Getting started with the API

What you need to know in order to build applications with the Get Satisfaction API.

The API seeks to expose every and all functions of Get Satisfaction such that you could recreate the entirety of Get Satisfaction if you so desire.

How to get a key

Only customers of the Integrate Classic and Customize plans have access to an API key. The key can be found in the company's Admin area.

Note: You only need a key to write to the API, and we also recommend that you check out our OAuth information

Response Formats

Request made to the Satisfaction API can be responded to with two different formats: Mixed Atom/XHTML and JSON.

You can specify which response format you would like to use through either the Accept header, or appending a format extension onto the end of your request URL, e.g. .json.

Accept Header

You can choose your response format by adding an Accept header to each HTTP request you make against the API.

Accept Header Response Format
text/html Mixed Atom and XHTML
application/atom+xml Mixed Atom and XHTML
text/x-json JSON
text/javascript JSON

Format Extension

As an alternative to the Accept Header, you can append a format extension onto each request against the API which will set the response format explicitly.

Note: It is recommended that if you are using the Mixed XHTML/Atom response formats that you simply leave off the format extensions; the API will default to this format.

Extension Response Format
.atom Atom respone (for resources that can be represented as Atom feeds)
.html XHTML response (for resources that can be represented as XHTML pages)
.json JSON

Atom/XHTML

By default, the API responds with a combination of Atom feeds and XHTML documents with microformatted data. Resources that logically map to Atom feeds and entries (topics and replies being two examples) are encoded as such. Conversely, items that do not map to Atom feeds and entries are rendered as XHTML documents with data embedded in them using microformats. For example, people and companies are modeled in the system as hCard entries.

JSON

As an alternative to XHTML and Atom content, you can also request that responses be returned in a JSON format. Each resource is represented in JSON using custom formats; No standard specification is used. It is recommended that you refer to each individual resource's documentation to find how it is represented in JSON.

Resources

Resources that are exposed through the API take the general form of either a list of items or individual item. For example the URL /companies will return a list of companies, whereas /companies/4 will return the individual company whose ID is 4.

See the reference for an extensive list of resources.