Using API keys

An API key grants access to a certain set of files, with various permissions. It is very useful and quite convenient to use. Since it is nothing more than a character string, one could think of it as a long and pseudorandom special password.

To learn how to set API keys, read this part of the documentation.

1. Download

To use an API key to download a file, see this script:

#!/usr/bin/env python3


# We need the girder client module.
import girder_client

# First, we initiate the client with the girder server address.
gc = girder_client.GirderClient(apiUrl='https://girder.math.unistra.fr/api/v1')

# We authenticate using only the API key
gc.authenticate(apiKey='KEY')                   (1)

# We download the file using its file ID. The path indicates where the file
# should be written (the full file name should be included at the end of the path)
gc.downloadFile(fileId='FILEID', path='PATH')   (2)
1 KEY is the only needed information to authenticate.
2 FILEID should be replaced by the actual Girder file ID and PATH should be the path where to store the results, including the desired file name and extension.

2. Upload

To upload using an API key:

#!/usr/bin/env python3


# We need the girder client module.
import girder_client

# First, we initiate the client with the girder server address.
gc = girder_client.GirderClient(apiUrl='https://girder.math.unistra.fr/api/v1')

# We authenticate using only the API key
gc.authenticate(apiKey='KEY')                   (1)

# /!\ This is mandatory: we have to open the file in read mode before
# uploading it
f = open('PATH', 'r')                                 (2)

# Now we can upload the file                            (3)
gc.uploadFile(parentId='PID', stream=f, name="NAME", size=SIZE, parentType='TYPE')
1 KEY is the only needed information to authenticate.
2 PATH should be replaced by the full path to the file to read. r stands for "read mode".
3 PID should be replaced by the parent directory ID (on the Girder server). f is the read stream defined previously . NAME should be replaced by the desired file name (on the Girder server). SIZE should be replaced by the file size (in bytes). TYPE is either folder, user, or collection.