How do I Set Up an API Push?

[mvanmatre]

I'm a new Canvas Admin (more on the ID than the IT side) and I'm finding the GUI side quite limited. If one wants to complete granular tasks, they need to complete API pushes. Problem is that 'API pushes' weren't in any of the "Getting Started with Canvas" or any other courses that I can find. I have located the API Rest documentation page and often find the info I need to start my project or come to the Canvas boards and acquire links, but then, that's where the journey ends.

How do I set up these pushes? I 'm learning terms (not how to use them), like batch files, SQL servers, and CSV, some guy named JSON, and other wizard jargon our developers are always talking about, but what do I do with that? If only someone one could write a step-by-step, API-Pushing for Canvas Admin dummies, I'd sign up for that course. 

To give you an idea of where I'm at, I created my first CSV files last week (Jan 2021) and uploaded the info to Dropout Detective (3rd party for Canvas), and it created something in their GUI. I shared it with the boss - high praise indeed. He said, "I see xml in your future." Baby steps, I get it, but what are next steps? Just how would I run a report of missing assignments and zeroes for a Canvas sub-account? Could someone point me in the right direction? I'd be most obliged.

[dgrobani]

I see Canvas APIs: Getting started... in your future!

Also Awesome CanvasLMS.

[Alexandre_Sch]

Hi,

You can try run the API inside Postman (free software). To use postman, just type the api u want

Set the Authorizations (you will need to configure a user Token inside ur canvas - Inside your profile

and click send 😃

You will receive a json structured response from that api (you can run get/post/put/delete) inside postman, so always try to use it on a dev enviroment (canvas beta/test)

After that you can learn how to run manage pagination and running multiples apis from postman, its a good start. 

And also, inside your canvas instance, go ADMIN -> Configuration -> Reports. That's a lot of live data about your canvas in there to use. You can go further and use the Canvas data for even more data. 

Hope it helps!