Because the SparqFest API uses OAuth for authentication, you will first need to register you application and receive a client_id and client_secret. We are currently working on a developer portal that will manage this process. This process will allow any developer to register an application through the developer portal. Once registered, you can begin making calls to the API for any user of your application.

We will also support an approval process that will promote your application to users, where appropriate. Until approved, users will be warned that your application is not approved. They will nevertheless be able to access the full API.

Client Credentials

Our registration process is similar to any OAuth registration you may have done with other application development. We provide you with a client_id and client_secret that you will use when performing OAuth authorization of your application for a user. It is absolutely critical that you keep your client_secret safe and encrypted and never store it in a code repository.

As part of the registration process, you must specify what scopes your client requires in order to operate. You should request only the minimum scopes necessary to support the functionality of your application.

Approval

Client approval is not required. Any developer may create an application that runs against SparqFest sites. Festival directors, however, will have options to allow only approved applications to support their festival, and they may even further limit access to their festival for a curated set of applications.

Once you feel comfortable with the state of your application, it's generally a good idea to submit it for approval. An approved client receives the following benefits:

• No “scare text” presented to a user when requesting consent
• Display of your application logo and a link to your web site
• Promotion in our application catalog
• Availability to festivals that limit clients to only those that have been approved

If your client is for a specific festival, you can limit the promotion of the client so that it does not appear to users of other festivals.

The following issues will cause us to reject your client:

• Requesting scopes beyond what is needed
• Failing to respect user privacy and security needs
• Exposing festival information such as winners and nominees in a way that counters the intentions of the festival directors

For example, if you create an admin tool which requires the festival directors to grant you access to award winners and you make that information public without honoring the publication flags inside SparqFest, your application will be rejected.