Building Custom Endpoint Classes

Endpoint classes allow a specified Model class to be exposed via the REST API. Without an Endpoint class, a Model class will not be accessible via the REST API and can only be utilized locally within the package via PHP. Endpoint classes are also responsible for following:

• Defining the URL path for the endpoint.
• Specifying which request methods are allowed.
• Adding additional documentation to the endpoint's OpenAPI definition.
• Defining an associated GraphQL query/mutation type.
• Generating the PHP file in the pfSense web root to expose the endpoint.

Getting Started

Use the following class template to initialize your custom Endpoint class:

<?php

namespace RESTAPI\Endpoints;

require_once 'RESTAPI/autoloader.inc';

use RESTAPI\Core\Endpoint;

/**
 * TODO: Add a description of your Endpoint class here.
 */
class MyCustomEndpoint extends Endpoint {
    public function __construct() {
        # TODO: Set endpoint attributes here

        parent::__construct();
    }
}

Define __construct() Method Properties

The __construct method is used to define the properties of the Endpoint class. These properties allow you to customize the behavior and attributes of the endpoint. The following properties are available:

url

The url property is used to define the URL path for the endpoint. This path will be used to automatically generate the PHP file in the pfSense webroot after executing the pfsense-restapi buildendpoints command. The URL path should unique and begin with the /api/v2/ prefix. This property is required.

Example:

$this->url = '/api/v2/my/custom/endpoint';

model_name

The model_name property is used to define the Model class that the endpoint will expose. This must be the Model class's short name, not the fully qualified class name. This property is required.

many

The many property is used to define if the endpoint will return a single object or many objects. This property defaults to false. When set to true, the endpoint will return an array of objects in the data section of the response. When set to false, the endpoint will return a single object in the data section of the response.

For more information on the difference between many and non-many endpoints, refer to the Endpoint Types documentation.

request_method_options

The request_method_options property is used to define which request methods are allowed for the endpoint. If a request method is not defined in this property, the endpoint will return a 405 Method Not Allowed response when accessed with that method. This property is required.

Each supported request method corresponds with a the following Model class methods:

• A GET request to a many enabled Endpoint will call the Model's read_all() method.
• A GET request to a non-many enabled Endpoint will call the Model's read() method.
• A POST request to a non-many enabled Endpoint will call the Model's create() method.
• A PATCH request to a non-many enabled Endpoint will call the Model's update() method.
• A DELETE request to a non-many enabled Endpoint will call the Model's delete() method.
• A PUT request to a many enabled Endpoint will call the Model's replace_all() method.

tag

The tag property is used to define the OpenAPI tag for the endpoint. This is used to group related endpoints together in the API documentation. This property is optional and defaults to the first section of the URL after the /api/v2/ prefix.

requires_auth

The requires_auth property is used to specify whether the endpoint requires authentication and authorization. This property defaults to true.

auth_methods

The auth_methods property is used to define the authentication methods that are allowed for the endpoint. This should be an array of Auth class names or leave empty to allow all. This property defaults to an empty array.

ignore_read_only

The ignore_read_only property is used to define if the endpoint should ignore the REST API's read-only mode and allow non-GET requests even when read-only mode is enabled. This property defaults to false.

ignore_interfaces

The ignore_interfaces property is used to define if the endpoint should ignore the REST API's allowed interfaces setting and allow all interfaces to access the endpoint. This property defaults to false.

ignore_enabled

The ignore_enabled property is used to define if the endpoint should ignore the REST API's enabled setting and allow the endpoint to be accessed even when the REST API is disabled. This property defaults to false.

ignore_acl

The ignore_acl property is used to define if the endpoint should ignore the REST API's ACL settings and allow all users and IPs to access the endpoint at all times. This property defaults to false.

get_help_text

The get_help_text property is used to overwrite the default OpenAPI description for the endpoint's GET documentation.

post_help_text

The post_help_text property is used to overwrite the default OpenAPI description for the endpoint's POST documentation.

patch_help_text

The patch_help_text property is used to overwrite the default OpenAPI description for the endpoint's PATCH documentation.

delete_help_text

The delete_help_text property is used to overwrite the default OpenAPI description for the endpoint's DELETE documentation.

put_help_text

The put_help_text property is used to overwrite the default OpenAPI description for the endpoint's PUT documentation.

Example

Below is an example of a fully implemented Endpoint class:

<?php

namespace RESTAPI\Endpoints;

require_once 'RESTAPI/autoloader.inc';

use RESTAPI\Core\Endpoint;

/**
 * TODO: Add a description of your Endpoint class here.
 */
class MyCustomEndpoint extends Endpoint {
    public function __construct() {
        # Set required endpoint properties
        $this->url = '/api/v2/my/custom/endpoint';
        $this->model_name = 'MyCustomModel';
        $this->request_method_options = ['GET', 'POST', 'PATCH', 'DELETE'];
        $this->many = false;

        # Set optional endpoint properties
        $this->tag = 'My Custom Endpoints';
        $this->requires_auth = true;
        $this->auth_methods = ['BasicAuth', "JWTAuth", "KeyAuth"];
        $this->ignore_read_only = false;
        $this->ignore_interfaces = false;
        $this->ignore_enabled = false;
        $this->ignore_acl = false;
        $this->get_help_text = 'Example GET description.';
        $this->post_help_text = 'Example POST description.';
        $this->patch_help_text = 'Example PATCH description.';
        $this->delete_help_text = 'Example DELETE description.';
    }
}

Build the Endpoint

The Endpoint class is simply a blueprint or instruction set for the REST API endpoint. A PHP file must be present in the pfSense web root to actually expose the endpoint. The REST API's framework will automatically generate the PHP file for all Endpoint class URLs by running the following command:

pfsense-restapi buildendpoints

After running the command, the PHP file for the Endpoint will be generated in the pfSense web root (/usr/local/www/) and the endpoint will be accessible via the REST API.

Generating Documentation

To regenerate the OpenAPI and GraphQL schemas for all Endpoint classes, run the following command:

pfsense-restapi buildschemas

Examples

You can find examples of fully implemented Endpoint classes in the PHP reference. Select the Endpoint class you are interested in to view the class's PHPDoc documentation, and then click on the <> symbol next to the class name to view the class's source code.