A nice, declarative way of managing JSON API calls with Redux.

Installation

npm install redux-bees --save

Or if you use Yarn:

yarn add redux-bees

This library makes use of the Fetch API to make AJAX requests, so make sure to add a polyfill if your execution environment is not equipped with it.

Usage

• Defining your API endpoints
  • Customize headers
  • Dynamic change of baseUrl
  • Resolve/reject middlewares
• Redux integration
• State selectors
• React integration
• Conditional fetch
• Dependent data loading
• Retrieving compound documents
• Forced refetch
• Cache invalidation
• Server-side data loading

Defining your API endpoints

Start by defining the endpoints of your API:

import { buildApi, get, post, patch, destroy } from 'redux-bees';

const apiEndpoints = {
  getPosts:      { method: get,     path: '/posts' },
  getPost:       { method: get,     path: '/posts/:id' },
  createPost:    { method: post,    path: '/posts' },
  updatePost:    { method: patch,   path: '/posts/:id' },
  destroyPost:   { method: destroy, path: '/posts/:id' },
  getCategory:   { method: get,     path: '/categories/:id' },
  getComments:   { method: get,     path: '/posts/:postId/relationships/comments' },
  createComment: { method: post,    path: '/posts/:postId/relationships/comments' },
};

const config = {
  baseUrl: 'https://api.yourservice.com'
};

const api = buildApi(apiEndpoints, config);

You can then perform API requests like this:

api.getPosts()
.then((result) => {
  // {
  //   status: 200,
  //   headers: {
  //     'content-type': 'application/vnd.api+json'
  //   },
  //   body: {
  //     data: [
  //       {
  //         id: 413,
  //         type: 'posts',
  //         attributes: {
  //           title: 'My awesome post',
  //           ...
  //         }
  //       }
  //     ]
  //   }
  // }
})
.catch((error) => {
  // {
  //   status: 404,
  //   headers: {
  //     'content-type': 'application/vnd.api+json'
  //   },
  //   body: {
  //     errors: [
  //       {
  //         status: '404',
  //         title:  'Resource not found',
  //         ...
  //       }
  //     ]
  //   }
  // }
});

The arguments you need to pass depend on the HTTP method of the request and the presence of placeholders in the path declared for the endpoint:

api.getPost({ id: 12 })
// GET https://api.yourservice.com/posts/12

api.getPost({ id: 12, include: 'comments' })
// GET https://api.yourservice.com/posts/12?include=comments

api.createPost({ data: { type: 'post', attributes: { ... }}})
// POST https://api.yourservice.com/posts

api.updatePost({ id: 12 }, { data: { id: 12, type: 'post', attributes: { ... }}})
// PATCH https://api.yourservice.com/posts/12

api.destroyPost({ id: 12 })
// DELETE https://api.yourservice.com/posts/12

api.getComments({ postId: 12 })
// GET https://api.yourservice.com/posts/12/relationships/comments

api.createComment({ postId: 12 }, { data: { type: 'comment', attributes: { ... }}})
// POST https://api.yourservice.com/posts/12/relationships/comments

If you perform multiple concurrent requests to the same endpoint with the same parameters, a single API call will be performed, and every request will be attached to the same promise:

api.getPost({ id: 12 })
.then(data => console.log(data));

// This won't produce a new API call

api.getPost({ id: 12 })
.then(data => console.log(data));

Customize headers

By default, API calls will have the following headers setup for you:

Content-Type: application/vnd.api+json
Accept: application/vnd.api+json

If you need to pass additional headers, you can use the configureHeaders option:

import store from './store';

const config = {
  baseUrl: 'https://api.yourservice.com'
  configureHeaders(headers) {
    return {
      ...headers,
      'Authorization': `Bearer ${store.getState().session.bearerToken}`,
    };
  },
};

Dynamic change of baseUrl

In some applications the URL Endpoint may change during runtime. To help with this scenario the baseUrl config option can either be a String or Function:

import store from './store';

const config = {
  baseUrl() {
    return store.getState().app.endpoint;
  }
};

Resolve/reject middlewares

If you need to execute specific code after every request, or to tweak the response you get from the server, you can use the afterResolve and afterReject options:

import camelcaseKeys from 'camelcase-keys'

const config = {
  baseUrl: 'https://api.yourservice.com',
  afterResolve({ status, headers, body }) {
    return Promise.resolve({ status, headers, body: camelcaseKeys(body) });
  },
  afterReject({ status, headers, body }) {
    if (status === 401) {
      // ie. redirect to login page
      document.location = '/login';
    } else {
      return Promise.reject({ status, headers, body: camelcaseKeys(body) });
    }
  },
};

Redux integration

To integrate redux-bees with your Redux store, you need to add a reducer and a middleware:

import {
  createStore,
  applyMiddleware,
  compose,
  combineReducers,
} from 'redux';

import {
  reducer as beesReducer,
  middleware as beesMiddleware,
} from 'redux-bees';

const reducer = combineReducers({
  // ...your other reducers
  bees: beesReducer,
});

const store = createStore(
  reducer,
  applyMiddleware(beesMiddleware())
);

State selectors

This will enable you to dispatch API calls, and get back the result from your Redux state using one of these selectors:

• getRequestResult(state, apiCall, args)
• getRequestHeaders(state, apiCall, args)
• getRequestMeta(state, apiCall, args)
• isRequestLoading(state, apiCall, args)
• hasRequestStarted(state, apiCall, args)
• getRequestError(state, apiCall, args)

If you want to retrieve all of the above info at once, you can use the following shortcut selector:

• getRequestInfo(state, apiCall, args)

Example:

import {
  getRequestResult,
  getRequestHeaders,
  getRequestMeta,
  isRequestLoading,
  hasRequestStarted,
  getRequestError,
  getRequestInfo,
} from 'redux-bees';

store.dispatch(api.getPost({ id: 12 }));

getRequestInfo(store.getState(), api.getPost, [{ id: 12 }]);
// {
//   hasStarted: false,
//   isLoading: false,
//   hasFailed: false,
//   result: null,
//   headers: null,
//   meta: null,
//   error: null
// }

setTimeout(() => {
  getRequestInfo(store.getState(), api.getPost, [{ id: 12 }]);
  // {
  //   hasStarted: true,
  //   isLoading: false,
  //   hasFailed: false,
  //   headers: {
  //     'content-type': 'application/vnd.api+json'
  //   },
  //   meta: {
  //     'responseTimeInMs': 69
  //   },
  //   result: { id: 12, type: 'post', attributes: { ... } },
  //   error: null
  // }
}, 2000);

The current state of your API calls will be saved in store in the following, normalized form. The bees section of the store should be considered a private area and should be accessed via our state selectors.

store.getState();

// {
//   bees: {
//     requests: {
//       getPosts: {
//         '[]': {
//           isLoading: false,
//           error: null,
//           response: [ { id: '12', type: 'post' } ],
//           status: 200,
//           headers: {
//             'content-type': 'application/vnd.api+json'
//           },
//           meta: null,
//         }
//       }
//       getPost: {
//         '[ { "id": 12 } ]': {
//           isLoading: false,
//           error: null,
//           response: { id: '12', type: 'post' },
//           status: 200,
//           headers: {
//             'content-type': 'application/vnd.api+json'
//           },
//           meta: null,
//         }
//       }
//     },
//     entities: {
//       post: {
//         '12': {
//           id: '12',
//           type: 'site',
//           attributes: {
//             name: 'My awesome post',
//             ...
//           }
//         }
//       }
//     }
//   }
// }

React integration

To make it easier to integrate data fetching in your component, you can use a specific higher-order component called query. Basic example of usage:

import React from 'react';
import api from './api';
import { query } from 'redux-bees';

@query('posts', api.getPosts)

export default class App extends React.Component {

  static propTypes = {
    posts: PropTypes.array,
    status: PropTypes.shape({
      posts: PropTypes.shape({
        hasStarted: PropTypes.bool.isRequired,
        isLoading: PropTypes.bool.isRequired,
        hasFailed: PropTypes.bool.isRequired,
        refetch: PropTypes.func.isRequired,
        headers: PropTypes.object,
        meta: PropTypes.object,
        error: PropTypes.object,
      }),
    }),
  };

  render() {
    const { posts, status } = this.props;

    return (
      <div>
        {
          !status.posts.hasStarted &&
            'Request not started...'
        }
        {
          status.posts.isLoading &&
            'Loading...'
        }
        {
          status.posts.hasFailed &&
            JSON.stringify(status.posts.error)
        }
        {
          posts &&
            JSON.stringify(posts)
        }
      </div>
    );
  }
}

The HOC takes the following ordinal arguments:

• The name of the prop that will be passed down to the component (ie. 'post');
• The API call to dispatch (ie. api.getPost);

The HOC will always pass down a status prop, containing all the info about the API request.

If the API call needs parameters (for example, to get a single post), you pass a third argument:

@query('post', api.getPost, (perform, props) => (
  perform({ id: props.match.params.id })
))

The function (perform, props) => perform(...) will be used to actually dispatch the API call with the correct arguments.

You can decorate your component with multiple @query HOCs:

@query('post', api.getPost, (perform, props) => (
  perform({ id: props.match.params.id })
))

@query('comments', api.getComments, (perform, props) => (
  perform({ postId: props.match.params.id })
))

export default class App extends React.Component {
  render() {
    //...
  }
}

In this case, this.props.status.post indicates the status of the api.getPost API call, and this.props.status.comments indicates the status of the api.getComments call.

Conditional fetch

Your component might require to fetch data conditionally (ie. only if some parameter is present in the URL). In this case, you can use recompose's @branch HOC to apply the @query HOC only when needed:

import React from 'react';
import { query } from 'redux-bees';
import { branch } from 'recompose';
import api from './api';

@branch(
  (props) => props.showPopularPosts,
  query('popularPosts', api.getPosts, (perform) => (
    perform({ 'page[size]': 10, sort: 'pageViews', direction: 'desc' })
  ))
)

export default class App extends React.Component {
  // ...

Dependent data loading

Consider this case:

@query('post', api.getPost, (perform, props) => (
  perform({ id: props.match.params.id })
))

@query('category', api.getCategory, (perform, props) => (
  perform({ id: props.post && props.post.relationships.category.data.id })
))

export default class App extends React.Component {
  render() {
    //...
  }
}

The api.getCategory call cannot be made until we receive the post. redux-bees handles this automatically: the call is only made when props.post && props.post.relationships.category.data.id returns a value. This is because in this API call the id parameter is considered required, as it is indicated with a placeholder:

  ...
  getCategory:   { method: get, path: '/categories/:id' },
  ...

If your API call requires specific parameters in the query string, they can be declared as follows:

  ...
  getPosts:   { method: get, path: '/posts', required: [ 'page' ] },
  ...

Retrieving compound documents

To reduce the number of HTTP requests, JSON API servers may allow responses that include related resources along with the requested primary resources using the include query string.

You can access included entities with the getRelationship selector:

import { query, getRelationship } from 'redux-bees';
import { connect } from 'react-redux';

import api from './api';

@query('post', api.getPost, (perform, props) => (
  perform({ id: props.match.params.id, include: 'categories' })
))

@connect((state, props) => ({
  categories: getRelationship(state, props.post, 'categories')
}))

export default class App extends React.Component {
  render() {
    //...
  }
}

Forced refetch

The status prop contains an refetch() function you can use when you need to force a refetch of data:

import React from 'react';
import api from './api';
import { query } from 'redux-bees';

@query('posts', api.getPosts)

export default class App extends React.Component {
  componentDidMount() {
    const { status } = this.props;

    setTimeout(() => {
      status.posts.refetch();
    }, 2000);
  }

  render() {
    const { posts } = this.props;

    return (
      <div>
        { posts && JSON.stringify(posts) }
      </div>
    );
  }
}

Cache invalidation

After some destructive call (ie. creation of a new post), you often need to invalidate one or more API calls that may have been previously made (ie. the index of posts).

In this case, you can dispatch the invalidateRequests action:

import React from 'react';
import api from './api';
import { query, invalidateRequests } from 'redux-bees';

@query('posts', api.getPosts)

export default class App extends React.Component {

  handleSubmit(attributes) {
    const { dispatch } = this.props;

    dispatch(api.createPost({
      data: {
        type: 'post',
        attributes,
      }
    }))
    .then(() => {
      dispatch(invalidateRequests(api.getPosts));
    });
  }
}

Calling invalidateRequests(api.getPosts) will invalidate every previous API call made to the api.getPosts endpoint.

To invalidate only a subset of the previously API calls made, you can pass a function as second argument that will act as a filter:

dispatch(invalidateRequests(api.getPost, (params) => params.id === 2));

Server-side data loading

We seek to be composable with any approach, and not prescribe or lean toward any specific routing solution.

Components wrapped in a @query HOC expose a static function called loadData which accepts a redux dispatch function as first argument. It returns a Promise that resolves once data is loaded and saved to your Redux store.

The server (with the help of react-router or something similar) then checks which components match the route path and calls all of the loadData static functions if they're available.

When all of these promises have been resolved, the server side can render the components and finish the request.

Here's a simple example using react-router and react-router-config:

import React from 'react';
import { query } from 'redux-bees';
import api from './api';

@query('posts', api.getPosts)
export default class App extends React.Component {
  // ...
}

import { createServer } from 'http';
import React from 'react';
import ReactDOMServer from 'react-dom/server';
import { matchRoutes } from 'react-router-config';
import { Provider } from 'react-redux';

import createStore from './createStore';
import App from './components/App';

const routes = [
  {
    component: App,
    path: '/'
  },
  // etc.
];

createServer((req, res) => {
  const store = createStore();
  const branch = matchRoutes(routes, req.url);

  const promises = branch.map(({ route, match }) => {
    return route.component.loadData ?
      route.component.loadData(store.dispatch, { match }) :
      Promise.resolve(null);
  });

  Promise.all(promises)
  .then(() => {
    const html = ReactDOMServer.renderToString(
      <Provider store={store}>
        <App />
      </Provider>
    );

    res.write(`<!doctype html><div id="app">${html}</div>`);
    res.end();
  });
}).listen(3000);

Who uses redux-bees

If your company or project uses redux-bees, feel free to add it to the official list of users by editing the wiki page.

Feedback wanted

Project is still in the early stages. Please file an issue or submit a PR if you have suggestions! Or ping me (Stefano Verna) on Twitter.

Why is it called redux-bees?

We're italians. Italian translation of "bees" is "api". See what we did there? 🐹

License

ISC