# Getting started with AshJsonApi
## Installing AshJsonApi
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### Using Igniter (recommended)
```sh
mix igniter.install ash_json_api
```
### Manually
This manual setup branches off from the [Getting Started with Ash](https://hexdocs.pm/ash/get-started.html) guide.
If you aren't starting from there, replace the application name, `Helpdesk`, with your application name,
and replace the `Ash.Domain` name, `Helpdesk.Support` with a domain or domains from your own application.
#### Add the ash_json_api dependency
In your mix.exs, add the Ash JSON API dependency:
```elixir
defp deps do
[
# .. other dependencies
{:ash_json_api, "~> 1.0"},
]
end
```
#### Accept json_api content type
Add the following to your `config/config.exs`.
```elixir
# config/config.exs
config :mime,
extensions: %{"json" => "application/vnd.api+json"},
types: %{"application/vnd.api+json" => ["json"]}
```
This configuration is required to support working with the JSON:API custom mime type.
After adding the configuration above, compiling the project might throw an error:
```
ERROR! the application :mime has a different value set for key :types during runtime compared to compile time.
```
This can happen if `:mime` was already compiled before the configuration was changed and can be
fixed by running
```
mix deps.compile mime --force
```
#### Create a router
Create a separate Router Module to work with your Domains. It will generate the routes for
your Resources and provide the functions you would usually have in a Controller.
We will later forward requests from your Applications primary (Phoenix) Router to you Ash JSON API Router.
```elixir
defmodule HelpdeskWeb.JsonApiRouter do
use AshJsonApi.Router,
# The api modules you want to serve
domains: [Module.concat(["Helpdesk.Support"])],
# optionally an open_api route
open_api: "/open_api"
end
```
> ### Whats up with `Module.concat/1`? {: .info}
>
> This `Module.concat/1` prevents a [compile-time dependency](https://dashbit.co/blog/speeding-up-re-compilation-of-elixir-projects) from this router module to the domain modules. It is an implementation detail of how `forward/2` works that you end up with a compile-time dependency on the schema, but there is no need for this dependency, and that dependency can have _drastic_ impacts on your compile times in certain scenarios.
Additionally, your Resource requires a type, a base route and a set of allowed HTTP methods and what action they will trigger.
#### Add `AshJsonApi.Plug.Parser` to your endpoint
This handles any file uploads, if you have resource actions with the `:file` type.
```elixir
plug Plug.Parsers,
parsers: [:urlencoded, :multipart, :json, AshJsonApi.Plug.Parser], # <- add it to this list.
pass: ["*/*"],
json_decoder: Jason
```
You don't have to add this if you don't plan on doing any file uploads, but
there is no cost to adding it, even if you don't use it.
#### Add the routes from your domain module(s)
To make your Resources accessible to the outside world, forward requests from your Phoenix router to the router you created for your domains.
For example:
```elixir
scope "/api/json" do
pipe_through(:api)
forward "/helpdesk", HelpdeskWeb.JsonApiRouter
end
```
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## Configure your Resources and Domain and expose actions
These examples are based off of the [Getting Started with Ash](https://hexdocs.pm/ash/get-started.html) guide.
### Add the AshJsonApi extension to your domain and resource
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### Using Igniter (recommended)
To set up an existing resource of your own with `AshJsonApi`, run:
```sh
mix ash.patch.extend Your.Resource.Name json_api
```
### Manually
Add to your domain:
```elixir
defmodule Helpdesk.Support do
use Ash.Domain, extensions: [AshJsonApi.Domain]
...
```
And to your resource:
```elixir
defmodule Helpdesk.Support.Ticket do
use Ash.Resource, extensions: [AshJsonApi.Resource]
# ...
json_api do
type "ticket"
end
end
```
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## Define Routes
Routes can be defined on the resource or the domain. If you define them on the domain (which is our default recommendation), the resource in question must still use the `AshJsonApi.Resource` extension, and define its own type.
### Defining routes on the domain
```elixir
defmodule Helpdesk.Support do
use Ash.Domain, extensions: [AshJsonApi.Domain]
json_api do
routes do
# in the domain `base_route` acts like a scope
base_route "/tickets", Helpdesk.Support.Ticket do
get :read
index :read
post :open
end
end
end
end
```
And then add the extension and type to the resource:
```elixir
defmodule Helpdesk.Support.Ticket do
use Ash.Resource, extensions: [AshJsonApi.Resource]
# ...
json_api do
type "ticket"
end
end
```
### Defining routes on the resource
Here we show an example of defining routes on the resource.
```elixir
defmodule Helpdesk.Support.Ticket do
use Ash.Resource, extensions: [AshJsonApi.Resource]
# ...
json_api do
type "ticket"
routes do
# on the resource, the `base` applies to all routes
base "/tickets"
get :read
index :read
post :open
# ...
end
end
end
```
Check out the [AshJsonApi.Resource documentation on
Hex](https://hexdocs.pm/ash_json_api/AshJsonApi.Resource.html) for more information.
## Run your API
From here on out its the standard Phoenix behavior. Start your application with `mix phx.server`
and your API should be ready to try out. Should you be wondering what routes are available, you can
print all available routes for each Resource:
```elixir
Helpdesk.Support.Ticket
|> AshJsonApi.Resource.Info.routes(Helpdesk.Support)
```
Make sure that all requests you make to the API use the `application/vnd.api+json` type in both the
`Accept` and `Content-Type` (where applicable) headers. The `Accept` header may be omitted.
Examples:
1. Create a ticket
```bash
curl -X POST 'localhost:4000/api/json/helpdesk/tickets' \
--header 'Accept: application/vnd.api+json' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/vnd.api+json' \
--data-raw '{
"data": {
"type": "ticket",
"attributes": {
"subject": "This ticket was created through the JSON API"
}
}
}'
```
1. Get all tickets
```bash
curl 'localhost:4000/api/json/helpdesk/tickets'
```
1. Get a specific ticket
```bash
# Add the uuid of a Ticket you created earlier
curl 'localhost:4000/api/json/helpdesk/tickets/<uuid>'
```
## Open API
If you want to expose your API via Swagger UI or Redoc, see [the open api documentation](/documentation/topics/open-api.md).
