How to Perform a POST API Call in PHP with Authorization

Learn how to send a POST API request in PHP with authentication to the UiPath Orchestrator, following a simple step-by-step guide.
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How to Perform a POST API Call in PHP with Authorization

Are you a beginner in PHP looking to create a web application that needs to interact with an API? If so, you might find yourself facing the challenge of sending a POST request to an API after authenticating the user. This is a common scenario, especially when working with platforms like UiPath Orchestrator. In this guide, I'll guide you through the process of performing a POST API call in PHP with authorization.

Understanding the Problem

If you’re a new developer, the task of creating a contact form that sends user input to an API can be daunting. You've already made progress by setting up a form to collect data. However, you’re now at the stage where you want to send the collected data to the UiPath Orchestrator API. Here’s a quick summary of your main concerns:

Creating a Separate Function: Should you create a dedicated function to manage API calls? This is a good practice, especially if you plan to add more forms in the future that trigger different bot processes.

Using cURL for API Calls: You’ve identified that cURL is the way to go for making HTTP requests in PHP. But you also need to understand how to handle authentication and how to incorporate your authorization token into your post requests.

Let’s dive into the steps to tackle these challenges effectively.

Steps to Handle POST API Calls in PHP with Authorization

Step 1: Authenticate

Before you can send data to the API, you'll need to authenticate yourself.

Create Authentication Function: Start by writing a function that authenticates using the /api/Account/Authenticate endpoint. Here’s a sample code snippet:

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Step 2: Prepare Your POST Request for Adding Queue Items

Once you have successfully authenticated, you’ll want to send the actual data using a POST request to add items to your queue.

Create Add Queue Item Function: This function will use the token from the authentication step to send data.

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Step 3: Bringing It All Together

Now you can put it all together in your main function. Ensure that after collecting data from your form, you authenticate first, then call the addQueueItem function with the token and the data you collected from the user.

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Conclusion

In this guide, we walked through the necessary steps to send a POST API request in PHP that requires authorization. You learned how to authenticate with the UiPath Orchestrator API, prepare your data for submission, and handle the API call using cURL.

Having a solid foundation in handling API calls with authentication will serve you well as you expand your web development projects. Happy coding!

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