Migrating from 0.5 to 2.0 REST API

Beeswax currently offers two versions of the REST API, the legacy 0.5 version and the newly-released 2.0 version. It is our intention to upgrade all 0.5 endpoints to 2.0 and to migrate customers to the new version gradually. As of today, only some endpoints are available in the 2.0 API, so it is reasonable to assume that you will need to work with a combination of the two versions.

While both versions co-exist, it is important to understand the differences between them as well as the migration path for those using some or all of the endpoints of the 0.5 API.

Compatibility

The 2.0 API is not backwards compatible with the 0.5 API. We are taking this opportunity to move the API to more standard syntax and to make improvements in the object models. For some Buzz objects, like the new Targeting, the new API is quite different and reflects a big upgrade in functionality. As we release more endpoints to the 2.0 API we will attempt to make them hew closely to the 0.5 API to minimize the additional work for developers.

Paths

The 0.5 API uses the path /rest/[resource] while the 2.0 API uses the path /rest/v2/[resource]

Authentication

While we are transitioning from the Buzz 0.5 API to the new Buzz 2.0 API you must authenticate using the 0.5 authentication. Once you have authenticated, you may make calls to either the 0.5 API or the 2.0 API using the same cookie.

Object Hierarchy

The basic hierarchy of objects in the Buzz system is not changing with the release of the Buzz 2.0 API. The documentation describing these objects may be found in the 0.5 documentation hub.

API Syntax

The biggest differences between the APIs involve changes to the syntax of requests, responses, and filtering. Each API method has a documentation page that also describes compatibility issues:

We also newly support PATCH and OPTIONS methods.

Bulk Actions

The methods for performing bulk actions have been improved in a number of ways:

We now support bulk object creation using POST
Each object has its own dedicated resources for bulk actions. For example, to take a bulk action against role, you can access the /roles/bulk resource
Using PATCH, you can either update objects individually (different changes per object) or in the same manner (same changes over many objects)

Quick Guide to 0.5 vs 2.0 APIs

Concept	Changes in 2.0 API	Notes
Authentication	Not yet available in 2.0	Use the 0.5 authentication resource then interchangeably make requests to resources in either version
Paths	Instead of `/rest/[resource]` use `/rest/v2/[resource]` or `/rest/v2/ref/[resource]`	The 0.5 API does not need to have the version specified.
Filtering	New, powerful filtering syntax. Filtering commands are appended to field names with a double-underscore. For example to filter when an `id` field is great than or equal to 2, add `id__gte=2` to the GET request.	See GET-ting Data from the API for examples.
Views	Views have been replaced with individual endpoints under the `/ref/` path. The 0.5 API also supported Views as alternative sets of fields under primary resources -- this use case is not supported.	See Reference Resources.
Multi-Account	For users enabled with Multi-Account to query across all accounts use the new `all_accounts=true` parameter, rather than `account_id=any`.	See GET-ting Data from the API.
`GET`	Variables should be passed as URL parameters, not http payload.	See GET-ting Data from the API.
`POST`	No change to POST. Error messages for all operations are improved to include feedback on multiple fields. Bulk creation now supported.	See POST-ing to Creating Objects,
`PUT/DELETE`	The target resource's `id` field must be included in the URL path rather than in the JSON payload.	See PUT-ting Objects with the API and DELETE-ing Objects with the API.
`PATCH`	New to 2.0 Supports flexible bulk operations.	See PUT-ting Objects with the API.
`OPTIONS`	New to 2.0	See OPTIONs to Understand Resources .
Targeting	Entirely new resource `targeting-expressions`, replaces `targeting_templates`.	See Targeting.
Reporting	New, more powerful resources and easier to use API.	See Reporting.