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Create a PathFactory base connection using the Flow Service API

Last update: April 2, 2025

CREATED FOR:

  • Developer

A base connection represents the authenticated connection between a source and Adobe Experience Platform.

Read this document to learn how to create a base connection for PathFactory using the Flow Service API.

Get 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 Experience Platform services.
  • Sandboxes: Experience Platform provides virtual sandboxes which partition a single Experience Platform instance into separate virtual environments to help develop and evolve digital experience applications.

Using Experience Platform APIs

For information on how to successfully make calls to Experience Platform APIs, see the guide on getting started with Experience Platform APIs.

The following section provides additional information that you will need to know in order to successfully connect to PathFactory using the Flow Service API.

Gather Required Credentials

To access your PathFactory account on the Experience Platform, you must provide the following values:

CredentialDescription
UsernameYour PathFactory account username. This is essential for identifying your account in the system.
PasswordThe password associated with your PathFactory account. Ensure this is kept secure to prevent unauthorized access.
DomainThe domain associated with your PathFactory account. This typically refers to the unique identifier within your PathFactory URL.
Access TokenA unique token used for API authentication to ensure secure communication between your systems and PathFactory.
API Endpoints

Specific API endpoints for accessing data: Visitors, Sessions, and Page Views. Each endpoint corresponds to different data sets you can retrieve. Note: These are pre-defined by PathFactory and are specific to the data you intend to access:

  • Visitors Endpoint: /api/public/v3/data_lake_apis/visitors.json
  • Sessions Endpoint: /api/public/v3/data_lake_apis/sessions.json
  • Page Views Endpoint: /api/public/v3/data_lake_apis/page_views.json

For more information on how to secure and use your credentials, and how to obtain and refresh your access token, visit the PathFactory Support Center. This resource offers comprehensive guides on managing your credentials and ensuring effective and secure API integration.

Create a base connection

A base connection retains information between your source and Experience 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 PathFactory authentication credentials as part of the request body.

API format

POST /connections

Request

The following request creates a base connection for PathFactory:

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": "PathFactory base connection",
      "description": "PathFactory base connection",
      "auth": {
          "specName": "Basic Authentication",
          "params": {
              "host": "acme-ab12c3d4e5fg6hijk7lmnop8qrst"
              "clientId": "pathfactory",
              "clientSecret": "xxxx"
          }
      },
      "connectionSpec": {
          "id": "ea1c2a08-b722-11eb-8529-0242ac130003",
          "version": "1.0"
      }
  }'
PropertyDescription
auth.params.clientIdThe client ID associated with your PathFactory application.
auth.params.clientSecretThe client secret associated with your PathFactory application.
connectionSpec.idThe PathFactory connection specification ID: ea1c2a08-b722-11eb-8529-0242ac130003.

Response

A successful response returns the newly created connection, including its unique connection identifier (id). This ID is required to explore your data in the next tutorial.

{
    "id": "2fce94c1-9a93-4971-8e94-c19a93097129",
    "etag": "\"d403848a-0000-0200-0000-5e978f7b0000\""
}