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Jitterbit App Builder connection in Jitterbit Studio

Introduction

A Jitterbit App Builder connection, created using the Jitterbit App Builder connector, establishes access to a Jitterbit App Builder application published as a REST API. Once a connection is configured, you can create instances of Jitterbit App Builder activities associated with that connection to be used either as sources (to provide data in an operation) or as targets (to consume data in an operation).

Create or edit a Jitterbit App Builder connection

A new Jitterbit App Builder connection is created using the Jitterbit App Builder connector from one of these locations:

An existing Jitterbit App Builder connection can be edited from these locations:

Configure a Jitterbit App Builder connection

Each user interface element of the Jitterbit App Builder connection configuration screen is described below.

Tip

Fields with a variable icon support using global variables, project variables, and Jitterbit variables. Begin either by typing an open square bracket [ into the field or by clicking the variable icon to display a menu listing existing variables to choose from.

  • Connection Name: Enter a name to use to identify the connection. The name must be unique for each Jitterbit App Builder connection and must not contain forward slashes / or colons :. This name is also used to identify the Jitterbit App Builder endpoint, which refers to both a specific connection and its activities.

  • Hostname: Enter the hostname of your Jitterbit App Builder server, without the protocol. If your App Builder instance is served from a path, include the path (for example, ab.example.com or ab.example.com/production).

  • Authentication: Select the authentication method the connector uses to call the application's REST API, one of these:

    • API Key: (Default.) Authenticates with an API key. This option shows the following field:

      • API Key: Enter the API key configured for the Jitterbit App Builder application you want to connect to. This key is sent as the X-API-KEY header on every request.

    • OAuth 2.0 Client Credentials: Authenticates as a client application registered with the App Builder authorization server. The connector requests an access token from https://<hostname>/connect/token and sends it as a bearer token on every request. This option shows the following fields:

      • Client ID: Enter the client ID of the registered client application.
      • Client Secret: Enter the client secret of the registered client application.
      • Scope: Enter the scope to request. The default is api, which authorizes access to App Builder-hosted REST APIs.

    • Basic Authentication: Authenticates with HTTP basic authentication, using the identifier and key of a user's API key. This option shows the following fields:

      • Identifier: Enter the identifier of the API key.
      • Key: Enter the key.

    • Anonymous: Sends requests without credentials. Use this option for an application whose REST API doesn't require authentication.

  • Application Endpoint: Select the REST API endpoint of the Jitterbit App Builder application you want to connect to. The dropdown is empty until you load it: first enter the Hostname, select an Authentication option, and complete the fields it shows below this dropdown, then click Refresh above the dropdown. The dropdown then lists, by name, every application on your App Builder server that has a published OpenAPI document; an application without a published document doesn't appear. If a required value is missing or the list can't be retrieved, an Unable to fetch data dialog describes the problem.

  • Test: Click to verify the connection using the specified configuration. When the connection is tested, the latest version of the connector is downloaded by the agent(s) in the agent group associated with the current environment. This connector supports suspending the download of the latest connector version by using the Disable Auto Connector Update organization policy.

    Note

    A failed test doesn't always mean that the credentials are wrong. Test checks the connection in two steps. It first retrieves the application's OpenAPI document to confirm the Hostname and Application Endpoint, and then calls one of the application's endpoints to confirm the Authentication credentials. If every endpoint in the application requires an item identifier in its path (for example, /customers/{id}), the second step can fail even when the credentials are correct.

  • Save: Click to save and close the connection configuration.

  • Discard changes: After making changes to a new or existing configuration, click to close the configuration without saving. A message asks you to confirm that you want to discard changes.

  • Delete: After opening an existing connection configuration, click to permanently delete the connection from the project and close the configuration (see Component dependencies, deletion, and removal). A message asks you to confirm that you want to delete the connection.

Next steps

After a Jitterbit App Builder connection has been created, you place an activity type on the design canvas to create activity instances to be used either as sources (to provide data in an operation) or as targets (to consume data in an operation).

Menu actions for a connection and its activity types are accessible from the project pane and design component palette. For details, see Actions menus in Connector basics.

These activity types are available:

  • Read: Retrieves one or more items from an object in the Jitterbit App Builder application and is intended to be used as a source in an operation.

  • Create: Creates a new item for an object in the Jitterbit App Builder application and is intended to be used as a target in an operation.

  • Update: Updates an existing item for an object in the Jitterbit App Builder application and is intended to be used as a target in an operation.

  • Delete: Deletes an existing item for an object in the Jitterbit App Builder application and is intended to be used as a target in an operation.