Node.js, meet SharePoint

In this post I would like to introduce you to Node-SharePoint, a SharePoint client for Node.js available on GitHub and NPM. This Node module allows you to access SharePoint 2010 lists and items from Node.js. It is based on ListData.svc, the OData based REST API for SharePoint 2010. 

Getting started

Download and install Node (if you haven’t already): http://nodejs.org/#download.

This will also install NPM (Node Package Manager). Use NPM to install the SharePoint client module:

C:> npm install sharepoint

A first example

Create a JavaScript file called main.js and use the code below as a starting point:

var SP = require('sharepoint'),
    site = 'http://yourdomain.sharepoint.com/teamsite',
    username = 'yourusername',
    password = 'yourpassword';

var client = new SP.RestService(site),
    contacts = client.list('Contacts');

var showResponse = function (err, data) {
    console.log(data);
}

client.signin(username, password, function () {

    // At this point, authentication is complete,
    // so we can do requests.

    // Example request: Get list items
    // showResponse is used as callback function
    contacts.get(showResponse)

});

Let’s highlight a few key topics:

• require(‘sharepoint’) returns an ‘namespace’ object, which contains a RestService class.
• an object of the SP.RestService class represents a client for the ListData service within the designated site.
• ListData operates on lists, so we use client.list(listName) to create a List object.
• client.signin implements the claims based authentication process for SharePoint Online. You can find more details about remote authentication in my  previous post.
• once the signin is completed, the callback function is called. In the callback function you can start sending authenticated requests to SharePoint Online.
• Please note that the SharePoint client uses the following callback convention:

function callback(err, data) {
   // err: is used to pass an error (string), if any

   // data: contains the output of the previous response or processing step
}

Provide your own credentials and site in main.js and run the file with node:

C:> node main.js

You should see the items of Contacts list in your window:

Here are some further example how to work with list items.

// get items ordered by FirstName
contacts.get({$orderby:'FirstName'}, showResponse);

....

// get fist 3 items and total count of items in list
contacts.get({$top:3, $inlinecount:'allpages'}, showResponse);

....

// get item with Id 412 from the Contacts list;
contacts.get(412, showResponse);

.....

// add a new item to the list
contacts.add({LastName: 'Peel', FirstName: 'Emma'}, showResponse)

....

// update an item
contacts.get(412, function (err, data) {

    var changes = {
        // include the changes that need to be made
        LastName: 'Tell',
        FirstName: 'William',

        // pass the metadata from the fetched item
        // this includes the etag
        __metadata: data.__metadata
    };

    contacts.update(412, changes, function () {
        // at this point, the change is completed
        // so let's check by getting the item again
	     contacts.get(412, showResponse)
    })
})

.....

// delete an item
contacts.del(412);

Hopefully this helps you get going in connecting Node.js to your SharePoint site! Let me know if you have questions/suggestions.