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eBay API client for Node.js

Build Status

Intro

This module aims to support all of eBay's APIs (Trading, Shopping, Finding, Merchandising, etc), with an interface that is both a) somewhat consistent across APIs and b) not too different from the underlying interface.

eBay's APIs are primarily XML-based, so this module unfortunately has to do a lot of JSON<->XML conversion.

History

  1. I created this module in 2012, for one of the first Node.js apps I ever launched, and built it out enough to handle my use cases at the time.
  2. Since then, several other people have contributed to the module.
  3. I decided, after reviewing the alternatives and finding nothing better, to revive this module again for a project in October 2015. I've pulled in improvements from various forks, refactored most of the code, and started adding tests.
    It is possible that in adding support for new APIs/endpoints, others that used to work no longer work.

I don't have time to build this out to support every endpoint, so if you are using this module, or would like to use this module, please submit pull requests!

Current state

The 1.x branch is currently under active development, and there may be breaking changes between minor releases.
(I realize this is contrary to best practice, but the module is not yet settled enough to major-bump every time.)

If you are using the 1.x branch, I recommend that you a) let me know your use case, b) help develop it, c) watch the commit and release logs carefully.

Usage

npm install ebay-api

var ebay = require('ebay-api');

(See the examples)

A word on the eBay APIs

eBay has an enormous collection of APIs built over the years. Enter the labyrinth here: http://developer.ebay.com or here: https://www.x.com/developers/ebay/products

Sign up for an API key here: https://publisher.ebaypartnernetwork.com/PublisherToolsAPI (You'll need a key to run the examples.)

Make sure to obey the eBay API License and Terms when using this library.

Methods

xmlRequest(options, callback)

Makes an XML POST to an eBay API endpoints.

options must contain:

  • serviceName: e.g. 'Finding'
  • opType: e.g. 'findItemsAdvanced'
  • appId: your eBay API application ID

and can optionally contain:

  • params: (see examples and API documentation)
  • reqOptions: passed to the request module, e.g. for additional headers, or timeout.
  • xmlConverter: function which takes the response XML and converts to JSON. Module uses xml2js by default, but can be overridden.
  • parser: function which takes the response data (as JSON object) and extracts items (or other units depending on the query). Module includes a default parser.
  • sandbox: boolean (default false = production). May need to add additional endpoint URLs to the code as needed.
  • raw: boolean, set true to skip parsing and return the raw XML response.
  • parseDepth: how many levels down to try to parse/interpret the response. The default parser is still experimental. Set this to 0 or 1 to let your app do all the parsing. (Default: unlimited)

for authentication, include:

  • devId
  • certId
  • authToken

callback gets (error, data).

Helpers

flatten(obj)

Simplifies the JSON format of the API responses:

  • Single-element arrays and objects are flatted to their key:value pair.
  • The structure of the format { @key:KEY, __value__:VALUE } is flattened to its key:value pair.
  • Other weird structures (from the API itself, or the XML->JSON conversion) are simplified. (See the code for details.)

Its purpose is to make the data easier to handle in code, and to model/query in MongoDB.

Runs synchronously, returns flattened object.

The default parser will flatten() the response to a finite depth (because infinite recursion on an indeterminate response size would cause an unnecessary performance hit).
If you want to flatten further, use this method directly.

parseResponseJson(data, options, callback)

The default parser. Can be overridden (see options on xmlRequest()).

convertXmlToJson(xmlBody, options, callback)

The default XML->JS converter. Uses xml2js. Can be overridden (see options on xmlRequest()).

getLatestApiVersions(callback)

Disabled in 1.x. Please submit a PR with a fix/refactor if you use this.

Get the version numbers of the APIs that make their version available.

Errors

The client exports and attempts to differentiate between EbaySystemError, EbayRequestError, and EbayClientError.

An EbayAuthenticationError is also defined, but not yet hooked up to anything.

See http://developer.ebay.com/DevZone/Shopping/docs/CallRef/types/ErrorClassificationCodeType.html and http://developer.ebay.com/devzone/xml/docs/Reference/ebay/Errors/ErrorMessages.htm.

Examples

See the examples directory. To run the examples, you need to add your own app key (I don't want my keys to be disabled for abuse!) - you can get one here.

Debugging

This module uses the debug module for internal logging.

Run your app (or node REPL) with DEBUG=ebay* ... to see output.

Enjoy!