Create a source connection and dataflow for Mixpanel using the Flow Service API

Last update: 2023-06-12
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The following tutorial walks you through the steps to create a source connection and a dataflow to bring Mixpanel data to Adobe Experience Platform using the Flow Service API.

Getting started

This guide requires a working understanding of the following components of Experience Platform:

  • Sources: Experience Platform allows data to be ingested from various sources while providing you with the ability to structure, label, and enhance incoming data using Platform services.
  • Sandboxes: Experience Platform provides virtual sandboxes which partition a single Platform instance into separate virtual environments to help develop and evolve digital experience applications.

The following sections provide additional information that you will need to know in order to successfully connect to Mixpanel using the Flow Service API.

Gather required credentials

In order to connect Mixpanel to Platform, you must provide values for the following connection properties:

Credential Description Example
username The service account username that corresponds with your Mixpanel account. See the Mixpanel service accounts documentation for more information. Test8.6d4ee7.mp-service-account
password The service account password that corresponds with your Mixpanel account. dLlidiKHpCZtJhQDyN2RECKudMeTItX1
projectId Your Mixpanel project ID. This ID is required to create a source connection. See the Mixpanel project settings documentation and the Mixpanel guide on creating and managing projects for more information. 2384945
timezone The timezone that corresponds with your Mixpanel project. Timezone is required to create a source connection. See the Mixpanel project settings documentation for more information. Pacific Standard Time

For more information on authenticating your Mixpanel source, see the Mixpanel source overview.

Create a base connection

A base connection retains information between your source and Platform, including your source’s authentication credentials, the current state of the connection, and your unique base connection ID. The base connection ID allows you to explore and navigate files from within your source and identify the specific items that you want to ingest, including information regarding their data types and formats.

To create a base connection ID, make a POST request to the /connections endpoint while providing your Mixpanel authentication credentials as part of the request body.

API format

POST /connections

Request

The following request creates a base connection for Mixpanel:

curl -X POST \
  'https://platform.adobe.io/data/foundation/flowservice/connections' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer {ACCESS_TOKEN}' \
  -H 'x-api-key: {API_KEY}' \
  -H 'x-gw-ims-org-id: {ORG_ID}' \
  -H 'x-sandbox-name: {SANDBOX_NAME}' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
      "name": "Mixpanel base connection",
      "description": "Mixpanel base connection to authenticate to Platform",
      "connectionSpec": {
          "id": "fd2c8ff3-1de0-4f6b-8fa8-4264784870eb",
          "version": "1.0"
      },
      "auth": {
          "specName": "Basic Authentication",
          "params": {
              "username": "{USERNAME}",
              "password": "{PASSWORD}"
          }
      }
  }'
Property Description
name The name of your base connection. Ensure that the name of your base connection is descriptive as you can use this to look up information on your base connection.
description An optional value that you can include to provide more information on your base connection.
connectionSpec.id The connection specification ID of your source. This ID can be retrieved after your source is registered and approved through the Flow Service API.
auth.specName The authentication type that you are using to authenticate your source to Platform.
auth.params. Contains the credentials required to authenticate your source.
auth.params.username The username that corresponds with your Mixpanel account.
auth.params.password The password that corresponds with your Mixpanel account.

Response

A successful response returns the newly created base connection, including its unique connection identifier (id). This ID is required to explore your source’s file structure and contents in the next step.

{
     "id": "70383d02-2777-4be7-a309-9dd6eea1b46d",
     "etag": "\"d64c8298-add4-4667-9a49-28195b2e2a84\""
}

Explore your source

Using the base connection ID you generated in the previous step, you can explore files and directories by performing GET requests.
Use the following calls to find the path of the file you wish to bring into Experience Platform:

API format

GET /connections/{BASE_CONNECTION_ID}/explore?objectType=rest&object={OBJECT}&fileType={FILE_TYPE}&preview={PREVIEW}&sourceParams={SOURCE_PARAMS}

When performing GET requests to explore your source’s file structure and contents, you must include the query parameters that are listed in the table below:

Parameter Description
{BASE_CONNECTION_ID} The base connection ID generated in the previous step.
objectType=rest The type of object that you wish to explore. Currently, this value is always set to rest.
{OBJECT} This parameter is required only when viewing a specific directory. Its value represents the path of the directory you wish to explore. For this source the value would be json.
fileType=json The file type of the file you want to bring to Platform. Currently, json is the only supported file type.
{PREVIEW} A boolean value that defines whether the contents of the connection supports preview.
{SOURCE_PARAMS} Defines parameters for the source file you want to bring to Platform. To retrieve the accepted format-type for {SOURCE_PARAMS}, you must encode the entire {"projectId":"2671127","timezone":"Pacific Standard Time"} string in base64. Note: In the example below, "{"projectId":"2671127","timezone":"Pacific Standard Time"}" encoded in base64 equates to eyJwcm9qZWN0SWQiOiIyNjcxMTI3IiwidGltZXpvbmUiOiJQYWNpZmljIFN0YW5kYXJkIFRpbWUifQ==.

Request

curl -X GET \
    'https://platform.adobe.io/data/foundation/flowservice/connections/70383d02-2777-4be7-a309-9dd6eea1b46d/explore?objectType=rest&object=json&fileType=json&preview=true&sourceParams=eyJsaXN0SWQiOiIxMGMwOTdjYTcxIn0=' \
    -H 'Authorization: Bearer {ACCESS_TOKEN}' \
    -H 'x-api-key: {API_KEY}' \
    -H 'x-gw-ims-org-id: {ORG_ID}' \
    -H 'x-sandbox-name: {SANDBOX_NAME}'

Response

A successful response returns the structure of the queried file.

{
    "format": "hierarchical",
    "schema": {
        "type": "object",
        "properties": {
            "event": {
                "type": "string"
            },
            "properties": {
                "type": "object",
                "properties": {
                    "$mp_api_endpoint": {
                        "type": "string"
                    },
                    "$insert_id": {
                        "type": "string"
                    },
                    "item_id": {
                        "type": "string"
                    },
                    "distinct_id": {
                        "type": "string"
                    },
                    "$mp_api_timestamp_ms": {
                        "type": "integer",
                        "minimum": -9007199254740992,
                        "maximum": 9007199254740991
                    },
                    "item_price": {
                        "type": "string"
                    },
                    "$import": {
                        "type": "boolean"
                    },
                    "item_name": {
                        "type": "string"
                    },
                    "time": {
                        "type": "integer",
                        "minimum": -9007199254740992,
                        "maximum": 9007199254740991
                    },
                    "mp_processing_time_ms": {
                        "type": "integer",
                        "minimum": -9007199254740992,
                        "maximum": 9007199254740991
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    },
    "data": [
        {
            "event": "Items purchased",
            "properties": {
                "time": 1652825148,
                "distinct_id": "test@test.com",
                "$insert_id": "935d87b1-00cd-41b7-be34-b9d98dd08b70",
                "$mp_api_endpoint": "api.mixpanel.com",
                "$mp_api_timestamp_ms": 1652850348643,
                "item_id": "29066",
                "item_name": "charger",
                "item_price": "800.00",
                "mp_processing_time_ms": 1652850348702
            }
        },
        {
            "event": "Items sold",
            "properties": {
                "time": 1652423938,
                "distinct_id": "test@test.com",
                "$insert_id": "935d87b1-00cd-41b7-be34-b9d98dd08b70",
                "$mp_api_endpoint": "api.mixpanel.com",
                "$mp_api_timestamp_ms": 1652449138115,
                "item_id": "29036",
                "item_name": "chair",
                "item_price": "5000.00",
                "mp_processing_time_ms": 1652449138173
            }
        },
        {
            "event": "Items sold",
            "properties": {
                "time": 1652854256,
                "distinct_id": "test@test.com",
                "$insert_id": "935d87b1-00cd-41b7-be34-b9d98dd08b70",
                "$mp_api_endpoint": "api.mixpanel.com",
                "$mp_api_timestamp_ms": 1652879456538,
                "item_id": "29066",
                "item_name": "mobile",
                "item_price": "7000.00",
                "mp_processing_time_ms": 1652879456604
            }
        },
        {
            "event": "Sign off",
            "properties": {
                "time": 1648140611,
                "distinct_id": "test@test.com",
                "$insert_id": "935d87b1-00cd-41b7-be34-b9d98dd08b75",
                "$mp_api_endpoint": "api.mixpanel.com",
                "$mp_api_timestamp_ms": 1648555709515,
                "item_id": "29073",
                "item_name": "Watch",
                "item_price": "50000.00",
                "mp_processing_time_ms": 1648555710375
            }
        },
        {
            "event": "Items sold",
            "properties": {
                "time": 1648140612,
                "distinct_id": "test@test.com",
                "$insert_id": "935d87b1-00cd-41b7-be34-b9d98dd08b75",
                "$mp_api_endpoint": "api.mixpanel.com",
                "$mp_api_timestamp_ms": 1648556481708,
                "item_id": "29073",
                "item_name": "Pen",
                "item_price": "1000.00",
                "mp_processing_time_ms": 1648556481880
            }
        },
        {
            "event": "Sign in",
            "properties": {
                "time": 1648140614,
                "distinct_id": "test1@test.com",
                "$import": true,
                "$insert_id": "935d87b1-00cd-41b7-be34-b9d98dd08b75",
                "$mp_api_endpoint": "api.mixpanel.com",
                "$mp_api_timestamp_ms": 1648556032401,
                "item_id": "29073",
                "item_name": "Watch",
                "item_price": "50000.00",
                "mp_processing_time_ms": 1648556032462
            }
        },
        {
            "event": "Item Purchased",
            "properties": {
                "time": 1648165814,
                "distinct_id": "test1@test.com",
                "$insert_id": "935d87b1-00cd-41b7-be34-b9d98dd08b74",
                "$mp_api_endpoint": "api.mixpanel.com",
                "$mp_api_timestamp_ms": 1648480684785,
                "item_id": "29073",
                "item_name": "Watch",
                "item_price": "50000.00",
                "mp_processing_time_ms": 1648480685058
            }
        },
        {
            "event": "Item Purchased",
            "properties": {
                "time": 1648165814,
                "distinct_id": "test1@test.com",
                "$insert_id": "935d87b1-00cd-41b7-be34-b9d98dd08b75",
                "$mp_api_endpoint": "api.mixpanel.com",
                "$mp_api_timestamp_ms": 1648551687866,
                "item_id": "29073",
                "item_name": "Watch",
                "item_price": "50000.00",
                "mp_processing_time_ms": 1648551687922
            }
        },
        {
            "event": "Sign off",
            "properties": {
                "time": 1648530419,
                "distinct_id": "test1@test.com",
                "$insert_id": "935d87b1-00cd-41b7-be34-b9d98dd08b75",
                "$mp_api_endpoint": "api.mixpanel.com",
                "$mp_api_timestamp_ms": 1648555619274,
                "item_id": "29073",
                "item_name": "Watch",
                "item_price": "50000.00",
                "mp_processing_time_ms": 1648555619326
            }
        },
        {
            "event": "Items sold",
            "properties": {
                "time": 1648566534,
                "distinct_id": "test1@test.com",
                "$import": true,
                "$insert_id": "935d87b1-00cd-41b7-be34-b9d98dd08b75",
                "$mp_api_endpoint": "api.mixpanel.com",
                "$mp_api_timestamp_ms": 1648635830114,
                "item_id": "29073",
                "item_name": "Pen",
                "item_price": "1000.00",
                "mp_processing_time_ms": 1648635831010
            }
        }
    ]
}

Create a source connection

You can create a source connection by making a POST request to the Flow Service API. A source connection consists of a connection ID, a path to the source data file, and a connection spec ID.

API format

POST /sourceConnections

Request

The following request creates a source connection for Mixpanel:

curl -X POST \
  'https://platform.adobe.io/data/foundation/flowservice/sourceConnections' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer {ACCESS_TOKEN}' \
  -H 'x-api-key: {API_KEY}' \
  -H 'x-gw-ims-org-id: {ORG_ID}' \
  -H 'x-sandbox-name: {SANDBOX_NAME}' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
      "name": "Mixpanel source connection",
      "description": "Mixpanel source connection",
      "baseConnectionId": "70383d02-2777-4be7-a309-9dd6eea1b46d",
      "connectionSpec": {
          "id": "fd2c8ff3-1de0-4f6b-8fa8-4264784870eb",
          "version": "1.0"
      },
      "data": {
          "format": "json"
      },
      "params": {
          "projectId": "{PROJECT_ID}",
          "timezone": "{TIMEZONE}"
      }
  }'
Property Description
name The name of your source connection. Ensure that the name of your source connection is descriptive as you can use this to look up information on your source connection.
description An optional value that you can include to provide more information on your source connection.
baseConnectionId The base connection ID of Mixpanel. This ID was generated in an earlier step.
connectionSpec.id The connection specification ID that corresponds to your source.
data.format The format of the Mixpanel data that you want to ingest. Currently, the only supported data format is json.
params.projectId Your Mixpanel project ID.
params.timezone The timezone of your Mixpanel project.

Response

A successful response returns the unique identifier (id) of the newly created source connection. This ID is required in a later step to create a dataflow.

{
     "id": "246d052c-da4a-494a-937f-a0d17b1c6cf5",
     "etag": "\"712a8c08-fda7-41c2-984b-187f823293d8\""
}

Create a target XDM schema

In order for the source data to be used in Platform, a target schema must be created to structure the source data according to your needs. The target schema is then used to create a Platform dataset in which the source data is contained.

A target XDM schema can be created by performing a POST request to the Schema Registry API.

For detailed steps on how to create a target XDM schema, see the tutorial on creating a schema using the API.

Create a target dataset

A target dataset can be created by performing a POST request to the Catalog Service API, providing the ID of the target schema within the payload.

For detailed steps on how to create a target dataset, see the tutorial on creating a dataset using the API.

Create a target connection

A target connection represents the connection to the destination where the ingested data is to be stored. To create a target connection, you must provide the fixed connection specification ID that corresponds to the data lake. This ID is: c604ff05-7f1a-43c0-8e18-33bf874cb11c.

You now have the unique identifiers a target schema a target dataset and the connection spec ID to the data lake. Using these identifiers, you can create a target connection using the Flow Service API to specify the dataset that will contain the inbound source data.

API format

POST /targetConnections

Request

The following request creates a target connection for Mixpanel:

curl -X POST \
    'https://platform.adobe.io/data/foundation/flowservice/targetConnections' \
    -H 'Authorization: Bearer {ACCESS_TOKEN}' \
    -H 'x-api-key: {API_KEY}' \
    -H 'x-gw-ims-org-id: {ORG_ID}' \
    -H 'x-sandbox-name: {SANDBOX_NAME}' \
    -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
    -d '{
        "name": "{Mixpanel} Target Connection",
        "description": "{Mixpanel} Target Connection",
        "connectionSpec": {
            "id": "fd2c8ff3-1de0-4f6b-8fa8-4264784870eb",
            "version": "1.0"
        },
        "data": {
            "format": "json"
        },
        "params": {
            "dataSetId": "5ef4551c52e054191a61a99f"
        }
    }'
Property Description
name The name of your target connection. Ensure that the name of your target connection is descriptive as you can use this to look up information on your target connection.
description An optional value that you can include to provide more information on your target connection.
connectionSpec.id The connection specification ID that corresponds to data lake. This fixed ID is: fd2c8ff3-1de0-4f6b-8fa8-4264784870eb.
data.format The format of the Mixpanel data that you want to bring to Platform.
params.dataSetId The target dataset ID retrieved in a previous step.

Response

A successful response returns the new target connection’s unique identifier (id). This ID is required in later steps.

{
     "id": "7c96c827-3ffd-460c-a573-e9558f72f263",
     "etag": "\"a196f685-f5e8-4c4c-bfbd-136141bb0c6d\""
}

Create a mapping

In order for the source data to be ingested into a target dataset, it must first be mapped to the target schema that the target dataset adheres to. This is achieved by performing a POST request to Data Prep API with data mappings defined within the request payload.

API format

POST /conversion/mappingSets

Request

curl -X POST \
  'https://platform.adobe.io/data/foundation/conversion/mappingSets' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer {ACCESS_TOKEN}' \
  -H 'x-api-key: {API_KEY}' \
  -H 'x-gw-ims-org-id: {ORG_ID}' \
  -H 'x-sandbox-name: {SANDBOX_NAME}' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
      "version": 0,
      "xdmSchema": "https://ns.adobe.com/{TENANT_ID}/schemas/995dabbea86d58e346ff91bd8aa741a9f36f29b1019138d4",
      "xdmVersion": "1.0",
      "id": null,
      "mappings": [
          {
              "sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
              "source": "data.distinct_id",
              "destination": "_extconndev.distinct_id",
              "name": "distinct_id",
              "description": "Mixpanel"
          },
          {
              "sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
              "source": "data.event_name",
              "destination": "_extconndev.event_name"
          },
          {
              "sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
              "source": "data.import",
              "destination": "_extconndev.import"
          },
          {
              "sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
              "source": "data.insert_id",
              "destination": "_extconndev.insert_id"
          },
          {
              "sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
              "source": "data.item_id",
              "destination": "_extconndev.item_id"
          },
          {
              "sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
              "source": "data.item_name",
              "destination": "_extconndev.item_name"
          },
          {
              "sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
              "source": "data.item_price",
              "destination": "_extconndev.item_price"
          },
          {
              "sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
              "source": "data.mp_api_endpoint",
              "destination": "_extconndev.mp_api_endpoint"
          },
          {
              "sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
              "source": "data.mp_api_timestamp_ms",
              "destination": "_extconndev.mp_api_timestamp_ms"
          },
          {
              "sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
              "source": "data.mp_processing_time_ms",
              "destination": "_extconndev.mp_processing_time_ms"
          },
          {
              "sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
              "source": "data.time",
              "destination": "_extconndev.time"
          }
      ]
  }'
Property Description
xdmSchema The ID of the target XDM schema generated in an earlier step.
mappings.destinationXdmPath The destination XDM path where the source attribute is being mapped to.
mappings.sourceAttribute The source attribute that needs to be mapped to a destination XDM path.
mappings.identity A boolean value that designates whether the mapping set will be marked for Identity Service.

Response

A successful response returns details of the newly created mapping including its unique identifier (id). This value is required in a later step to create a dataflow.

{
    "id": "bf5286a9c1ad4266baca76ba3adc9366",
    "version": 0,
    "createdDate": 1597784069368,
    "modifiedDate": 1597784069368,
    "createdBy": "{CREATED_BY}",
    "modifiedBy": "{MODIFIED_BY}"
}

Create a flow

The last step towards bringing data from Mixpanel to Platform is to create a dataflow. By now, you have the following required values prepared:

A dataflow is responsible for scheduling and collecting data from a source. You can create a dataflow by performing a POST request while providing the previously mentioned values within the payload.

To schedule an ingestion, you must first set the start time value to epoch time in seconds. Then, you must set the frequency value to one of the five options: once, minute, hour, day, or week. The interval value designates the period between two consecutive ingestions however, creating a one-time ingestion does not require an interval to be set. For all other frequencies, the interval value must be set to equal or greater than 15.

API format

POST /flows

Request

curl -X POST \
  'https://platform.adobe.io/data/foundation/flowservice/flows' \
  -H 'x-api-key: {API_KEY}' \
  -H 'x-gw-ims-org-id: {ORG_ID}' \
  -H 'x-sandbox-name: {SANDBOX_NAME}' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
      "name": "{Mixpanel} dataflow",
      "description": "{Mixpanel} dataflow",
      "flowSpec": {
          "id": "6499120c-0b15-42dc-936e-847ea3c24d72",
          "version": "1.0"
      },
      "sourceConnectionIds": [
          "246d052c-da4a-494a-937f-a0d17b1c6cf5"
      ],
      "targetConnectionIds": [
          "7c96c827-3ffd-460c-a573-e9558f72f263"
      ],
      "transformations": [
          {
              "name": "Mapping",
              "params": {
                  "mappingId": "bf5286a9c1ad4266baca76ba3adc9366",
                  "mappingVersion": "0"
              }
          }
      ],
      "scheduleParams": {
          "startTime": "1625040887",
          "frequency": "minute",
          "interval": 15
      }
  }'
Property Description
name The name of your dataflow. Ensure that the name of your dataflow is descriptive as you can use this to look up information on your dataflow.
description An optional value that you can include to provide more information on your dataflow.
flowSpec.id The flow specification ID required to create a dataflow. This fixed ID is: 6499120c-0b15-42dc-936e-847ea3c24d72.
flowSpec.version The corresponding version of the flow specification ID. This value defaults to 1.0.
sourceConnectionIds The source connection ID generated in an earlier step.
targetConnectionIds The target connection ID generated in an earlier step.
transformations This property contains the various transformations that are needed to be applied to your data. This property is required when bringing non-XDM-compliant data to Platform.
transformations.name The name assigned to the transformation.
transformations.params.mappingId The mapping ID generated in an earlier step.
transformations.params.mappingVersion The corresponding version of the mapping ID. This value defaults to 0.
scheduleParams.startTime This property contains information on the ingestion scheduling of the dataflow.
scheduleParams.frequency The frequency at which the dataflow will collect data. Acceptable values include: once, minute, hour, day, or week.
scheduleParams.interval The interval designates the period between two consecutive flow runs. The interval’s value should be a non-zero integer. Interval is not required when frequency is set as once and should be greater than or equal to 15 for other frequency values.

Response

A successful response returns the ID (id) of the newly created dataflow. You can use this ID to monitor, update, or delete your dataflow.

{
     "id": "993f908f-3342-4d9c-9f3c-5aa9a189ca1a",
     "etag": "\"510bb1d4-8453-4034-b991-ab942e11dd8a\""
}

Appendix

The following section provides information on the steps you can to monitor, update, and delete your dataflow.

Monitor your dataflow

Once your dataflow has been created, you can monitor the data that is being ingested through it to see information on flow runs, completion status, and errors. For complete API examples, read the guide on monitoring your sources dataflows using the API.

Update your dataflow

Update the details of your dataflow, such as its name and description, as well as its run schedule and associated mapping sets by making a PATCH request to the /flows endpoint of Flow Service API, while providing the ID of your dataflow. When making a PATCH request, you must provide your dataflow’s unique etag in the If-Match header. For complete API examples, read the guide on updating sources dataflows using the API.

Update your account

Update the name, description, and credentials of your source account by performing a PATCH request to the Flow Service API while providing your base connection ID as a query parameter. When making a PATCH request, you must provide your source account’s unique etag in the If-Match header. For complete API examples, read the guide on updating your source account using the API.

Delete your dataflow

Delete your dataflow by performing a DELETE request to the Flow Service API while providing the ID of the dataflow you want to delete as part of the query parameter. For complete API examples, read the guide on deleting your dataflows using the API.

Delete your account

Delete your account by performing a DELETE request to the Flow Service API while providing the base connection ID of the account you want to delete. For complete API examples, read the guide on deleting your source account using the API.

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