REST API structure

The URI scheme for accessing a managed object follows this convention, assuming the IDM web application was deployed at /openidm.

Similar schemes exist for URIs associated with all but system objects. For more information, see Configure Access Control in access.json.

The URI scheme for accessing a system object follows this convention:

An example of a system object in an LDAP directory might be:

Every managed and system object has an identifier (expressed as id in the URI scheme) that is used to address the object through the REST API. The REST API allows for client-generated and server-generated identifiers, through PUT and POST methods. The default server-generated identifier type is a UUID. If you create an object by using POST, a server-assigned ID is generated in the form of a UUID. If you create an object by using PUT, the client assigns the ID in whatever format you specify.

Most of the examples in this guide use client-assigned IDs, as it makes the examples easier to read.

The REST API fully supports negotiation of content representation through the Accept HTTP header. Currently, the supported content type is JSON. When you send a JSON payload, you must include the following header:

In a REST call (using the curl command, for example), you would include the following option to specify the noted header:

You can also specify the default UTF-8 character set as follows:

The application/json content type is not needed when the REST call does not send a JSON payload.

The REST API supports conditional operations through the use of the ETag, If-Match and If-None-Match HTTP headers. The use of HTTP conditional operations is the basis of IDM’s optimistic concurrency control system. Clients should make requests conditional in order to prevent inadvertent modification of the wrong version of an object.