implementing a delay between requests:

function delay(ms) {
  return new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, ms));
}

async function rateLimitedRequest(requestFn) {
  await delay(1000); // Wait 1 second between requests
  return requestFn();
}

Testing the Integration

Let's set up a quick test using Jest:

const { getContacts } = require('./sendfox');

jest.mock('axios');

test('getContacts returns contact data', async () => {
  const mockData = { contacts: [{ id: 1, email: '[email protected]' }] };
  axios.get.mockResolvedValue({ data: mockData });

  const result = await getContacts();
  expect(result).toEqual(mockData);
});

Best Practices

• Keep your code modular and organized
• Use async/await for cleaner asynchronous code
• Cache responses when possible to reduce API calls

Conclusion

And there you have it! You've just built a robust SendFox API integration. Remember, this is just the beginning – there's plenty more you can do with the API. Check out the SendFox API documentation for more endpoints and features.

Now go forth and conquer those email campaigns! Happy coding! 🚀📧