What can you actually do with the Foreman REST API?

https://mein-foreman-server.de/api/environments

The information from the Foreman Server about the environments is then output in JSON format:

{
  "total": 34,
  "subtotal": 34,
  "page": 1,
  "per_page": 20,
  "search": null,
  "sort": {
    "by": null,
    "order": null
  },
  "results": [{"created_at":"2015-10-07T07:21:42Z","updated_at":"2015-10-07T07:21:42Z","name":"api_new","id":3},{"created_at":"2015-10-07T07:21:17Z","updated_at":"2015-10-07T07:21:17Z","name":"apitest","id":2}, ...]
}

As you can see, reading information using the REST API is quite easy.

It becomes more difficult with more complex tasks in connection with existing data that is dependent. For example, if you want to import multiple data for organizations or locations that have already been created in Foreman. In this case you have to generate an import with a bit more effort. This is where the following REST API options come into play in order to be able to carry out the import or adjustments automatically.

• With the bash shell using the CURL command
• With the Foreman API Gem
• directly with a programming language

The REST API accesses Foreman 1.9. we tested as follows.

1. Using CURL via the Bash console
2. With Ruby versions 1.8.7, 1.9.2 and 2.2.0 and the net/http(s) and uri libraries
3. With Ruby On Rails 4 and the ActiveResource gem

Our conclusion from the tests with the Forman REST API. If you plan to briefly test the REST API or make a few minor adjustments using a script, using CURL is probably the easiest and fastest option. The example above implemented with CURL looks like this.

$ curl -u admin:password -H "Accept:application/json" https://mein-foreman-server.de/api/environments

If you want to carry out more complex imports, updates or other cleanups, using a programming language is highly recommended. In our examples, we were able to work well with Ruby and the ActiveResource gem and quickly create an easy-to-understand and reusable interface. However, if it is not possible to use the ActiveResource gem or install it on a server, you can quickly create a program/script that carries out the desired tasks using the Ruby version available on the server. Alternatively, there is also a gem from the Foreman developers called Foreman API. What can you actually do with the Foreman REST API? – A whole lot!