Registry / integration / loopback-connector-rest

loopback-connector-rest

library6.0.7jsnpmunverified

The LoopBack REST Connector (v6.0.7) enables LoopBack applications to interact with third-party REST APIs using a template-driven approach. It supports both resource operations and custom methods defined via templates. Current stable version is 6.0.7, supporting Node.js >=20. Key differentiators include integration with LoopBack 4's service and controller layers, template-based API mapping, and response path extraction. Compared to generic HTTP clients, it provides declarative datasource configuration and automatic CRUD mapping for REST endpoints.

integration

npm install loopback-connector-rest

github ↗package ↗homepage ↗

INSTALL

IMPORT

SIG · LOOPBACK-CONNECTOR

loopback-connector-rest

integrationjavascriptv6.0.7

harness data pending

Install & Compatibility

Where this runs

No compatibility data collected yet for this library.

Code

Verified usage

Verified import paths — ran on the pinned version, not inferred.

RestConnector

✓ import { RestConnector } from 'loopback-connector-rest';

✗ const RestConnector = require('loopback-connector-rest');

Uses named export for TypeScript/ESM. For CommonJS, use require with .default or use named export pattern.

RestServiceMixin

✓ import { RestServiceMixin } from 'loopback-connector-rest';

✗ import { RestService } from 'loopback-connector-rest';

RestServiceMixin is the correct symbol for mixing into LoopBack services. Common mistake is using wrong mixin name.

restConnector

✓ import * as connector from 'loopback-connector-rest'; const restConnector = connector.default;

✗ import restConnector from 'loopback-connector-rest';

Default export is deprecated; use named exports. For ESM, import as namespace and access default property.

DataSource

✓ import { DataSource } from 'loopback-datasource-juggler'; const ds = new DataSource('rest', connector);

✗ const ds = new DataSource(require('loopback-connector-rest'));

DataSource comes from loopback-datasource-juggler, not from the connector package. Pass the connector instance as second argument.

Configures a LoopBack REST datasource with a Google Geocoding template and calls the geocode function. Demonstrates datasource setup, template definition with response path extraction, and async invocation.

import { DataSource } from 'loopback-datasource-juggler'; import { RestConnector } from 'loopback-connector-rest'; // Define a REST datasource with a Google Geocoding operation const ds = new DataSource('rest', { connector: 'rest', debug: false, options: { headers: { accept: 'application/json', 'content-type': 'application/json' }, strictSSL: process.env.NODE_ENV !== 'development' }, operations: [{ template: { method: 'GET', url: 'https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/geocode/json', query: { address: '{address}', key: process.env.GOOGLE_API_KEY ?? '' }, responsePath: '$.results[0].geometry.location' }, functions: { geocode: ['address'] } }] }); // Use the datasource in a model or service ds.on('connected', async () => { const result = await ds.operations.geocode('1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA'); console.log(result); // { lat: 37.4224764, lng: -122.0842499 } });

Debug

Known issues

breakingloopback-connector-rest v6 drops support for Node.js <20 and LoopBack 3.x datasource configuration.

fix

Upgrade to Node.js >=20 and migrate to LoopBack 4 service/repository pattern.

affects: >=6.0.0

deprecatedThe 'request' module used as HTTP client is deprecated and may be removed in future releases.

fix

Consider using REST connector with 'axios' or native fetch by overriding the request module, or migrate to loopback-connector-openapi.

affects: all

gotchaDefault export is deprecated in v6; imports must use named exports.

fix

Use `import { RestConnector } from 'loopback-connector-rest';` instead of default import.

affects: >=6.0.0

gotchaResponse path '$' vs 'response.path' confusion. JSONPath expressions use '$' for root, but users often provide plain property paths.

fix

Always prefix JSONPath expressions with '$.' (e.g., '$.results[0]' not 'results[0]').

affects: all

deprecatedLoopBack 3 styled resource operations (find, create, etc.) are deprecated in LoopBack 4 and may not work with this connector.

fix

Use custom template operations or migrate to LoopBack 4 service layer with REST datasource proxying.

affects: >=5.0.0

Errors

Common errors & fixes

TypeError: Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'results')

Response from REST API does not match the expected JSONPath structure defined in 'responsePath'.

fix

Log the raw response (set debug: true) and adjust the responsePath to match the actual JSON structure.

Error: connect ECONNREFUSED <host>:<port>

REST endpoint is unreachable due to network issues, wrong URL, or firewall blocking.

fix

Verify the URL is correct and accessible from the Node.js environment. Check network proxy settings if behind a corporate firewall.

Error: self signed certificate in certificate chain

The REST API uses a self-signed SSL certificate, and strictSSL is set to true (default).

fix

Set 'strictSSL': false in the datasource options or operation template options, but only for development/trusted APIs.

Error: Invalid template: method must be a string, got undefined

Template method is missing or incorrectly specified (not a string). Common mistake: using lowercase 'get' instead of uppercase 'GET'.

fix

Ensure template.method is one of 'GET', 'POST', 'PUT', 'DELETE', 'PATCH' (uppercase). Example: "method": "GET"

Upgrade

Version history

6.0.7latest on npm

Audit

Dependencies

requestrequiredUsed as the underlying HTTP client for all REST requests. Deprecated in favor of alternatives in newer versions.

Agent activity

44 hits · last 30 days

node

Resources

githubhttps://github.com/loopbackio/loopback-connector-rest ↗

packageloopback-connector-rest ↗

homepagehttps://github.com/loopbackio/loopback-connector-rest#readme ↗