Quickstart

It only takes a few minutes to start integrating the Backstack API functionality into your existing workflow. This guide will walk you through the process of setting up your first application and requesting a codebase session.

Check out the live demo project to see the API in action. Log in using demo as your username and password.

Create a developer account

Create your account at dash.backstack.com to access the Backstack dashboard.

Your new account will contain your first application and some global resources, providing a foundation for you to customize as needed. Copy the application's API key. You'll need it to make your first request.

INFO

The username and password for your first application are the same as those you provided for your developer account.

Request a codebase session

To securely interact with the API, you need to request a session using your app key. The session object will provide you with a JSON Web Token (JWT) that you will use for authorization in subsequent requests. This approach ensures that your secured app key is only exposed during the initial request.

Store the JWT using sessionStorage or a cookie (or any other method), then substitute your app key with it.

Example Axios code to handle requests.

const store = useStore();
const appKey = sessionStorage.getItem(key) ?? secrets.appKey

axios.get('https://api.backstack.com/app/session', {
  headers: {'Authorization' : appKey}
  })
  .then((response) => {
    sessionStorage.setItem('jwt', response.jwt)
    store.setSession(response);
  });

The response includes a dynamic session object for use throughout your codebase.

HTTP/2.0 200 OK
Content-Type: application/json
{
  "jwt": "eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbG ...",
  "app": {
    "id": "app_1234567890",
    ...
  },
  "auth": false,
  ...
}

The session.auth value is false, indicating a login is required.

What's next?

You've successfully set up an API connection for your first application. Now, it's time to implement the log in process process.

Browse the Git repository for examples demonstrating how to effectively implement the Backstack API into your codebase.