API Qs: myschoolapp vs sky, lists, auth…

The API at {school}.myschoolapp.com is the older “ON” API. The API at api.sky.blackbaud.com is the newer SKY API. My understanding (as a programmer/user for a K-12 school) is that ON API is not getting any new work. All of Blackbaud's efforts are on the SKY API.

ON has a few features that have not been built into SKY yet. I do all of my development in SKY. Depending on your projects, you may decide to use some ON calls until the equivalent function is available in SKY.

Using Advanced Lists is a good tool. It can simplify some programming task. I also use the other SKY API calls to access data directly. (For example, I choose to always get user data from User List and User List Extended instead of through an Advanced List. I use Advanced Lists to get data that I can't get from the SKY API calls directly. The Legacy List call is older, and all of my current code uses it. The List Single is very new - just a few weeks old. I'll start experimenting with it on my current project.

The Authentication can be tricky. Don't let the terminology get in the way. The type of project you describe is common, and is often referred to as a “headless” app. It runs as a scheduled task with no direct user interaction. I have several programs that work this way.

I use SKYLib Net from Protege Solutions. They have a nice library for developing in the Visual Studio environment. The example program that comes in the library download is a very good example of how the authentication works generally. If you have access to Visual Studio, get the library and spend some quality time with it. The download is free. If you decide to use it in production, the license is worth every penny. (I'm just a happy customer - not their sales rep…)

Joel Shapiro:
Do you know of a base URL where I can see that Blackbaud Core page in your first screenshot? I've only seen that interface at {school}.myschoolapp.com. (And when I go to host.nxt.blackbaud.com/education/?envid=xxx, the "Go to Education Management" link goes back to myschoolapp.com)

I don't have a URL for you, because my base would be different from yours. But the navigation is shown in the screenshot (Core > Reports > Lists).

Your “myschoolapp” url is probably where you'll see Core, Academics, Faculty/My Day, etc. The top navigation will probably be in your school colors (mine shows green).

Your “host.nxt” url is probably where you'll do Sky Reporting and other things. The top navigation will probably be grey, instead of your school colors.

When you're in “host.nxt” and you select “Go to Education management” it'll take you back to Core (your school colors in top nav).

Conversely, when you're in “myschoolapp” and you select “Go to the Education area" it'll take you to the things like Sky Reporting (grey top nav).

Also, at least on this myschoolapp page, the "Build a new list" link gives me only the option of "Report Card Grade List" while my colleague gets options for "Student List" & 1 other (I don't remember now). The school admin says we both have the same privileges. Do you know how I can get more options for new SKY lists, beyond just Report Card Grade List?

Thanks, -Joel

If you have the same security roles and tasks enabled, then you should have access to see the same things. I'd recommend checking with customer support to compare with roles are actually enabled. You probably don't have the same roles enabled if you're not seeing the same things.

Using the technique I described, you'll get an initial access token (which you can ignore) AND a refresh token. The refresh token is the value you can code into your headless app, and each time your app runs it can call the Token endpoint to refresh the access token non-interactively. By default, refreshing an access token will also produce a new refresh token - you can either persist this value somewhere (for the next run of your app), or use the preserve_refresh_token feature (described here) to keep the same refresh token value for 365 days.