Step by Step Guide to Building a Thinkific API Integration in Ruby

Hey there, fellow Ruby enthusiast! Ready to dive into the world of Thinkific API integration? Let's roll up our sleeves and get coding!

Introduction

Thinkific's API is a powerful tool that lets you tap into their e-learning platform. Whether you're looking to automate course management, sync user data, or create custom reports, this integration will be your new best friend.

Prerequisites

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

• Ruby 2.7+ installed
• httparty and dotenv gems
• Your Thinkific API credentials (if you don't have these yet, head over to your Thinkific admin panel)

Setting up the project

Let's kick things off by setting up our project:

mkdir thinkific_integration
cd thinkific_integration
bundle init

Now, add these gems to your Gemfile:

gem 'httparty'
gem 'dotenv'

Run bundle install, and we're off to the races!

Authentication

Thinkific uses API key authentication. Create a .env file in your project root:

THINKIFIC_API_KEY=your_api_key_here
THINKIFIC_SUBDOMAIN=your_subdomain_here

Now, let's set up our HTTP client:

require 'httparty'
require 'dotenv/load'

class ThinkificClient
  include HTTParty
  base_uri "https://#{ENV['THINKIFIC_SUBDOMAIN']}.thinkific.com/api/public/v1"
  headers 'X-Auth-API-Key' => ENV['THINKIFIC_API_KEY']
  format :json
end

Making API requests

Time to make our first request! Let's fetch all courses:

response = ThinkificClient.get('/courses')
courses = response.parsed_response['items']
puts courses

Want to create a new user? No problem:

user_data = { email: '[email protected]', first_name: 'John', last_name: 'Doe' }
response = ThinkificClient.post('/users', body: user_data.to_json)
new_user = response.parsed_response
puts new_user

Implementing key Thinkific API endpoints

Now that we've got the basics down, let's implement some key endpoints:

class ThinkificAPI
  def self.get_courses
    ThinkificClient.get('/courses')
  end

  def self.create_enrollment(user_id, course_id)
    ThinkificClient.post('/enrollments', body: { user_id: user_id, course_id: course_id }.to_json)
  end

  def self.get_user_progress(user_id, course_id)
    ThinkificClient.get("/users/#{user_id}/course_progress/#{course_id}")
  end
end

Error handling and rate limiting

Let's add some error handling and respect Thinkific's rate limits:

class ThinkificAPI
  class << self
    def with_error_handling
      yield
    rescue HTTParty::ResponseError => e
      puts "API error: #{e.message}"
    end

    def with_rate_limiting
      sleep 1 # Simple rate limiting: 1 request per second
      yield
    end
  end

  def self.get_courses
    with_error_handling do
      with_rate_limiting do
        ThinkificClient.get('/courses')
      end
    end
  end

  # Apply to other methods...
end

Testing the integration

Don't forget to test! Here's a simple RSpec example:

require 'rspec'
require_relative 'thinkific_api'

RSpec.describe ThinkificAPI do
  it 'fetches courses successfully' do
    response = ThinkificAPI.get_courses
    expect(response.code).to eq(200)
    expect(response.parsed_response['items']).to be_an(Array)
  end
end

Best practices and optimization

To keep your integration snappy:

1. Cache responses when appropriate
2. Use background jobs for time-consuming operations
3. Implement pagination for large data sets

Conclusion

And there you have it! You've just built a solid foundation for your Thinkific API integration. Remember, this is just the beginning – there's a whole world of possibilities waiting for you in the Thinkific API docs.

Keep exploring, keep coding, and most importantly, have fun building amazing e-learning experiences!