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Scan APIs

When you design your Bot, you use the following types of Modules (see "Use Modules"):

Modules provided in the RPA subset
Modules you create by scanning

This chapter describes how to create Modules by scanning Application Programming Interfaces (APIs).

APIs act as an interface between the user interface and the data layer of an application. In API automation, RPA Studio acts as a client that exchanges requests and responses directly with the API. Generally, APIs tend to be more stable than graphical user interfaces. Consequently, API automation makes for a faster and more stable Bot.

However, API automation requires a working knowledge about the webservice in question and may not be quite as intuitive for business users.

From message to Module

API Modules start out as messages that you create in the API Scan:

Request messages to the API.
Response messages from the API.

When you export these messages from API Scan to RPA Studio, RPA Studio turns the messages into Modules: Request Modules and Response Modules.

Just like with any other Module, you create Steps from these Modules and tell the Bot what to do. For instance, you can use a Request Module to send data and then save parts of the response with the Response Module.

Open the scan interface

To open the API Scan, follow the steps below:

In RPA Studio, right-click a Bot or a folder and select Scan from the context menu, or click on Scan in the RPA menu.
In the subsequent dialog, click on API Module.

You can also access the scan in the following ways:

Via the Add dialog as described in "Scan your application and add the Module as a Step".
When you exchange Placeholders with Steps as described in "Create Placeholders".

Navigate the API Scan

The API Scan window consists of 3 sections:

Section	Description
1	Home ribbon menu
2	Project tree of the API project structure
3	Message section

Sections of the API Scan window

Use the Home menu

The Home menu offers the following options:

Option	Description
File	Scan a file or a service. File opens a dialog where you specify the file or service that you want to scan. You can scan the following file types: JSON, RAML, Text, WADL, WSDL, XML, XSD. If you scan a file, API Scan imports it as a simple message. If you scan a service, API Scan imports it with its operations and messages.
URI	Scan a URI or a service. URI opens a dialog where you specify the URI or service that you want to scan. If the URI or service requires authentication or a connection to a proxy server, expand the Advanced section and populate the respective entry fields. If you scan a URI, API Scan imports it as a simple message. If you scan a service, API Scan imports it with its operations and messages.
API Modules	Export your messages as API Modules to RPA Studio.
Update	Update existing API Modules if the request or the response structure has changed. This functionality is available for Modules that use Swagger or RAML schemas and contain XML or JSON payloads.
Request	Show the request message.
Response	Show the response message.
Cookies	View the domain, name, and value of all stored cookies. If a message contains a cookie, RPA Studio sends it in the subsequent request message. When you close the API Scan window, RPA Studio automatically deletes all stored cookies. You can also manually delete cookies by selecting a cookie and pressing DEL.
Add Files	Add a file to your message. You can add a file in the following ways: Add Files > Payload: add the content of your file as the payload. In this case, the file content replaces the current payload, if the message has one. Add Files > Attachment: add the file as an attachment to the message. You can also add attachments in the Attachments tab of the message section.
Search in Payload	Search for strings, regular expressions, and wildcards in the message payload. By default, the search runs from top to bottom.
Validate	Validate the XML structure in the payload of a request or response message. You can validate the payload if the following applies: You have created the payload from a WDSL or XSD file or from a JSON schema, such as JSON, WADL, or Swagger. The message is located under an operation. Double-click an error message to highlight the faulty line in the payload.
Record	Disregard. RPA Studio currently does not support API recording.
Run	Send the selected message to the API and show the response.

Use the project tree

The project tree shows all objects, such as folders, operations, and subordinate messages:

Option	Description
	Project root of the API project
	Service folder
	REST Resource
	Operation
	XML Schema definition
	Message

Use the message section

The message section displays the following information:

Option	Description
Method	HTTP Method for the request message.
Endpoint	API base URL.
Resource	Resource identifier for the specified endpoint.
Payload	Message payload. You can edit the payload as described in "Work with API Payload".
Params	Request and response parameters. You can display and edit parameters as described in "Work with API Parameters".
Auth	Message authentication. You can configure authentication as described in "configure API authentication".
Attachments	Display and edit attachments as described in "Send API attachments".
Advanced	Configure advanced settings, e.g. select a security protocol and disable automatic HTTP redirects (see the Tricentis Tosca documentation).
Headers	Headers of the selected message. You can edit them as described in "Edit message headers".
Status Code	Available in response messages only. Status Code indicates whether the request has been successfully processed.
Response Time	Available in response messages only. Response Time indicates the time in milliseconds between sending the request and receiving the response.

What's next

Put your API Modules to work! Use them in your Bots.

Or check out an example for an API Bot.

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