Chatter REST API Developer Guide

Introducing Chatter REST API
Deciding When to Use Chatter REST API
Chatter REST API Architecture
Chatter REST API Rate Limits
Building the Chatter REST API Resource URL
Sending HTTP Requests
Understanding a Chatter REST API Request and Response
Using Chatter REST API Inputs
Wildcards
Specifying Response Sizes
Response Body Encoding
Status Codes and Error Responses
Understanding OAuth and Chatter REST API
Use CORS to Access Supported Salesforce APIs, Apex REST, and Lightning Out
Chatter REST API Quick Start
Chatter REST API Features
Chatter REST API Examples
Chatter REST API Resources
Chatter REST API Request Bodies
Chatter REST API Response Bodies
Chatter REST API Appendices
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Deciding When to Use Chatter REST API

Use Chatter REST API to:
  • Build a mobile app.
  • Integrate a third-party Web application with Salesforce so it can notify groups of users about events.
  • Display a feed on an external system, such as an intranet site, after users are authenticated.
  • Make feeds actionable and integrated with third-party sites. For example, an app that posts a Chatter item to Twitter whenever the post includes #tweet hashtag.
  • Create simple games that interact with the feed for notifications.
  • Creating a custom, branded skin for Chatter for your organization.

How Is Chatter REST API Different from Other Salesforce APIs?

The following are some of the differences between Chatter REST API and REST API:

  • Data is structured for rendering on Web sites and mobile devices.
  • Returned information is localized to the user's time zone and language.
  • Changed values that are tracked in a feed are returned as value-pair representations.
  • Rate limiting for Chatter REST API is per user, per application, per hour. The rate limiting for SOAP API and REST API is by organization.

If needed, extract an ID from the REST API and use it in requests to Chatter REST API.

Chatter in Apex

Many Chatter REST API resource actions are exposed as static methods on Apex classes in the ConnectApi namespace. This namespace is also referred to as Chatter in Apex. Use Chatter in Apex to develop Chatter applications on the Force.com platform without using HTTP callouts from Apex.

The documentation for Chatter in Apex is available in the Apex Developer Guide.