[3.3][ALPHA] phpBB API

[danieltj]

Extension Name: API
Author: danieltj

Extension Description: An unofficial API for the phpBB platform.

Features:

• Interact with your forum via a REST API
• Create, read, update & delete data like users, forums and site settings
• Supports on-forum user permissions via the API
• ...and (maybe) more!

Extension Version: 0.1.0-alpha

Requirements:

• phpBB version 3.3.x or later
• php 7.x or later

Download: https://github.com/danieltj27/api

Note: This extension is currently in bleeding edge development and should never be activated on a production environment until a (stable) beta build has been released. Initial versions of this extension will include security issues whilst the extension is being fully built.

[nou nou]

wow wow wow

[Mick]

Pictures please.

[danieltj]

Screenshots will be uploaded when the extension has had more development time. It's still very early days yet so it's just a lot of test JSON data.

[privet.fun]

Have you seen this https://github.com/nocodb/nocodb? It has both UI and API capabilities and can scaffold your database via CLI or manually.

[Toxyy]

Have you seen this

What exactly does this have to do with a phpBB API/developing one?

[nou nou]

Have you seen this

What exactly does this have to do with a phpBB API/developing one?

I guess the thinking is that if there were an extension that is a bridge between nocodb and your phpBB database, you would get a UI and an API for “free”?

What would the API language be? Python?

[danieltj]

NocoDB is an entirely separate product for databases so I won't be doing anything to use or integrate with it with this extension.

[nou nou]

So what do you have in mind as an API?

I work with software that uses python and lua bindings for scripting, so my interest mainly lies there. I can also do everything from cli commands.

How would, for example, posting via the API go? And what about security? Would it require a specific a specific user? Would someone be able to completely flood a database even by some sort of accidental loop?

Maybe too early for some of these questions but sign me up as a tester please

[nou nou]

also this: https://github.com/senky/phpbb-ext-api

not sure if any of this is useful to you, but I was following that at the time - has it really been 5 years

[danieltj]

So what do you have in mind as an API?

I work with software that uses python and lua bindings for scripting, so my interest mainly lies there. I can also do everything from cli commands.

How would, for example, posting via the API go? And what about security? Would it require a specific a specific user? Would someone be able to completely flood a database even by some sort of accidental loop?

Maybe too early for some of these questions but sign me up as a tester please

Good questions!

Posting via the API is definitely on the roadmap (currently in my head as it's very early days). You would need to get a forum ID and then a user would be able to post to a forum or more specifically a topic if they have the correct permissions.

Crucially user permissions will be used to ensure that users can only view content and alter it based on if they have the required permissions so standard user's can't go posting stuff into a private admin only forum.

Interacting with the API will be done via an API key that will need to be created at some point. Again, it's very early in the development lifecycle so I may change things as I go to see what works better. There will also be rate limits as well to prevent floods. Again, the built in flood limit is a good starting point for that anyway.

The idea behind this extension is that firstly, phpBB needs an API but secondly, it means people could end up doing some really cool off-site work with their forums. An example being the ability to have a live 'now playing' profile field for Spotify or Apple Music etc... that'd be cool. You could even use it to automate posts after an event is triggered from somewhere. It's an API, it could be used for anything!

[nou nou]

Speaking of a roadmap - do you have anything in mind, even roughly, as to when you may be able to get to some sort of actual functionality?

(I can't make that question any more vague )

An example being the ability to have a live 'now playing' profile field for Spotify or Apple Music etc

I love that example, hadn't thought of interaction with profile fields and parts of phpBB other than posting!

I did think of functions such as having, for example, a test or gateway forum on a separate domain and building a script to read, select and transfer posts to a forum on a different domain based on certain criteria. I can elaborate on that later

[nou nou]

Also happened upon this:

https://github.com/eparsons/RESTApiForPhpBB

I don't know if any of this is useful so feel free to ignore.

[danieltj]

Thanks for sharing those links but I'll be working on this independent of existing (albeit older) extensions.

[nou nou]

Good to know, thanks!