IDM

Create custom endpoints to launch scripts

Custom endpoints let you run arbitrary scripts through the REST API.

Custom endpoint configuration

A custom endpoint configuration has the following structure:

{
    "context" : "context path",
    "type" : "script language",
    "source" : "script source" | "file" : "script file",
    "apiDescription" : "API descriptor object"
}
context

string, optional

The root URL path for the endpoint, in other words, the route to the endpoint. An endpoint with the context endpoint/test is addressable over REST at the URL http://localhost:8080/openidm/endpoint/test or by using a script such as openidm.read("endpoint/test").

Endpoint contexts support wild cards, as shown in the preceding example. The endpoint/linkedview/* route matches the following patterns:

endpoint/linkedView/managed/user/bjensen
endpoint/linkedView/system/ldap/account/bjensen
endpoint/linkedView/
endpoint/linkedView

The context parameter is not mandatory in the endpoint configuration file. If you do not include a context, the route to the endpoint is identified by the name of the file. For example, in the sample endpoint configuration provided in openidm/samples/example-configurations/custom-endpoint/conf/endpoint-echo.json, the route to the endpoint is endpoint/echo.

type

string, required

The script type.

file or source

The path to the script file, or the script itself, inline.

For example:

"file" : "workflow/gettasksview.js"

or

"source" : "require('linkedView').fetch(request.resourcePath);"

Custom endpoint scripts

The custom endpoint script files in the samples/example-configurations/custom-endpoint/script directory demonstrate all the HTTP operations that can be called by a script. Each HTTP operation is associated with a method (create, read, update, delete, patch, action, or query). Requests sent to the custom endpoint return a list of the variables available to each method.

All scripts are invoked with a global request variable in their scope. This request structure carries all the information about the request.

Read requests on custom endpoints must not modify the state of the resource, either on the client or the server, as this can make them susceptible to CSRF exploits.

The standard READ endpoints are safe from Cross Site Request Forgery (CSRF) exploits because they are inherently read-only. That is consistent with the Guidelines for Implementation of REST, from the US National Security Agency, as "…​ CSRF protections need only be applied to endpoints that will modify information in some way."

Custom endpoint scripts must return a JSON object. The structure of the return object depends on the method in the request.

The following example shows the create method in the echo.js file:

if (request.method === "create") {
    return {
        method: "create",
        resourceName: request.resourcePath,
        newResourceId: request.newResourceId,
        parameters: request.additionalParameters,
        content: request.content,
        context: context.current
    }
}

Depending on the method, the variables available to the script can include the following:

resourceName

The name of the resource, without the endpoint/ prefix, such as echo.

newResourceId

The identifier of the new object, available as the results of a create request.

revision

The revision of the object.

parameters

Any additional parameters provided in the request. The sample code returns request parameters from an HTTP GET with ?param=x, as "parameters":{"param":"x"}.

content

Content based on the latest revision of the object, using getObject.

context

The context of the request, including headers and security. For more information, see Request context chain.

Paging parameters

The pagedResultsCookie, pagedResultsOffset, and pageSize parameters are specific to query methods. For more information see Page Query Results.

Query parameters

The queryId and queryFilter parameters are specific to query methods. For more information see Construct Queries.

Script exceptions

Some custom endpoint scripts require exception-handling logic. To return meaningful messages in REST responses and in logs, you must comply with the language-specific method of throwing errors.

A script written in JavaScript should comply with the following exception format:

throw {
    "code": 400, // any valid HTTP error code
    "message": "custom error message",
    "detail" : {
        "var": parameter1,
        "complexDetailObject" : [
            "detail1",
            "detail2"
        ]
    }
}

Any exceptions will include the specified HTTP error code, the corresponding HTTP error message, such as Bad Request, a custom error message that can help you diagnose the error, and any additional detail that you think might be helpful.