PyConfluence REST API wrapper ("Pyco")

PyConfluence is an API wrapper for Atlassian's Confluence service that is used extensively in automated documentation here at Fulcrum Technologies. It is designed with convenience in mind and allows for easy interaction with the numerous services Confluence offers.

Setup

To get going with PyConfluence (or "Pyco", because "PyConfluence" has lots of letters in it), you're first going to want to install "pyconfluence" with pip:

pip install pyconfluence

Once that's done, you'll need to give it your credentials by setting them as environment variables. Here's the step-by-step process:

1. Create a file named ".pyconfluence" in your home directory ("~/.pyconfluence").

2. In that file, input the following lines (with appropriate credentials):

   export PYCONFLUENCE_USER=[username for Confluence account]

   export PYCONFLUENCE_TOKEN=[password for Confluence account]

   export PYCONFLUENCE_ORG=[organization name; found in "https://[org].atlassian.net/wiki/..." URL]

3. Save the file, then add this to ".bash_profile" in your home directory ("~/.bash_profile"):

   source ~/.pyconfluence

4. Once this is done, on startup these environment variables will be loaded.

5. There is no step 5, because you're done! Woo!

How to use

Import PyConfluence in your Python script by transcribing this tremendously difficult and complex series of keywords:

import pyconfluence

Whew! You did it. Now we can begin using Pyco (remember, that's PyConfluence).

Wait, wait; I lied. We can't yet, because there's some basic stuff about Confluence that should be explained first as it pertains to Pyco.

What does [x] mean?

Here are some words/phrases you're going to need to be familiar with, and their definitions:

• A page ID is a unique identifier (in form of a number) that is given to each and every page. There is no known way to control what page ID a page receives. To find this ID, go to the editing interface for that page and find it at the end of the URL. Alternatively, use the get_page_id() function in Pyco. Note: in actions.py, the variable "id" is the same as the page ID.
• A space is a group of pages in Confluence in essence; however for purposes in context of Pyco, this word is the same as the space identifier. To find this identifier, go to the space and look at the URL. You'll find it right after ".../wiki/display/". Unless that gets changed. Then feel free to send me hatemail!
• A parent ID is the same as a page ID and can be found the same way. The key difference is that a page can only be created when given a parent to sit under; the page whose ID is given as a parent ID will become the parent to the newly created page. Capiche? See the function create_page() for more details.
• A page name is...yeah, you guess it. The name for a page. In Highlander style, there can only be one in any given space. You can also decide exactly what page name you want, unlike page IDs.
• Content is the source XHTML for any given page. Let me repeat: that's XHTML...*not* HTML. There are subtle differences between the two that will often give you a headache when trying to create pages. Unfortunately there's no easy way to look at the XHTML of a page without using the API. Try get_page_content() and learn some stuff!

PyConfluence functions

Now that you know all of those terms and have memorized all their definitions word-for-word, you can begin using Pyco without breaking a sweat. Although one would wonder why you were sweating in the first place.

Below I will list the current functions for PyConfluence. I'll be updating this list as long as the script itself is being updated. For more information, check out pyconfluence/actions.py.

• create_page(name, parent_id, space, content): Create a page in Confluence.
• delete_page(id): Delete a page from Confluence.
• delete_page_full(id): Delete a page from Confluence, along with its children.
• get_page_full(id): Return JSON containing information about page.
• get_page_full_more(name, space): Return content different than that from get_page_content, in JSON.
• get_page_content(id): Return XHTML content of a page.
• get_page_name(id): Return name of a page based on passed page id.
• get_page_id(name, space): Return id of a page based on passed page name and space.
• page_exists(name, space): Return True if named page currently exists in specified space.
• get_page_children(id): Return list of a page's children as JSON.

You've reached the end!

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