Using Linux Command Line Version of Curl to Lookup, Add & Update Email Contacts

[DavidB937]

Hello,

I am trying to integrate a legacy linux application with constant contact.  I am utilizing a standard linux command line program called "curl" to interface with Constant Contact  and i need some guidance.   I have had some limited success but need some guidance.  I have been able to retrieve information about the account, retrieve account email addresses, and retrieve a list of contacts, as illustrated below.  What I need to be able to do is to be able to add and update an email which I haven't figured out.  The API Tester https://constantcontact.mashery.com/io-docs gave me enough information on how to do the requests below, but I can't figure out how to do an add or update operation.

Can someone provide a simple example of each ?  One working example is worth 1000 words.

Thanks,

David Berk

 

$ curl --url "https://api.constantcontact.com/v2/account/info?api_key=vdamjgek7zcyvj8pb5wnkevk" -H "Authorization: Bearer REDACTED" -H "X-Originating-Ip: 74.29.14.27" 
{"website":"http://www.leisuretimetours.com","organization_name":"Leisure Time Tours","time_zone":"US/Eastern","first_name":"David","last_name":"Berk","email":"email1@example.com","phone":"7185280700","company_logo":"","country_code":"US","state_code":"NA","organization_addresses":[{"city":"Queens","line1":"145-98 Brewer Blvd","postal_code":"11434","country_code":"US","state_code":"NY","state":"New york"}]}
 
$ curl --url "https://api.constantcontact.com/v2/account/verifiedemailaddresses?status=ALL&api_key=vamjgek7zcyvj8pb5wnkevk"  -H "Authorization: Bearer REDACTED"  -H "X-Originating-Ip: 74.29.14.27"
 
 [{"email_address":"emai1l@example.com","status":"UNCONFIRMED"},{"email_address":"daberk@gmail.com","status":"CONFIRMED"},{"email_address":"email2@example.com","status":"CONFIRMED"}]
 
$ curl --url "https://api.constantcontact.com/v2/contacts?email=email%40example.com&status=ALL&limit=50&api_key=damjgek7zcyvj8pb5wnkevk" -H "Authorization: Bearer REDACTED"  -H "X-Originating-Ip: 74.29.14.27"
 
{"meta":{"pagination":{}},"results":[{"id":"1663540141","status":"ACTIVE","fax":"","addresses":[],"notes":[],"confirmed":false,"lists":[{"id":"1806940688","status":"ACTIVE"},{"id":"1871720660","status":"ACTIVE"},{"id":"2058450850","status":"ACTIVE"}],"source":"Site Owner","email_addresses":[{"id":"66b9cc70-a6ed-11e4-87fc-d4ae5292c426","status":"ACTIVE","confirm_status":"NO_CONFIRMATION_REQUIRED","opt_in_source":"ACTION_BY_OWNER","opt_in_date":"2015-01-28T12:58:49.000Z","email_address":"email@example.com"}],"prefix_name":"","first_name":"Robert","middle_name":"","last_name":"Frucher","job_title":"","company_name":"","home_phone":"","work_phone":"","cell_phone":"","custom_fields":[],"created_date":"2015-01-28T12:58:53.000Z","modified_date":"2015-02-05T00:18:14.000Z","source_details":""}]}

[Elijah_G]

Hello,

You're definitely on the right track with what you've accomplished so far. While it is a bit tricky to demonstrate the exact process for updating a contact with cURL, I can provide some example HTTP calls with cURL to demonstrate the individual steps.

Here's a quick overview of the process for add/update:

1. Check to see if the contact exists -- GET to Contacts Collection
2. If the contact exists, then modify the existing contact data (JSON) and send it back as an update -- PUT to individual contact endpoint
3. If the contact does not exist, then create JSON and send it as a new contact -- POST to contacts collection

The tricky part here will be that you will need to be able to process and modify the JSON data that is returned from cURL, as well as being able to then pass the modified JSON back to the next cURL call.

Here are some example of what needs to be done for  each of the three steps:

1. GET to Contacts Collection

URL Requires: Email Address you wish to add/update, API Key, Access Token

$ curl -G "https://api.constantcontact.com/v2/contacts?email=<EMAIL_ADDRESS>&api_key=<API_KEY>" -H "Authorization: Bearer <ACCESS_TOKEN>"

2. PUT to individual contact endpoint

URL Requires: Contact ID, API Key, Access Token

$ curl -X PUT -H "Authorization: Bearer <ACCESS_TOKEN>" -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d "{\"addresses\": [    {      \"ad\",      \"city\": \"Cambridge\",      \"country_code\": \"US\",      \"line1\": \"541 Brighton Ave.\",      \"line2\": \"Unit 785\",      \"line3\": \"\",      \"postal_code\": \"01555\",      \"state_code\": \"MA\",      \"sub_postal_code\": \"\"    },    {      \"address_type\": \"BUSINESS\",      \"city\": \"Belleville\",      \"country_code\": \"CA\",      \"line1\": \"47 Shawmut Ave.\",      \"line2\": \"Suite 404\",      \"line3\": \"\",      \"postal_code\": \"K8b 5W6\",      \"state_code\": \"ON\"    }],\"lists\": [{\"id\": \"1\"}],  \"cell_phone\": \"555-555-5555\",  \"company_name\": \"System Optimzations\",  \"confirmed\": false,  \"email_addresses\": [{\"email_address\": \"username1@example.com\"}],  \"fax\": \"555-555-5555\",  \"first_name\": \"Ronald\",  \"home_phone\": \"555-555-5555\",  \"job_title\": \"Systems Analyst 3\",  \"last_name\": \"Martone\",  \"middle_name\": \"Angelo\",  \"prefix_name\": \"Mr.\",  \"work_phone\": \"555-555-5555\"}" https://api.constantcontact.com/v2/contacts/<CONTACT_ID>?api_key=<API_KEY>

3. POST to Contacts Collection

URL Requires: API Key, Access Token

$ curl -X POST -H "Authorization: Bearer <ACCESS_TOKEN>" -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d "{\"addresses\": [    {      \"ad\",      \"city\": \"Cambridge\",      \"country_code\": \"US\",      \"line1\": \"541 Brighton Ave.\",      \"line2\": \"Unit 785\",      \"line3\": \"\",      \"postal_code\": \"01555\",      \"state_code\": \"MA\",      \"sub_postal_code\": \"\"    },    {      \"address_type\": \"BUSINESS\",      \"city\": \"Belleville\",      \"country_code\": \"CA\",      \"line1\": \"47 Shawmut Ave.\",      \"line2\": \"Suite 404\",      \"line3\": \"\",      \"postal_code\": \"K8b 5W6\",      \"state_code\": \"ON\"    }],\"lists\": [{\"id\": \"1\"}],  \"cell_phone\": \"555-555-5555\",  \"company_name\": \"System Optimzations\",  \"confirmed\": false,  \"email_addresses\": [{\"email_address\": \"username1@example.com\"}],  \"fax\": \"555-555-5555\",  \"first_name\": \"Ronald\",  \"home_phone\": \"555-555-5555\",  \"job_title\": \"Systems Analyst 3\",  \"last_name\": \"Martone\",  \"middle_name\": \"Angelo\",  \"prefix_name\": \"Mr.\",  \"work_phone\": \"555-555-5555\"}" https://api.constantcontact.com/v2/contacts?api_key=<API_KEY>

While the examples above will allow you to send and receive contact data using the API, you will still need some method for processing and creating JSON data for the contacts. In order to make this work, you would need to be able to parse the response from Step 1, and depending on whether or not a contact is present in the response, choose to either update contact data for Step 2, or skip to Step 3 and create new contact data.

The best resource for information about the contact data structure is the API Documentation. Here's a couple relevant links:

Create Contact: http://developer.constantcontact.com/docs/contacts-api/contacts-collection.html?method=POST

Update Contact: http://developer.constantcontact.com/docs/contacts-api/contacts-resource.html?method=PUT

If you do have any questions about any of this or run into any difficulties, feel free to reach out for assistance!

Sincerely