HELP - How to properly script authentication in Blackbaud API

Robert Derby

I'm attempting to pull together a Python script to make API calls to our FE NXT environment to get transaction history for Power BI reporting. I know about the older Power BI add-on but that is not what I am looking to use as I believe it only works on desktops.

Here is the problem I don't understand how programmatically you can get around OAth2 requiring manual authorizations each time it makes a call over an hour apart when the token expires. This means that pop-up that says "authorize' when you test in the Blackbaud API docs.

How are you all scripting around that? I find it hard to believe every script people uses requires someone to manually click authorize each time. I must be missing something.

Please advise.

Alex Wong

@Robert Derby
there are may topics on this, here's one I was helping the OP with and talked about how to handle without user “authorizing”

Robert Derby

@Alex Wong Thank you--let me review those links. If I can get this working with a Power Automate process that would be ideal for me. My attempts so far didn't work with the OAth2 restrictions. I will go over what you suggest.

Alex Wong

@Robert Derby
if you are planning to use Power Automate, then you don't need to do this 99% of times.

If you directly use the Power Automate Blackbaud connector, it does a good percentage of all API endpoint calls. For what you cannot do, you can use the Blackbaud Add-in Send HTTP Request action, which also only need to authorize ONCE when you use the action.

The only restriction right now is, you can't do a PATCH call using Send HTTP Request action by Blackbaud Add-in connector.

Robert Derby

@Alex Wong My goal is to build a table in probably in dataverse that has all of our FE account transactions for certain budgets updated hourly so I can run Power BI reports with the data. I did not know the Power Automate Blackbaud connector worked with FE.

Robert Derby

@Alex Wong when I look at the list of Blackbaud connectors in Power Automate I don't see anything for Financial Edge NXT. Am I missing where it is or can they work for FE as well as RE?

Alex Wong

@Robert Derby
the one you will use is Blackbaud SKY Add-ins connector, action Send an HTTP request.

Using this, you can call ANY SKY API endpoint (EXCEPT calls that do PATCH, it is currently still an error on Blackbaud/Microsoft to fix).

This is how you use it:

Alex Wong

@Robert Derby
Here's a detail post about how to use Send an HTTP request

Robert Derby

@Alex Wong This is strange but I do not see a Blackbaud SKY API ADD-IN connector. I see some templates but none of them have the same interface you show in your screen shot. Do you know if there is anything special we need to do in order to get that connector in our Microsoft 365 environment??

Ben Regier

@Robert Derby
I can't tell from your screenshot where you're searching, but you should be able to find it within a flow itself, just by adding a new step and searching for Blackbaud.

Robert Derby

@Ben Regier There it is! Thanks for the direction!!