How to I pull data from QB applications using an API URL?

Question

Hi! I'd like to pull data from a QuickBase application into a GoogleSheet for the purpose of allowing coworkers to quickly view, edit, modify, and visualize data within their Google Drive.

There are two ways to do this from what I'm aware: using "=importXML()" within GoogleSheets, or, ideally, create a Google Script that would allow me to automate the process.

In either case, I believe I need to have a functional API URL to access the data from an app. The challenge I have, however, is that the only URL that *doesn't* produce an error is one that logs into my "main" page (and doesn't provide the data I need).

https://[companyname].quickbase.com/db/main?a=API_Authenticate&username=[xxxx]&password=[xxxx]&hours=24&API_DoQuery&fmt=structured

The repsponse I get from QuickBase:

<qdbapi>
<action>API_Authenticate</action>
<errcode>0</errcode>
<errtext>No error</errtext>
<ticket>
[XXX]
</ticket>

<userid>[XXX}</userid>
</qdbapi>

Awesome! No error. That's great. But I'm not getting data. So let's try logging into the database/app from which I need data.

https://[companyname].quickbase.com/db/bnxtq4n47?a=API_Authenticate&username=[XXXXX]&password=[XXXXX]&hours=24&API_DoQuery&fmt=structured

<qdbapi>
<action>API_Authenticate</action>
<errcode>5</errcode>
<errtext>No Such Operation</errtext>
<errdetail>
This operation is not defined for applications, however, the URL contained an application ID. Please check the URL.
</errdetail>

Hmm.... That's not great. Why doesn't API_Authenticate work for /main/ but not for the application/table from which I want to get data?

neilservices · Answer

Nick,API_Authenticate only works against main - see here:https://help.quickbase.com/api-guide/index.html#authenticate.html%3FTocPath%3DQuick%2520Base%2520API...Neil

neilservices · Answer

NickRe-read your issue. &nbsp;Fuller explanation. &nbsp;Authenticate is performed against the db/main. &nbsp;If you want to use a single url you will have to use a user token. &nbsp;You can create a user token for yourself in a separate step, then just past the clause &amp;usertoken=xxxxx into the do query.So the url would look like&nbsp;https://[companyname].quickbase.com/db/bnxtq4n47?a=API_DoQuery&amp;fmt=structured&amp;usertoken=xxxxExplanation of user tokens is here:https://help.quickbase.com/user-assistance/create_user_tokens.htmlNeil

nickmatthew · Answer

Neil! Someone replied! Amazing.&nbsp;Thank you for feedback. We seem to be getting closer, but now we have a new error prompt.https://[companyname].quickbase.com/db/bnxtq4n47?a=API_DoQuery&amp;fmt=structured&amp;usertoken=[xxxx]I used a usertoken from my QuickBase preferences, and the error I now get is:&lt;qdbapi&gt;&lt;action&gt;API_DoQuery&lt;/action&gt;&lt;errcode&gt;14&lt;/errcode&gt;&lt;errtext&gt;Missing DBID or DBID of wrong type&lt;/errtext&gt;&lt;errdetail&gt;This operation is only supported on individual tables and not on the application itself. Please check the URL.&lt;/errdetail&gt;&lt;/qdbapi&gt;Okay, so perhaps I am using my application DBID instead of my table DBID. So after doing some research, I find that this URL will pull a list of table IDs:https://[comanyname].quickbase.com/db/bnxtq4n47?act=API_GetSchema&amp;apptoken=[xxxx]&lt;table_id&gt;bnxtq4n47&lt;/table_id&gt;&lt;app_id&gt;bnxtq4n47&lt;/app_id&gt;Cool! So it seems that the Table ID and App ID are the same... So how do I access data in my app/table if I get an error 14?

neilservices · Answer

Nick,App id's should be different from table id's. &nbsp;The best way to check is go to the app, click on home icon. &nbsp;The id in the url should be the app id. &nbsp;Then click on the icon for the table. &nbsp;The url should be the table id. &nbsp;Alternatively click home icon - click settings - click App Management - click Show Support Information (under show app info). &nbsp;You'll get a list of all of the tables with their DBID's + the DBID of the App.Neil

nickmatthew · Answer

Fantastic. Thank you again Neil.&nbsp; We're getting closer.My URL now looks like this:https://[companyname].quickbase.com/db/?a=API_DoQuery&amp;fmt=structured&amp;usertoken=[XXXXX]&amp;apptoken=[XXXX]When I put it into Chrome, it works perfectly, and produces a beautiful XML output.When I test this same URL in Chrome's&nbsp;incognito (or, alternatively, if I put it into "=importXML()" in GoogleSheets) I get this error:&lt;qdbapi&gt;&lt;action&gt;API_DoQuery&lt;/action&gt;&lt;errcode&gt;83&lt;/errcode&gt;&lt;errtext&gt;Invalid error code: 83&lt;/errtext&gt;&lt;errdetail&gt;User token is invalid&lt;/errdetail&gt;&lt;/qdbapi&gt;That' can't be.... When I return to my user preferences, my User Token is exactly the same as the URL (the same URL that works in Chrome, but not incognito). Nothing's changed...&nbsp;

Forum Discussion

How to I pull data from QB applications using an API URL?

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