Build a Music Discovery API

Build a Music Discovery API

By Dan Zeitman

In this Step-By-Step Guide we'll show you how to build an API wrapper for multiple web services in order to create a music discovery service backend.

We're going to build a series of api endpoints that will be hosted on Auth0's Webtask. The design pattern is based off Express so it will be familiar to many.

Let's get started:

Setting Up Cloudinary

The first thing you’re going to have to do is set up a Cloudinary account.

So, go ahead and pop on over to the signup page.

Screenshot of the signup page

Once you’ve filled out the form (don’t forget to customize your cloud name, if you’re so inclined!) and clicked through a little customer survey, you’re all set. Feel free to click around and check out your new account – there’s a lot of interesting stuff here to see. Today, however, we’re going to be using almost none of it.

Setting Auth0 / Webtask

Signup for Auth0's Webtask service

Once you've logged in create an empty task and run it to get familiar with the platform and editor.

Create a new task called:

sxsw-music-discovery-service

Copy the source code of our Music Discovery Service API

###Add The Secrets

What is the Context Object

In Webtask, there is a context object available with quite a few useful properties that can be accessed while running your tasks.
```code 

var context = {
  body,
  meta,
  storage,
  params,
  query,
  secrets,
  headers,
  data
};

You will want to store your api and access keys in the context.secrets

Add the NPM Modules

Test The service:

https://(your-cloud-url)/music-discovery-service/(api-end-point)/(params)

APIS:

Browse

/browse/(letter)

Returns artists id.

https://evangelism.cloudinary.auth0-extend.com/sxsw-music-discovery-service/browse/b

Search:

/search/(name)

Returns Artist Info:

https://evangelism.cloudinary.auth0-extend.com/sxsw-music-discovery-service/search/Cyndi%20Lauper

Releases

/releases/(artistid)

Returns releases by that Artist.

https://evangelism.cloudinary.auth0-extend.com/sxsw-music-discovery-service/releases/11319

tracks

/tracks/(released)

Returns all the tracks for that release:

https://evangelism.cloudinary.auth0-extend.com/sxsw-music-discovery-service/tracks/5514991

Lyrics

/lyrics/(ssrc)

Returns lyrics and a NLP reduced keyword list

https://evangelism.cloudinary.auth0-extend.com/sxsw-music-discovery-service/lyrics/USCJ81000500