The Blog API enables you to integrate the full functionality of a blog with your application by using the REST APIs. Applications can interact with the Blog API by sending and receiving data as JSON. The Blog API provides programmatic acess to data and functionality by allowing the users to Post status, Post likes, and do comments.
Using the Blog API, you can sign up, log in, create new articles, update older articles, fetch user data, update users on the platform, and more. This will create seamless connectivity and automate blogging processes on your application.
The Blog API is currently on version 1.0.
The Blog API generally follows REST conventions.
- Actions are usually represented by HTTP methods.
- Responces use the generic JSON content type. The root url for the API is https://blog-api-dcha.onrender.com.
This document is intended for developers building applications that require a blog section and seek to integrate its functionality.
To get started, you will have to use an authentication token.
Blog-API uses an authentication mechanism based on basic authentication. With basic authentication, you pass your credentials (your account's email address and password) in request. Once the authentication is successful, you will be provided with a token that grants you authorized access to the private endpoints. Your credentials are not encrypted or hashed, they are Base64-encoded only.
The Blog API accepts the standard HTTP methods: GET, POST, PATCH. and DELETE.
- To retrieve data make a GET request . AS GET requests safe and idempotent, so they will never cause an update or change to your data .
- To create new resources use a POST request . For example, make a POST request to a collection endpoint where the body of your request JSON contains all of the required information about the new object to be added to the collection.
- To update a resource make a PATCH request. With PATCH requests, you only need to provide the data you want to change.
- To remove a resource make a DELETE request.
| Item | Description | Data type | Required/Optional |
|---|---|---|---|
| id | abbreviation for identification | integer | required |
| uid | a unique identifier is a numeric or alphanumeric integer, associated with a single entity within a given system | integer | |
| username | an identification used by a person with access to an online service | string | required |
| messages distributed by electronic means | string | required | |
| bio | a biography or short profile of someone | string | optional |
| avatar | an icon or figure representing a perticular person on internet forum | string | optional |
| password | a string of characters,allows access to a computer system | string | required |
| Getting started | method | endpoint |
|---|---|---|
| POST | /signup | |
| POST | /login |
The /signup API helps you create an account to get started and also gives you access to the authentication token. The process will allow you access to resources of other endpoints.
You can signup by sending an HTTP POST request using the following format
POST https://blog-api-dcha.onrender.com/v1/signup
You won’t need the authentication token for this public endpoint. Rather, the API call to the /signup endpoint will provide a response containing the authentication key.
To get you signed in, include your email, username, and password in the request body.
Request format (CURL)
curl --location 'https://blog-api-dcha.onrender.com/v1/signup' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--data-raw '{
"email": "s********@gmail.com",
"username": "****",
"password": "*******"
}'
Response format
Placing an API call to the signup endpoint returns a response that contains your set username, email, and token.
{
"status": "success",
"message": {
"username": "xxxx",
"email": "[email protected]",
"token": "ey***********G8w"
}
}The login endpoint signs the user in. The first thing it loads up is the login page, followed by an option for authentication.
Although it doesn’t require any authentication to place the API call, in the body of the /login method, you must include your username and password.
The login endpoint signs the user in. The first thing it loads up is the login page, followed by an option for authentication.
Although it doesn’t require any authentication to place the API call, in the body of the /login method, you must include your username and password.
The /login endpoint also supports the HTTP POST request method and uses this format
POST https://blog-api-dcha.onrender.com/v1/login
Request format (CURL)
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--data '{
"username": "****",
"password": "*********"
}'
Response format
{
"status": "success",
"message": {
"username": "xxxx",
"email": "[email protected]",
"token": "ey*********1E"
}
}In order to access this set of endpoints, you are required to pass the authentication token in the header for verifications.
| User | method | endpoint |
|---|---|---|
| Retrieve specific user data | GET | /users/:id |
| Delete user | DELETE | /users/:id |
| Update user | PATCH | /users/:id |
This is used to fetch information about a specific user using their “id”. You can track information on the user by entering the unique user id, as it returns all basic information such as the user’s email, name, bio, avatar, and password.
Here, the user id is an integer and should be added to the endpoint in this format:
GET https://blog-api-dcha.onrender.com/v1/users/<id>
Request format (CURL)
curl --location 'https://blog-api-dcha.onrender.com/v1/users/12' \
--header 'Authorization: Bearer ey**************G8w'
Response format
{
"status": "success",
"user": {
"id": 12,
"username": "xxxxxxxxxxx",
"email": "[email protected]",
"bio": null,
"avatar": null,
"password": "******"
}
}You can use this endpoint to delete a user’s profile by specifying a valid user identifier. Here, the user ID is an integer and should be added to the endpoint in this format.
DELETE https://blog-api-dcha.onrender.com/v1/users/<id>
Request format (CURL)
curl --location --request DELETE 'https://blog-api-dcha.onrender.com/v1/users/12' \
--header 'Authorization: Bearer ey*************G8w'
Response format
{
"status": "success",
"message": {
"id: 2,
"username": "Duby"
"email": "**********@gmail.com",
"bio": null,
"avatar": null,
}
}/users/:id
Set the id of the specific user, and input the new username, bio, and avatar for the profile of the existing user to be updated.
This request will return the updated details of the specific user, including their username, email, bio, and avatar.
PATCH 'https://blog-api-dcha.onrender.com/v1/users/12'
Request format (CURL)
curl --location --request PATCH 'https://blog-api-dcha.onrender.com/v1/users/12' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--header 'Authorization: Bearer ey*********G8w' \
--data '{
"username": "****",
"bio": ****,
"avatar": ****
}'
Response format
{
"status": "success",
"message": {
"id: 2,
"username": "Duby"
"email": "**********@gmail.com",
"bio": null,
"avatar": null,
}
}| Post status | method | endpoint |
|---|---|---|
| Fetch all posts | GET | /posts |
| Add posts | POST | /posts |
| Fetch posts by post id | GET | /posts/:id |
| Update post by post id | PATCH | /posts/:id |
/posts
This endpoint when triggered is responsible for fetching all post data. The response you receive can be further filtered through the query parameter.
The /posts endpoint also supports the HTTP GET request method and uses this format
GET https://blog-api-dcha.onrender.com/v1/posts
Request format (CURL)
curl --location 'https://blog-api-dcha.onrender.com/v1/posts' \
--header 'Authorization: Bearer ey*******G8w'
Response format
{
"status": "success",
"message": {
"postLength": 2,
"posts": [
{
"username": "batman",
"user_id": 11,
"id": 4,
"title": "The batman",
"content": "about movie review",
"thumbnail_url": "https://*********",
"updated_at": "2023-******"
},
{
"username": "batman",
"user_id": 11,
"id": 3,
"title": "The batman",
"content": "about movie review",
"thumbnail_url": "https://********",
"updated_at": "2023-*******Z"
}
]
}
}/posts
Use the API to add a new post to the list of posts. The add posts endpoint uses the POST request method in this format:
POST https://blog-api-dcha.onrender.com/v1/posts
To complete the API call, you must include the title, content, and URL of the post you want to add to the collection in the body of your request using JSON format.
Request format (CURL)
curl --location 'https://blog-api-dcha.onrender.com/v1/posts' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--header 'Authorization: Bearer ey*************G8w' \
--data '{
"title": "newman",
"content": "great movie",
"url": "https://*************fecb"
}'
Response format
{
"status": "success",
"message": "posted"
}/posts/:id
This endpoint lets you filter posts by adding a specific post ID to the endpoint in this format:
GET https://blog-api-dcha.onrender.com/v1/posts/<id>
The response you will get is data retrieved for the post you specified by ID. It will include the username, user id, post id, context, and thumbnail.
Request format (CURL)
curl --location 'https://blog-api-dcha.onrender.com/v1/posts/10' \
--header 'Authorization: Bearer ey******G8w'
Response format
```json
{
"username": "batman",
"user_id": 11,
"id": 3,
"title": "The batman",
"content": "about movie review",
"thumbnail_url": "https://*******",
"updated_at": "2023-******"
}
/posts/:id
Use this endpoint to update your posts by the post’s id. There are various options when it comes to updating posts. You can edit the post title, post content, or thumbnail.
The /posts/:id endpoint supports the HTTP PATCH request method and uses this format:
PATCH https://blog-api-dcha.onrender.com/v1/posts/<id>
In the body of your request, you must add the details of the post you want to update in JSON format. In this request example, we will be updating the post content.
Request format (CURL)
curl --location --request PATCH 'https://blog-api-dcha.onrender.com/v1/posts/5' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--header 'Authorization: Bearer ey**********G8w' \
--data '{
"content": "the batman first blog"
}'
Response format
{
"status": "success",
"message": "post updated"
}| Post likes | method | endpoints |
|---|---|---|
| All user names that have liked a post | GET | /posts/:id/like/usernames |
| Like counts on a post | GET | posts/:id/like/count |
| Check whether a user liked a post | GET | posts/:id/like/user/:uid |
| Like a post | posts/:id/like/user/:uid | |
| Delete like on a post | DELETE | posts/:id/like/user/:uid |
/posts/:id/like/usernames
This is the endpoint to use to enable you to retrieve a collection of usernames of those who have liked a post.
The /posts/:id/like/usernames endpoint supports the HTTP PATCH request method and uses this format:
GET https://blog-api-dcha.onrender.com/v1/posts/<id>/like/usernames
Replace <id> with the specific post id for the post you want to get information about.
Request format (CURL)
curl --location 'https://blog-api-dcha.onrender.com/v1/posts/3/like/usernames' \
--header 'Authorization: Bearer ey***********G8w'
Response format
{
"status": "success",
"message": []
}posts/:id/like/count
Fetch number of likes on a post using this endpoint. The /posts/:id/like/count endpoint supports the HTTP GET request method and uses this format:
GET https://blog-api-dcha.onrender.com/v1/posts/<id>/like/count
Replace <id> with the specific post id to retrieve like counts on that post.
Request format (CURL)
curl --location 'https://blog-api-dcha.onrender.com/v1/posts/3/like/count' \
--header 'Authorization: Bearer eyJ************G8w'
Response format
{
"status": "success",
"message": "0"
}posts/:id/like/user/:uid
Use this endpoint to find out if a user has liked a post or not. The likes endpoint requires two IDs: one if the post <id> and the other is the user id <uid>. The two IDs are integers and to make a successful call to the endpoint, you must replace them with the appropriate integer in the URL
The /posts/:id/like/user/:uid endpoint supports the HTTP GET request method and uses this format:
GET https://blog-api-dcha.onrender.com/v1/posts/<:id>/like/user/<:uid>
Request format (CURL)
curl --location 'https://blog-api-dcha.onrender.com/v1/posts/5/like/user/20' \
--header 'Authorization: Bearer ey**********Vy1E'
Response format
{
"status": "success",
"message": false
}posts/:id/like/user/:uid
posts/:id/like/user/:uid
This endpoint deletes a like for the user in the post with the given id. To place an API call to this endpoint, you need to replace <id>, and <uid> with the integer for the post identifier and user identifier respectively.
The /posts/:id/like/user/:uid endpoint supports the HTTP GET request method and uses this format:
DELETE https://blog-api-dcha.onrender.com/v1/posts/<:id>/like/user/<:uid>
Request format (CURL)
curl --location --request DELETE 'https://blog-api-dcha.onrender.com/v1/posts/5/like/user/20' \
--header 'Authorization: Bearer ey***********G8w'
Response format
{
"status": "success",
"message": "like deleted"
}| Comments | method | endpoints |
|---|---|---|
| All comments on a post | GET | /posts/:id/comment |
| Update comments on a post | PATCH | /posts/:id/comment/user/:uid |
| Delete a comment | DELETE | /posts/:id/comment/user/:uid |
/posts/:id/comment
Use this endpoint to retrieve comments on a specific post. The identifier required in the endpoint is the post identifier specific to the post you need data on.
The /posts/:id/comment endpoint supports the HTTP GET request method and uses this format:
GET https://blog-api-dcha.onrender.com/v1/posts/:id/comment
Request format (CURL)
curl --location 'https://blog-api-dcha.onrender.com/v1/posts/5/comment' \
--header 'Authorization: Bearer ey**********Vy1E'
Response format
{
"status": "success",
"message": []
}/posts/:id/comment/user/:uid
Querying this endpoint allows update or make changes to a comment on a post. To make an update on a specific post, you have to filter using resource parameters. In this case, the resource parameters are the user identifier <id> and the post identifier <uid>.
The /posts/:id/comment endpoint supports the HTTP GET request method and uses this format:
PATCH https://blog-api-dcha.onrender.com/v1/posts/<:id>/comment/user/<:uid>
In the request body, add details of the comment in JSON format in order to successfully make the update.
Request format
curl --location --request PATCH 'https://blog-api-dcha.onrender.com/v1/posts/5/comment/user/20' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--header 'Authorization: Bearer eyJ***********G8w' \
--data '{
"comment": "updated comment"
}'
Response format
{
"status": "success",
"message": "comment updated."
}/posts/:id/comment/user/:uid
This endpoint deletes comments on a specific post. To determine the actual post where you want to delete a comment, you need to use the resource parameters, <id> and <uid>.
The /posts/:id/comment/user/:uid endpoint supports the HTTP GET request method and uses this format:
DELETE https://blog-api-dcha.onrender.com/v1/posts/<:id>/comment/user/<:uid>
Request format (CURL)
curl --location --request DELETE 'https://blog-api-dcha.onrender.com/v1/posts/5/comment/user/20' \
--header 'Authorization: Bearer ey*************G8w'Response format
{
"status": "success",
"message": "comment done"
}| Error codes | description |
|---|---|
| 200 | OK |
| 400 | BAD REQUEST |
| 401 | UNAUTHORIZED |
| 403 | FORBIDDEN |
| 404 | NOT FOUND |
Everything worked as expected.
{
"status": "success",
"user": {
"id": 12,
"username": "xxxxxxxxxxx",
"email": "[email protected]",
"bio": null,
"avatar": null,
"password": "*****************************************************************r3lqO"
}
}The request was unsuccessful, this is mostly as a result of missing parameters. It could be a query parameter or a resource parameter.
{
"status": {
"error": true,
"code": 400,
"type": "bad request",
"message": {
"description": "status has an incorrect data type. It should be -> integer",
"attribute": "status"
}
}
}You get this error when the token you passed is invalid or you didn’t pass an authorization token at all
{
"status": "fail",
"message": "you are not logged in"
}The bearer token passed doesn't have permissions to perform the request.
{
"status": {
"error": true,
"code": 403,
"type": "forbidden",
"message": "user is not authorized to access this User"
}
}This means that the resource you are trying to call does not exist
{
"status": {
"error": true,
"code": 404,
"type": "not found",
"message": "User for id 11111111 was not found"
}
}