Free Integration API [FREE - EXTERNAL LINK]

[craigbrass]

Currently, there are two ways to integrate a piece of software with Kayako. The first is a LoginShare which has always been found to confuse the user unless you skin your Kayako installation to look exactly like your main site. It is also confusing as they must login again regardless of if they have already logged into your main site.

The second way is by including Kayako's core files and integrating in a similar way to how ModernBill and WHMCS do. There are a number of problems in doing this. The first is you require access to swift.php and functions.php which are both encoded files and you must decode these before you can edit them. The second is that your templates then become a maze of If and Else statements to say if the interface is your integration, show this. The final issue is that it stops you really being able to upgrade Kayako.

Our solution to this problem has been to write an API with an optional SOAP interface that you can have your main site software (CMS, etc) connect to to get the information it needs (Knowledge Base Categories and Articles, and Tickets). All that you need to do to install this API is to upload it to your Kayako folder on your server which means it doesn't stop you from upgrading Kayako in the future.

We provide this Integration API free of charge. If you wish to build this into an application that you are providing free or commercially, we require you to contact us first for permission (we won't charge you, we just require being contacted first) using our contact form.

Details and Download
Setting Up
Example Usage
Function Documentation
Sorting the URLs in E-Mails
Features for the Future

[Chris Boulton]

You are a deadset champion Craig!

You've just saved me an enormous amount of time as I was going to need to write something similar shortly anyway.

I'll have a play around with it later but thanks!

[craigbrass]

Please let me know if you run into any bugs as I would like to get them ironed out so my own application works fine when released with linking to this API.

[supportskins]

This is simply great! Is going to help a lot of Kayako users.

[Jamie Edwards]

Excellent release, thank you for sharing

[Dewak]

This API rocks Craig, another excellent contribution for the community.

[craigbrass]

I have now fixed the permission issue preventing people from being able to download the API. Sorry about that. Really should try to stay awake at times!

[jnet]

sorry one question what is the use of
MD5 Hash Generator - GTools, free DNS, SEO and hash tools

when you can find out the hash by
GData: An Online MD5 Hash Database
?

[Jamie Edwards]

MD5 hashing when used well is reasonably secure - i.e. when you 'salt' the hash procedure with extra data; it then becomes more unlikely that the data has been databased and is searchable. It is always a possibility, though.

[jnet]

yes I heard about the salt but don't know how to use it

[Jamie Edwards]

There is plenty of information on 'good hashing' on Google

[John Haugeland]

Originally Posted by jnet

yes I heard about the salt but don't know how to use it

Jnet: if you want to do crypto, you really need to learn to do it right. Unlike most fields, in crypto, any tiny mistake can compromise you in a way that cannot be fixed down the road.

Strongly recommended: Applied Cryptography by Bruce Schneier

The long and short of salts are simple: they're just string data that's added to the actual thing-to-be-hashed to prevent lookup tables from making sense. That way, your password, instead of being md5('example'), is md5('salt' . 'example'), or what have you.

Obviously using the word "salt" as your salt wouldn't be smart, but you get the idea; if that salt is a random binary string, that makes MD5 lookup tables pretty much useless.

Doesn't do much to stop rainbow tables, but that's beyond the scope of a forum discussion.

[jnet]

This does not mean that once you register with kayako at the same time you are registered in whmcs ! does it?

[craigbrass]

No. It wasn't designed to do that.

[craigbrass]

Tested with 3.30.00 and working fine.