Reading and Writing Data Using the Workflowy API

Hey there, fellow JavaScript aficionados! Ready to dive into the world of Workflowy API? Let's get our hands dirty with some code and explore how we can sync data for a user-facing integration. Buckle up!

Authentication: Your Ticket to the API Party

First things first, we need to get you some API credentials. Head over to the Workflowy developer portal and grab your client ID and secret. Once you've got those, it's time to implement the OAuth 2.0 flow. Here's a quick snippet to get you started:

const getAccessToken = async (code) => {
  const response = await fetch('https://workflowy.com/oauth/token', {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded' },
    body: new URLSearchParams({
      grant_type: 'authorization_code',
      code,
      client_id: YOUR_CLIENT_ID,
      client_secret: YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET,
      redirect_uri: YOUR_REDIRECT_URI
    })
  });
  return response.json();
};

Reading Data: Fetching the Good Stuff

Now that we're authenticated, let's grab some data. Here's how you can fetch a user's outline:

const getOutline = async (accessToken) => {
  const response = await fetch('https://workflowy.com/api/outline', {
    headers: { 'Authorization': `Bearer ${accessToken}` }
  });
  return response.json();
};

Writing Data: Making Your Mark

Time to add our own flavor to the outline. Let's create a new node:

const createNode = async (accessToken, parentId, name) => {
  const response = await fetch('https://workflowy.com/api/nodes', {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: {
      'Authorization': `Bearer ${accessToken}`,
      'Content-Type': 'application/json'
    },
    body: JSON.stringify({ parent_id: parentId, name })
  });
  return response.json();
};

Syncing Data: Keeping It Fresh

Real-time sync is where the magic happens. Let's set up a WebSocket connection:

const setupSync = (accessToken) => {
  const ws = new WebSocket('wss://workflowy.com/ws');
  
  ws.onopen = () => {
    ws.send(JSON.stringify({ type: 'auth', token: accessToken }));
  };
  
  ws.onmessage = (event) => {
    const data = JSON.parse(event.data);
    // Handle incoming updates here
  };
};

Error Handling: When Things Go Sideways

APIs can be finicky. Let's implement some retry logic:

const apiCall = async (fn, maxRetries = 3) => {
  for (let i = 0; i < maxRetries; i++) {
    try {
      return await fn();
    } catch (error) {
      if (i === maxRetries - 1) throw error;
      await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 1000 * Math.pow(2, i)));
    }
  }
};

Best Practices: Staying on the API's Good Side

Remember to play nice with rate limits and cache when you can. Here's a simple caching decorator:

const cache = new Map();

const cachify = (fn, ttl = 60000) => async (...args) => {
  const key = JSON.stringify(args);
  if (cache.has(key) && Date.now() - cache.get(key).timestamp < ttl) {
    return cache.get(key).value;
  }
  const result = await fn(...args);
  cache.set(key, { value: result, timestamp: Date.now() });
  return result;
};

Advanced Topics: Taking It to the Next Level

For those hefty operations, consider using batch requests:

const batchOperation = async (accessToken, operations) => {
  const response = await fetch('https://workflowy.com/api/batch', {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: {
      'Authorization': `Bearer ${accessToken}`,
      'Content-Type': 'application/json'
    },
    body: JSON.stringify({ operations })
  });
  return response.json();
};

Wrapping Up

And there you have it, folks! You're now equipped to read, write, and sync data like a pro using the Workflowy API. Remember, the key to mastering any API is practice and experimentation. So go forth and build something awesome!

Got questions? Hit up the Workflowy API docs for more in-depth info. Happy coding!