Create and manage Smart Actions

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What is a Smart Action?
Sooner or later, you will need to perform actions on your data that are specific to your business. Moderating comments, generating an invoice, logging into a customer’s account or banning a user are exactly the kind of important tasks to unlock in order to manage your day-to-day operations.
On our Live Demo example, our companies collection has many examples of Smart Action. The simplest one is Mark as live.
If you're looking for information on native actions (CRUD), check out this page.
Creating a Smart action
In order to create a Smart action, you will first need to declare it in your code for a specific collection. Here we declare a Mark as Live Smart action for the companies collection.
SQL
Mongodb
Rails
/forest/companies.js
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const { collection } = require('forest-express-sequelize');
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​
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collection('companies', {
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  actions: [{ 
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    name: 'Mark as Live'
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  }],
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});
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/forest/companies.js
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const { collection } = require('forest-express-mongoose');
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​
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collection('companies', {
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  actions: [{ 
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    name: 'Mark as Live'
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  }],
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});
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/lib/forest_liana/collections/company.rb
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class Forest::Company
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  include ForestLiana::Collection
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​
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  collection :Company
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  action 'Mark as Live'
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end
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After declaring it, your Smart action will appear in the Smart actions tab within your collection settings. 
A Smart action is displayed in the UI only if:
it is set as "visible" (see screenshot below)
AND
in non-development environments, the user's role must grant the "trigger" permission
You must make the action visible there if you wish users to be able to see it. 
It will then show in the actions dropdown button:
At this point, the Smart Action does nothing, because no route in your Admin backend handles the API call yet. 
The Smart Action behavior is implemented separately from the declaration.
In the following example, we've implemented the Mark as live Smart Action, which simply changes a company's status to live.
SQL
Mongodb
Rails
/routes/companies.js
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...
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​
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router.post('/actions/mark-as-live', permissionMiddlewareCreator.smartAction(), (req, res) => {
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  const recordsGetter = new RecordsGetter(companies, request.user, request.query);
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  return recordsGetter.getIdsFromRequest(req)
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    .then(companyIds => companies.update({ status: 'live' }, { where: { id: companyIds }}))
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    .then(() => res.send({ success: 'Company is now live!' }));
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});
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​
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...
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​
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module.exports = router;
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/routes/companies.js
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...
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​
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router.post('/actions/mark-as-live', permissionMiddlewareCreator.smartAction(), (req, res) => {
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  const recordsGetter = new RecordsGetter(companies, request.user, request.query);
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​
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  return recordsGetter.getIdsFromRequest(req)
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    .then(companyIds => companies.update({ status: 'live' }, { where: { id: companyIds }}))
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    .then(() => res.send({ success: 'Company is now live!' }));
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});
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​
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...
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​
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module.exports = router;
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The route declaration takes place in config/routes.rb.
/config/routes.rb
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Rails.application.routes.draw do
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  # MUST be declared before the mount ForestLiana::Engine.
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  namespace :forest do
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    post '/actions/mark-as-live' => 'companies#mark_as_live'
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  end
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  mount ForestLiana::Engine => '/forest'
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end
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The business logic in this Smart Action is extremely simple. We only update here the attribute status of the companies to the value live:
/app/controllers/forest/companies_controller.rb
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class Forest::CompaniesController < ForestLiana::SmartActionsController
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  def mark_as_live
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    company_id = ForestLiana::ResourcesGetter.get_ids_from_request(params).first
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    Company.update(company_id, status: 'live')
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​
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    head :no_content
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  end
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end
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Note that Forest Admin takes care of the authentication thanks to the ForestLiana::SmartActionsController parent class controller.
You may have to add CORS headers to enable the domain app.forestadmin.com to trigger API call on your Application URL, which is on a different domain name (e.g. localhost:3000).
What's happening under the hood?
When you trigger the Smart Action from the UI, your browser will make an API call: POST /forest/actions/mask-as-live. 
If you want to customize the API call, check the list of available options.
The payload of the HTTP request is based on a JSON API document. 
The data.attributes.ids key allows you to retrieve easily the selected records from the UI.
The data.attributes.values key contains all the values of your input fields (handling input values).
Other properties of data.attributes are used to manage the select all behavior.
payload example
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{
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  "data": {
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    "attributes": {
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      "ids": ["1985"],
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      "values": {},
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      "collection_name": "companies",
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      ...
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    },
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    "type": "custom-action-requests"
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  }
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}
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Should you want not to use the RecordsGetter and use request attributes directly instead, be very careful about edge cases (related data view, etc).
Available Smart Action options
Here is the list of available options to customize your Smart Action:
Name
Type
Description
name
string
Label of the action displayed in Forest Admin.
type
string
(optional) Type of the action. Can be bulk, global or single. Default is bulk.
fields
array of objects
(optional) Check the handling input values section.
download
boolean
(optional) If true, the action triggers a file download in the Browser. Default is false
endpoint
string
(optional) Set the API route to call when clicking on the Smart Action. Default is '/forest/actions/name-of-the-action-dasherized'
httpMethod
string
(optional) Set the HTTP method to use when clicking on the Smart Action. Default is POST.
Want to go further with Smart Actions? Read the next page to discover how to make your Smart Actions even more powerful with Forms!
Available Smart Action properties
req.user
The JWT Data Token contains all the details of the requesting user. On any authenticated request to your Admin Backend, you can access them with the variable req.user.
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req.user content example
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​
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{
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  "id": "172",
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  "email": "[email protected]",
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  "firstName": "Angelica",
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  "lastName": "Bengtsson",
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  "team": "Pole Vault",
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  "role": "Manager",
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  "tags": [{ key: "country", value: "Canada" }],
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  "renderingId": "4998",
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  "iat": 1569913709,
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  "exp": 1571123309
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}
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req.body
You can find important information in the body of the request. 
This is particularly useful to find the context in which an action was performed via a relationship.
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{
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  data: {
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    attributes: {
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      collection_name: 'users', //collection on which the action has been triggered
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      values: {},
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      ids: [Array], //IDs of selected records
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      parent_collection_name: 'companies', //Parent collection name
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      parent_collection_id: '1', //Parent collection id
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      parent_association_name: 'users', //Name of the association
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      all_records: false,
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      all_records_subset_query: {},
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      all_records_ids_excluded: [],
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      smart_action_id: 'users-reset-password'
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    },
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    type: 'custom-action-requests'
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  }
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}
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Customizing response
Default success notification
Returning a 204 status code to the HTTP request of the Smart Action shows the default notification message in the browser.
On our Live Demo example, if our Smart Action Mark as Live route is implemented like this:
/routes/companies.js
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...
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​
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router.post('/actions/mark-as-live', permissionMiddlewareCreator.smartAction(), (req, res) => {
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  // ...
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  res.status(204).send();
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});
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​
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...
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We will see a success message in the browser:
 
 
Custom success notification
If we return a 200 status code with an object { success: '...' } as the payload like this…
SQL
Mongodb
Rails
/routes/companies.js
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...
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​
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router.post('/actions/mark-as-live', permissionMiddlewareCreator.smartAction(), (req, res) => {
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  // ...
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  res.send({ success: 'Company is now live!' });
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});
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​
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...
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/routes/companies.js
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...
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​
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router.post('/actions/mark-as-live', permissionMiddlewareCreator.smartAction(), (req, res) => {
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  // ...
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  res.send({ success: 'Company is now live!' });
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});
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​
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...
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class Forest::CompaniesController < ForestLiana::SmartActionsController
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  def mark_as_live
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    # ...
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    render json: { success: 'Company is now live!' }
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  end
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end
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… the success notification will look like this:
​
 
Custom error notification
Finally, returning a 400 status code allows you to return errors properly.
SQL
Mongodb
Rails
/routes/companies.js
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...
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​
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router.post('/actions/mark-as-live', permissionMiddlewareCreator.smartAction(), (req, res) => {
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  // ...
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  res.status(400).send({ error: 'The company was already live!' });
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});
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​
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...
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/routes/companies.js
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...
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​
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router.post('/actions/mark-as-live', permissionMiddlewareCreator.smartAction(), (req, res) => {
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  // ...
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  res.status(400).send({ error: 'The company was already live!' });
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});
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​
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...
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/app/controllers/forest/companies_controller.rb
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class Forest::CompaniesController < ForestLiana::SmartActionsController
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  def mark_as_live
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    # ...
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    render status: 400, json: { error: 'The company was already live!' }
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  end
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end
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​
 
Custom HTML response
You can also return a HTML page as a response to give more feedback to the admin user who has triggered your Smart Action. To do this, you just need to return a 200 status code with an object { html: '...' }.
On our Live Demo example, we’ve created a Charge credit card Smart Action on the Collection customersthat returns a custom HTML response.
SQL
Mongodb
Rails
/forest/companies.js
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const { collection } = require('forest-express-sequelize');
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​
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collection('customers', {
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  actions: [{
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    name: 'Charge credit card',
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    type: 'single',
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    fields: [{
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      field: 'amount',
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      isRequired: true,
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      description: 'The amount (USD) to charge the credit card. Example: 42.50',
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      type: 'Number'
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    }, {
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      field: 'description',
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      isRequired: true,
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      description: 'Explain the reason why you want to charge manually the customer here',
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      type: 'String'
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    }]
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  }]
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});
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/routes/customers.js
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...
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const stripe = require('stripe')(process.env.STRIPE_SECRET_KEY);
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​
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router.post('/actions/charge-credit-card', permissionMiddlewareCreator.smartAction(), (req, res) => {
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  let customerId = req.body.data.attributes.ids[0];
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  let amount = req.body.data.attributes.values.amount * 100;
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  let description = req.body.data.attributes.values.description;
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​
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  return customers
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    .findByPk(customerId)
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    .then((customer) => {
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      return stripe.charges.create({
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        amount: amount,
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        currency: 'usd',
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        customer: customer.stripe_id,
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        description: description
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      });
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    })
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    .then((response) => {
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      res.send({
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        html: `
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        <p class="c-clr-1-4 l-mt l-mb">\$${response.amount / 100} USD has been successfuly charged.</p>
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        <strong class="c-form__label--read c-clr-1-2">Credit card</strong>
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        <p class="c-clr-1-4 l-mb">**** **** **** ${response.source.last4}</p>
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        <strong class="c-form__label--read c-clr-1-2">Expire</strong>
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        <p class="c-clr-1-4 l-mb">${response.source.exp_month}/${response.source.exp_year}</p>
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        <strong class="c-form__label--read c-clr-1-2">Card type</strong>
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        <p class="c-clr-1-4 l-mb">${response.source.brand}</p>
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        <strong class="c-form__label--read c-clr-1-2">Country</strong>
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        <p class="c-clr-1-4 l-mb">${response.source.country}</p>
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        `
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      });
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    });
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});
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​
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...
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​
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module.exports = router;
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/forest/companies.js
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const { collection } = require('forest-express-mongoose');
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​
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collection('Customer', {
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  actions: [{
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    name: 'Charge credit card',
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    type: 'single',
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    fields: [{
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      field: 'amount',
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      isRequired: true,
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      description: 'The amount (USD) to charge the credit card. Example: 42.50',
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      type: 'Number'
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    }, {
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      field: 'description',
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      isRequired: true,
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      description: 'Explain the reason why you want to charge manually the customer here',
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      type: 'String'
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    }]
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  }]
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});
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/routes/customers.js
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...
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const stripe = require('stripe')(process.env.STRIPE_SECRET_KEY);
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​
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router.post('/actions/charge-credit-card', (req, res) => {
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  let customerId = req.body.data.attributes.ids[0];
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  let amount = req.body.data.attributes.values.amount * 100;
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  let description = req.body.data.attributes.values.description;
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​
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  return Customer
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    .findById(customerId)
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    .then((customer) => {
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      return stripe.charges.create({
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        amount: amount,
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        currency: 'usd',
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        customer: customer.stripe_id,
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        description: description
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      });
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    })
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    .then((response) => {
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      res.send({
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        html: `
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        <p class="c-clr-1-4 l-mt l-mb">\$${response.amount / 100} USD has been successfuly charged.</p>
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        <strong class="c-form__label--read c-clr-1-2">Credit card</strong>
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        <p class="c-clr-1-4 l-mb">**** **** **** ${response.source.last4}</p>
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        <strong class="c-form__label--read c-clr-1-2">Expire</strong>
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        <p class="c-clr-1-4 l-mb">${response.source.exp_month}/${response.source.exp_year}</p>
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        <strong class="c-form__label--read c-clr-1-2">Card type</strong>
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        <p class="c-clr-1-4 l-mb">${response.source.brand}</p>
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        <strong class="c-form__label--read c-clr-1-2">Country</strong>
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        <p class="c-clr-1-4 l-mb">${response.source.country}</p>
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        `
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      });
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    });
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});
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​
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...
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​
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module.exports = router;
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​
/lib/forest_liana/collections/customer.rb
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class Forest::Customer
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  include ForestLiana::Collection
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​
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  collection :Customer
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​
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  action 'Charge credit card', type: 'single', fields: [{
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    field: 'amount',
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    is_required: true,
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    description: 'The amount (USD) to charge the credit card. Example: 42.50',
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    type: 'Number'
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  }, {
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    field: 'description',
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    is_required: true,
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    description: 'Explain the reason why you want to charge manually the customer here',
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    type: 'String'
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  }]
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end
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/config/routes.rb
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Rails.application.routes.draw do
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  # MUST be declared before the mount ForestLiana::Engine.
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  namespace :forest do
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    post '/actions/charge-credit-card' => 'customers#charge_credit_card'
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  end
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  mount ForestLiana::Engine => '/forest'
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end
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/app/controllers/forest/customers_controller.rb
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class Forest::CustomersController < ForestLiana::SmartActionsController
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  def charge_credit_card
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    customer_id = ForestLiana::ResourcesGetter.get_ids_from_request(params).first
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    amount = params.dig('data', 'attributes', 'values', 'amount').to_i
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    description = params.dig('data', 'attributes', 'values', 'description')
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​
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    customer = Customer.find(customer_id)
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​
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    response = Stripe::Charge.create(
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      amount: amount * 100,
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      currency: 'usd',
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      customer: customer.stripe_id,
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      description: description
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    )
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​
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    render json: { html: <<EOF
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<p class="c-clr-1-4 l-mt l-mb">$#{response.amount / 100.0} USD has been successfuly charged.</p>
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​
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<strong class="c-form__label--read c-clr-1-2">Credit card</strong>
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<p class="c-clr-1-4 l-mb">**** **** **** #{response.source.last4}</p>
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​
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<strong class="c-form__label--read c-clr-1-2">Expire</strong>
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<p class="c-clr-1-4 l-mb">#{response.source.exp_month}/#{response.source.exp_year}</p>
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​
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<strong class="c-form__label--read c-clr-1-2">Card type</strong>
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<p class="c-clr-1-4 l-mb">#{response.source.brand}</p>
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​
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<strong class="c-form__label--read c-clr-1-2">Country</strong>
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<p class="c-clr-1-4 l-mb">#{response.source.country}</p>
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EOF
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    }
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  end
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end
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Setting up a webhook
After a smart action you can set up a HTTP (or HTTPS) callback - a webhook - to forward information to other applications.

To set up a webhook all you have to do is to add a webhookobject in the response of your action.
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Mongodb
Rails
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response.send({
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  webhook: { // This is the object that will be used to fire http calls.
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    url: 'http://my-company-name', // The url of the company providing the service.
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    method: 'POST', // The method you would like to use (typically a POST).
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    headers: { }, // You can add some headers if needed (you can remove it).
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    body: { // A body to send to the url (only JSON supported).
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      adminToken: 'your-admin-token',
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    },
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  },
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});
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response.send({
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  webhook: { // This is the object that will be used to fire http calls.
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    url: 'http://my-company-name', // The url of the company providing the service.
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    method: 'POST', // The method you would like to use (typically a POST).
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    headers: { }, // You can add some headers if needed (you can remove it).
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    body: { // A body to send to the url (only JSON supported).
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      adminToken: 'your-admin-token',
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    },
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  },
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});
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render json: {
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  webhook: { # This is the object that will be used to fire http calls.
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    url: 'http://my-company-name', # The url of the company providing the service.
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    method: 'POST', # The method you would like to use (typically a POST).
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    headers: {}, # You can add some headers if needed (you can remove it).
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    body: { # A body to send to the url (only JSON supported).
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      adminToken: 'your-admin-token',
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    }
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  }
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}
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Webhooks are commonly used to perform smaller requests and tasks, like sending emails or impersonating a user.
Another interesting use of this is automating SSO authentication into your external apps.
Downloading a file
SQL
Mongodb
Rails
On our Live Demo, the collection customers has a Smart Action Generate invoice. In this use case, we want to download the generated PDF invoice after clicking on the action. To indicate a Smart Action returns something to download, you have to enable the option download.
/forest/customers.js
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const { collection } = require('forest-express-sequelize');
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​
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collection('customers', {
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  actions: [{
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    name: 'Generate invoice',
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    download: true // If true, the action triggers a file download in the Browser.
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  }]
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});
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/routes/customers.js
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...
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​
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router.post('/actions/generate-invoice', permissionMiddlewareCreator.smartAction(),
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  (req, res) => {
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    let options = {
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      root: __dirname + '/../public/',
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      dotfiles: 'deny',
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      headers: {
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        'Access-Control-Expose-Headers': 'Content-Disposition',
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        'Content-Disposition': 'attachment; filename="invoice-2342.pdf"'
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      }
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    };
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​
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    let fileName = 'invoice-2342.pdf';
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    res.sendFile(fileName, options, (error) => {
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      if (error) { next(error); }
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    });
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  });
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...
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​
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module.exports = router;
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On our Live Demo, the collection customers has a Smart Action Generate invoice. In this use case, we want to download the generated PDF invoice after clicking on the action. To indicate a Smart Action returns something to download, you have to enable the option download.
/forest/customers.js
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const { collection } = require('forest-express-mongoose');
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​
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collection('Customer', {
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  actions: [{
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    name: 'Generate invoice',
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    download: true // If true, the action triggers a file download in the Browser.
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  }]
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});
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/routes/customers.js
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...
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​
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router.post('/actions/generate-invoice', Liana.ensureAuthenticated,
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  (req, res) => {
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    let options = {
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      root: __dirname + '/../public/',
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      dotfiles: 'deny',
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      headers: {
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        'Access-Control-Expose-Headers': 'Content-Disposition',
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        'Content-Disposition': 'attachment; filename="invoice-2342.pdf"'
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      }
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    };
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​
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    let fileName = 'invoice-2342.pdf';
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    res.sendFile(fileName, options, (error) => {
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      if (error) { next(error); }
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    });
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  });
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​
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...
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​
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module.exports = router;
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On our Live Demo, the collection Customer has a Smart Action Generate invoice. In this use case, we want to download the generated PDF invoice after clicking on the action. To indicate a Smart Action returns something to download, you have to enable the option download.
Don’t forget to expose the Content-Disposition header in the CORS configuration (as shown in the code below) to be able to customize the filename to download.
/lib/forest_liana/collections/customer.rb
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class Forest::Customer
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  include ForestLiana::Collection
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​
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  collection :Customer
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​
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  action 'Generate invoice', download: true
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end
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/config/routes.rb
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Rails.application
What is a Smart Action?

Creating a Smart action

What's happening under the hood?

Available Smart Action options

Available Smart Action properties

req.user

req.body

Customizing response

Default success notification

Custom success notification

Custom error notification

​

Custom HTML response

Setting up a webhook

Downloading a file
