REST API

Magnolia's REST Web service allows you to manipulate content through a Web API. You can create, read, update and delete nodes in the JCR. The nodes can be pages, components, contacts or anything else that is stored in a named workspace. You can also execute commands to activate, export and import content.

The REST service is similar to the Data module in Magnolia 4.5 which pulled data from other sources into Magnolia. However, REST works with the push principle where your application communicates with a Magnolia REST endpoint and exchanges a representation of a resource such as an XML of a page. REST is useful for connection tasks. Use REST to push product data from a third party system into Magnolia and let editors enrich it in a Magnolia app, for example.

Try the My first REST request tutorial.

Authenticating

By default, the REST API requires authentication. Authenticate by passing a valid username and password with your request.

Example: Passing a username and password with a curl request

curl --user superuser:superuser http://localhost:8080/magnoliaAuthor/.rest/nodes/v1/website/travel

The username you pass must have a permission to issue requests to the endpoints. To grant the permission, assign the rest role to the user.

Anonymous REST access is also possible but not configured by default. It is common to permit GET requests to some endpoints at certain paths, for example to use the REST API as a content provider for an AngularJS app that consumes content as JSON. To grant anonymous access, we recommend that you create a more limited rest-anonymous role that only grants GET permission to the relevant endpoint and path, then assign the new role to the anonymous user.

When you use the Swagger API explorer you are already logged into Magnolia. Any requests made in Swagger are executed with the permissions of the currently logged-in account.

Security

Permissions to issue REST requests are controlled using Magnolia's standard role-based security mechanism.

rest role

The REST module installs a rest role which has the permission to issue requests to the nodes and properties endpoints by default.

Web access

Permission	Path
Deny	`/.rest*`
Deny	`/.rest/commands*`
Deny	`/.rest/nodes*`
Get & Post	`/.rest/nodes/v1/website*`
Deny	`/.rest/properties*`
Get & Post	`/.rest/properties/v1/website*`
Get & Post	`/.rest/cache/v1*`
Get & Post	`/.rest/api-docs*`

Configured access

Applies to	Name	Path
Commands	Delete	`/modules/rest-services/rest-endpoints/commands/enabledCommands/markAsDeleted/access/roles`
	Activate	`/modules/rest-services/rest-endpoints/commands/enabledCommands/activate/access/roles`

The superuser account has the rest role by default so you can use superuser to test your requests. However, for production use you should create a dedicated account for REST. The anonymous account is specifically denied access to the REST endpoints.

Enabling commands (optional)

Commands are custom actions executed at pre-defined trigger points. Magnolia uses commands to activate content, send email, flush the cache, take backups, import and export data, and to do many other tasks. Commands can perform duties within the system or connect to external resources.

You can make sweeping changes with commands, such as bypassing approval and deleting the whole site. Commands are therefore subject to a special security restrictions.

To enable the use of commands through REST:

Open the security app and grant the rest role a permission to the issue requests to the commands endpoint. Permission to the endpoint is denied by default. Add a new rule.
Whitelist any commands you want to expose to REST. The white list is managed in /modules/rest-services/rest-endpoints/commands/enabledCommands.

Node name	Value
modules
rest-services
rest-endpoints
commands
enabledCommands
activate
access
roles
rest	rest
catalogName	website
commandName	activate
markAsDeleted

Properties:

`enabledCommands`	required Enabled commands node.
`<command>`	required Arbitrary name for the command. Use any name you like.
`access`	required Access node.
`roles`	required Roles node.
`<role>`	required Role name. Grants the role permission to execute the command . Add the default `rest` role. The property name is arbitrary but the value must be a valid role name.
`catalogName`	required Catalog where the command resides.
`commandName`	required Command definition name.

REST API reference

The REST API has three endpoints: nodes, properties and commands. You can read, create, update and delete content by issuing requests to the endpoints.

nodes endpoint

/nodes/v1/{workspace}/{path}

Returns a node from the specified workspace and path. Example: Reading content

Parameter	Default value	Description	Parameter type	Data type
`workspace`		Workspace	`path`	`string`
`path`			`path`	`string`
`depth`	`0`	Depth of child nodes to include. 0 is just the node. 1 is node and its children etc.	`query`	`integer`
`excludeNodeTypes`		List of node types to exclude	`query`	`string`
`includeMetadata`	`false`		`query`	`boolean`

/nodes/v1/{workspace}/{path}

Creates a node and adds passed properties. Example: Creating content

You can add only one node per request. You can not put nested nodes.

Parameter	Description	Parameter type	Data type
`workspace`	Workspace	`path`	`string`
`path`		`path`	`string`
`body`	Request body in JSON or XML format	`body`	`string`

/nodes/v1/{workspace}/{path}

Updates a node by adding passed properties. Example: Updating content

Parameter	Description	Parameter type	Data type
`workspace`	Workspace	`path`	`string`
`path`		`path`	`string`
`body`	Request body in JSON or XML format	`body`	`string`

/nodes/v1/{workspace}/{path}

Deletes a node.

Parameter	Description	Parameter type	Data type
`workspace`	Workspace	`path`	`string`
`path`		`path`	`string`

properties endpoint

/properties/v1/{workspace}/{path}

Reads a property from a node.

Parameter	Description	Parameter type	Data type
`workspace`	Workspace	`path`	`string`
`path`		`path`	`string`

Example: Get the siteTitle property of the travel site

http://localhost:8080/magnoliaAuthor/.rest/properties/v1/website/travel/siteTitle

/properties/v1/{workspace}/{path}

Adds a property on a node.

Parameter	Default value	Description	Parameter type	Data type
`workspace`		Workspace	`path`	`string`
`path`			`path`	`string`
`name`			`query`	`string`
`value`			`query`	`array`
`type`	`String`		`query`	`string`
`multiple`		Indicates if the property should be a multivalue property.	`query`	`boolean`

/properties/v1/{workspace}/{path}

Updates a property on a node.

Parameter	Default value	Description	Parameter type	Data type
`workspace`		Workspace	`path`	`string`
`path`			`path`	`string`
`value`			`query`	`array`
`type`	`String`		`query`	`string`
`multiple`		Indicates if the property should be a multivalue property.	`query`	`boolean`

/properties/v1/{workspace}/{path}

Deletes a property.

Parameter	Description	Parameter type	Data type
`workspace`	Workspace	`path`	`string`
`path`		`path`	`string`

commands endpoint

/commands/v2/{catalogName}/{commandName}

Executes a command in a catalog.

Parameter	Default value	Description	Parameter type	Data type
`catalogName`		Command catalog	`path`	`string`
`commandName`		Command definition	`path`	`string`
`body`		Request body in JSON or XML format	`body`	`string`

/commands/v2/{commandName}

Executes a command in the default catalog.

Parameter	Default value	Description	Parameter type	Data type
`commandName`		Command definition	`path`	`string`
`body`		Request body in JSON or XML format	`body`	`string`

Examples

Learn to create and publish a page in a few steps with My first REST request.

Reading

Read content by issuing a GET request to the nodes or properties endpoint.

For a JSON request, provide an HTTP request header field. You can do this using JavaScript or with cURL.

Read page /travel/about

<!-- Request JSON -->
curl -H "Accept: application/json"  http://localhost:8080/magnoliaAuthor/.rest/nodes/v1/website/travel/about  \
 -u superuser:superuser


<!-- Request XML -->
http://localhost:8080/magnoliaAuthor/.rest/nodes/v1/website/travel/about

Response representation of /travel/about page:

{ 
   "name":"about",
   "type":"mgnl:page",
   "path":"/travel/about",
   "identifier":"808ebe4c-72b2-49f1-b9f7-e7db22bce02f",
   "properties":[  
      {  
         "name":"hideInNav",
         "type":"Boolean",
         "multiple":false,
         "value":[  
            "false"
         ]
      },
      {  
         "name":"title",
         "type":"String",
         "multiple":false,
         "value":[  
            "About"
         ]
      },
      {  
         "name":"title_de",
         "type":"String",
         "multiple":false,
         "value":[  
            "Über uns"
         ]
      }
   ],
   "node":null
}

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?>
<node>
  <identifier>808ebe4c-72b2-49f1-b9f7-e7db22bce02f</identifier>
  <name>about</name>
  <path>/travel/about</path>
  <properties>
    <property>
      <multiple>false</multiple>
      <name>hideInNav</name>
      <type>Boolean</type>
      <values>
        <value>false</value>
      </values>
    </property>
    <property>
      <multiple>false</multiple>
      <name>title</name>
      <type>String</type>
      <values>
        <value>About</value>
      </values>
    </property>
    <property>
      <multiple>false</multiple>
      <name>title_de</name>
      <type>String</type>
      <values>
        <value>Über uns</value>
      </values>
    </property>
  </properties>
  <type>mgnl:page</type>
</node>

Creating pages

Create content by issuing a PUT request to the nodes or properties endpoint.

Create a new page /travel/hello

curl http://localhost:8080/magnoliaAuthor/.rest/nodes/v1/website/travel \
  -H "Accept: application/json" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -X PUT \
  --user superuser:superuser \
  --data \
'{
  "name": "hello",
  "type": "mgnl:page",
  "path": "/travel/hello",
  "properties": [
    {
      "name": "title",
      "type": "String",
      "multiple": false,
      "values": [
        "Hello REST"
      ]
    },
    {
      "name": "mgnl:template",
      "type": "String",
      "multiple": false,
      "values": [
        "travel-demo:pages/standard"
      ]
    }
   ]
}'

cURL is a command-line tool that you can use to make REST requests. It also shows the response from the API. You can even script longer requests.

Creating assets

Before uploading an asset via REST, make sure that the role assigned to the uploading user grants permissions to post data to the dam workspace!

Now create an asset by issuing PUT requests to the nodes endpoint. This requires two calls: the first creates the asset node and the second adds the binary data.

cURL command to create the asset node:

Create a new asset /logo

curl http://localhost:8080/magnoliaAuthor/.rest/nodes/v1/dam \
  -H "Accept: application/json" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -X PUT \
  --user superuser:superuser \
  --data \
'{
  "name": "logo",
  "type": "mgnl:asset",
  "path": "/logo",
  "properties": [
    {
      "name": "type",
      "type": "String",
      "multiple": false,
      "values": [
        "png"
      ]
    },
    {
      "name": "name",
      "type": "String",
      "multiple": false,
      "values": [
        "logo"
      ]
    },
    {
      "name": "type",
      "type": "String",
      "multiple": false,
      "values": [
        "png"
      ]
    }
  ]
}'

To upload the binary data, you must convert it into a String. When working with JSON, Base64 is a good format. (If you want to decode an image quickly, use an online tool such as Base64 Image).

cURL command to upload the binary node:

Create jcr:content node in asset: /logo

curl http://localhost:8080/magnoliaAuthor/.rest/nodes/v1/dam/logo \
  -H "Accept: application/json" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -X PUT \
  --user superuser:superuser \
  --data \
'{
  "name": "jcr:content",
  "type": "mgnl:resource",
  "path": "/logo/jcr:content",
  "properties": [
    {
      "name": "jcr:data",
      "type": "Binary",
      "multiple": false,
      "values": [ "iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAUAAAAFCAYAAACNbyblAAAAFUlEQVQImWNs2Lz/PwMaYEIXoIIgAC8/AvuJXQkXAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC......" ]
    },
	{
      "name": "height",
      "type": "Long",
      "multiple": false,
      "values": [
        "5"
      ]
    },
    {
      "name": "width",
      "type": "Long",
      "multiple": false,
      "values": [
        "5"
      ]
    },
    {
      "name": "extension",
      "type": "String",
      "multiple": false,
      "values": [
        "png"
      ]
    },
    {
      "name": "fileName",
      "type": "String",
      "multiple": false,
      "values": [
        "logo.png"
      ]
    },
    {
      "name": "jcr:mimeType",
      "type": "String",
      "multiple": false,
      "values": [
        "image/png"
      ]
    }
  ]
}'

Uploading binary data manually with cURL is a cumbersome process, but you may want to use the REST API programmatically. Before doing so, test the endpoints with cURL or with swagger. When using cURL in the shell, be aware that every shell has an upper limit on the amount of characters per line. If you try to upload big images with cURL, you may have to split the Base64 decoded data into several lines with backslashs (\).

Updating

Update content by issuing a POST request to the nodes or properties endpoint.

curl: PUT a new page

curl http://localhost:8080/magnoliaAuthor/.rest/nodes/v1/website/travel/hello \
  -H "Accept: application/json" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -X POST \
  -v \
  --user superuser:superuser \
--data \
'{
  "properties": [
    {
      "name": "title",
      "type": "String",
      "values": [
        "Hello REST updated"
      ]
    }
  ]
}'

Publishing

Publish (activate) content by issuing a POST request to the commands endpoint.

Publishing a page

curl http://localhost:8080/magnoliaAuthor/.rest/commands/v2/website/activate \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -X POST --user superuser:superuser \
  --data \
'{
  "repository": "website",
  "path": "/travel/hello",
  "recursive": "false"
}'

Deleting

Delete content by issuing a POST request to the commands endpoint. Magnolia provides delete commands that unpublish the content first and then delete it.

Deleting a page with a command

curl http://localhost:8080/magnoliaAuthor/.rest/commands/v2/default/delete \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -X POST --user superuser:superuser \
  --data \
'{
  "repository": "website",
  "path": "/travel/hello",
  "recursive": "false"
}'

The delete command is not configured or enabled by default for security reasons. You must configure and enable the command on the configuration /modules/rest-services/rest-endpoints/commands/enabledCommands.

You can also delete content by issuing a DELETE request to a node or property. However, this is not a good idea if the content is already published. A DELETE request will only delete the node from the author instance, not from public instances.

Deleting a page

curl http://localhost:8080/magnoliaAuthor/.rest/nodes/v1/website/travel/hello \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -X DELETE --user superuser:superuser

Swagger API explorer

The Swagger API explorer is the easiest way to learn the API. Swagger is a tool that shows what parameters and options the API accepts and how it responds to your requests. Swagger also acts as live documentation that is always up-to-date with the Magnolia instance it runs on. Swagger API Explorer supports both XML and JSON in the request body but it returns only JSON. You can find the tool in Dev > REST Tools when the REST Tools module is installed.

Swagger API in version 1.2

Once you learn the basics with Swagger, try making requests with cURL.

Versioning of services

The Web services are versioned. The version number is built into the service URI between the service path and the method name:

Version number in service URI

/.rest/nodes/v1/website/travel

Versioning provides backwards compatibility. Any calls you write against version 1 will continue to work when Magnolia upgrades the API to version 2. The version numbering scheme goes v1, v2, v3 and so on. Commands were upgraded to v2. in 5.5.4+

Correspondingly, Java endpoints are placed in *.v1, packages:

REST Services packages

info.magnolia.rest.service.node.v1
info.magnolia.rest.service.property.v1
info.magnolia.rest.service.command.v2

Java endpoints contain only code that is necessary to expose the Web services. Service logic goes into service implementations. For example, CommandEndpoint delegates to CommandsManager (its service).

Exposing your own endpoints

To expose your own service endpoint:

Write a definition interface that extends the EndpointDefinition interface. See NodeEndpointDefinition as an example.
Write an implementation class that implements or extends the EndpointDefinition interface. See ConfiguredNodeEndpointDefinition as an example.
Configure the endpoint in /modules/<your-module>/rest-endpoints.

- Set the class property to your definition class.
- Set the implementationClass property to your implementation class.

Example: Rest-endpoint configuration in /modules/rest-services/rest-endpoints/nodes.

Node name	Value
modules
rest-services
rest-endpoints
nodes
class	info.magnolia.rest.service.node.definition.ConfiguredNodeEndpointDefinition
implementationClass	info.magnolia.rest.service.node.v1.NodeEndpoint

Properties

`rest-endpoints`	required Rest endpoints folder.
`nodes`	required Nodes API node.
`class`	required Definition class.
`implementationClass`	required Implementation class.

Your endpoint is available at:

http://<domain>[:<port>]/<contextPath>/.rest/<endpoint>/<version>/{node}/{edge}

Here is a request URL to the nodes API. The endpoint is nodes and the edge is the workspace/path.

http://localhost:8080/magnoliaAuthor/.rest/nodes/v1/website/travel

Page tree

REST API

Authenticating

Security

rest role

Enabling commands (optional)

REST API reference

nodes endpoint

properties endpoint

commands endpoint

Examples

Reading

Creating pages

Creating assets

Updating

Publishing

Deleting

Swagger API explorer

Versioning of services

Exposing your own endpoints