FastComments Node.js/TypeScript SDK

Official Node.js and TypeScript SDK for the FastComments API. Build secure and scalable backend applications that interact with FastComments, or build reactive client applications.

Installation

npm install fastcomments-sdk

Browser vs Server Compatibility

This SDK uses dual entry points to ensure optimal compatibility and prevent runtime errors:

• fastcomments-sdk/browser - Browser-safe version with native fetch, excludes Node.js crypto
• fastcomments-sdk/server - Full Node.js version with SSO support, includes crypto features
• fastcomments-sdk (default) - Types only, safe to import anywhere

This prevents issues like "crypto module not found" when using the SDK in browser environments.

Usage

This SDK provides separate entry points for browser and server environments to ensure optimal compatibility and security:

Browser Usage (Client-Side)

For browser/frontend applications, use the browser-safe export that excludes Node.js dependencies:

// Browser-safe import (no Node.js crypto dependencies)
import { createFastCommentsBrowserSDK } from 'fastcomments-sdk/browser';

// Create browser SDK instance
const sdk = createFastCommentsBrowserSDK({
  basePath: 'https://fastcomments.com' // optional, defaults to https://fastcomments.com
});

// Use public APIs (no API key needed - safe for browsers)
const comments = await sdk.publicApi.getCommentsPublic({ 
  tenantId: 'your-tenant-id',
  urlId: 'page-url-id'
});

Server Usage (Node.js)

For server/backend applications, use the full SDK with SSO and authentication features:

// Server-side import (includes SSO and Node.js crypto features)
import { createFastCommentsSDK } from 'fastcomments-sdk/server';

// Create server SDK instance
const sdk = createFastCommentsSDK({
  apiKey: 'your-api-key', // Keep this secret on the server!
  basePath: 'https://fastcomments.com' // optional, defaults to https://fastcomments.com
});

// Use secured APIs with your API key
const comments = await sdk.defaultApi.getComments({ 
  tenantId: 'your-tenant-id',
  urlId: 'page-url-id'
});

Types Only Import

If you only need TypeScript types (no runtime code), use the default import:

// Types only (no runtime dependencies - safe everywhere)
import type { 
  PublicComment, 
  CreateCommentParams, 
  GetCommentsPublic200Response 
} from 'fastcomments-sdk';

Using Individual API Classes

Browser Environment

import { PublicApi, Configuration } from 'fastcomments-sdk/browser';

const config = new Configuration({
  basePath: 'https://fastcomments.com'
});

const publicApi = new PublicApi(config);

Server Environment

import { DefaultApi, PublicApi, Configuration } from 'fastcomments-sdk/server';

const config = new Configuration({
  apiKey: 'your-api-key',
  basePath: 'https://fastcomments.com'
});

const defaultApi = new DefaultApi(config);
const publicApi = new PublicApi(config);

Public vs Secured APIs

The SDK provides three main API classes:

• DefaultApi - Secured endpoints that require your API key for authentication. Use these for server-side operations.
• PublicApi - Public endpoints that can be accessed without an API key. These can be called directly from browsers/mobile devices/etc.
• HiddenApi - Internal/admin endpoints for advanced use cases.

Example: Using Public API (browser-safe)

import { PublicApi } from 'fastcomments-sdk/browser';

const publicApi = new PublicApi();

// Get comments for a page (no API key required)
const response = await publicApi.getCommentsPublic({
  tenantId: 'your-tenant-id',
  urlId: 'page-url-id'
});

Example: Using Default API (server-side only)

import { DefaultApi, Configuration } from 'fastcomments-sdk/server';

const config = new Configuration({
  apiKey: 'your-api-key' // Keep this secret!
});
const defaultApi = new DefaultApi(config);

// Get comments with full admin access
const response = await defaultApi.getComments({
  tenantId: 'your-tenant-id',
  urlId: 'page-url-id'
});

SSO (Single Sign-On) Integration

FastComments supports SSO to integrate with your existing user authentication system. SSO functionality is only available in the server export since it requires Node.js crypto features.

Simple SSO (Server-Side Only)

Simple SSO should be generated server-side and sent to the client:

// Server-side code (Node.js/backend)
import { FastCommentsSSO, PublicApi } from 'fastcomments-sdk/server';

// Create simple SSO using the built-in helper  
const userData = {
  username: 'john_doe',
  email: '[email protected]',
  displayName: 'John Doe',
  avatar: 'https://example.com/avatar.jpg'
};

const sso = FastCommentsSSO.createSimple(userData, {
  loginURL: '/login',
  logoutURL: '/logout'
});

const ssoToken = sso.createToken();

// Send ssoToken to your client-side code
// Client-side code can then use this token with the browser SDK

Secure SSO (Server-Side, Recommended)

Secure SSO should be implemented server-side and provides better security:

// Server-side code (Node.js/backend)
import { FastCommentsSSO, PublicApi } from 'fastcomments-sdk/server';

// Create secure SSO using the built-in helper
const userData = {
  id: 'user-123',
  email: '[email protected]',
  username: 'john_doe',
  displayName: 'John Doe',
  avatar: 'https://example.com/avatar.jpg',
  isAdmin: false,
  isModerator: false
};

const sso = FastCommentsSSO.createSecure('your-api-key', userData, {
  loginURL: '/login',
  logoutURL: '/logout'
});

const ssoConfig = sso.prepareToSend();

// Use with API calls on the server
const publicApi = new PublicApi();
const response = await publicApi.getCommentsPublic({
  tenantId: 'your-tenant-id',
  urlId: 'page-url-id',
  sso: JSON.stringify(ssoConfig)
});

// Or send ssoConfig to client for browser usage

Using SSO from Browser (with Server-Generated Token)

// Client-side code (browser)
import { PublicApi } from 'fastcomments-sdk/browser';

// Get SSO token from your server endpoint
const ssoToken = await fetch('/api/sso-token').then(r => r.json());

const publicApi = new PublicApi();
const response = await publicApi.getCommentsPublic({
  tenantId: 'your-tenant-id',
  urlId: 'page-url-id',
  sso: ssoToken // Use the server-generated SSO token
});

SSO with Comment Creation

// Server-side: Create SSO and comment
import { FastCommentsSSO, PublicApi } from 'fastcomments-sdk/server';

const sso = FastCommentsSSO.createSecure('your-api-key', userData);
const ssoConfig = sso.prepareToSend();

const response = await publicApi.createCommentPublic({
  tenantId: 'your-tenant-id',
  urlId: 'page-url-id',
  broadcastId: 'unique-broadcast-id',
  commentData: {
    comment: 'This is my comment',
    date: Date.now(),
    commenterName: 'John Doe',
    url: 'https://example.com/page',
    urlId: 'page-url-id'
  },
  sso: JSON.stringify(ssoConfig)
});

Common Use Cases

Getting Comments for a Page

const comments = await sdk.publicApi.getCommentsPublic({
  tenantId: 'your-tenant-id',
  urlId: 'article-123'
});

Creating a Comment

const newComment = await sdk.publicApi.createCommentPublic({
  createCommentParams: {
    tenantId: 'your-tenant-id',
    urlId: 'article-123',
    comment: 'Great article!',
    commenterName: 'John Doe',
    commenterEmail: '[email protected]'
  }
});

Voting on a Comment

const voteResponse = await sdk.publicApi.voteComment({
  voteBodyParams: {
    commentId: 'comment-id',
    direction: 1 // 1 for upvote, -1 for downvote
  }
});

User Management (Requires API Key)

// Search for users (requires DefaultApi)
const users = await sdk.defaultApi.searchUsers({
  tenantId: 'your-tenant-id',
  urlId: 'page-id',
  usernameStartsWith: 'john'
});

Live Events (Real-time Updates)

Subscribe to live events to get real-time updates for comments, votes, and other activities.

Page-Level Events

Listen for live events on a specific page (comments, votes, etc.):

import { subscribeToChanges, LiveEvent, LiveEventType } from 'fastcomments-sdk/browser';

const config = {
  tenantId: 'your-tenant-id',
  urlId: 'page-url-id',
};

// Subscribe to live events for a page
const subscription = subscribeToChanges(
  config,
  'your-tenant-id', // tenantIdWS
  'page-url-id',    // urlIdWS  
  'user-session-id', // userIdWS (get this from getComments response)
  (event: LiveEvent) => {
    console.log('Live event received:', event);
    
    switch (event.type) {
      case LiveEventType.new_comment:
        console.log('New comment:', event.comment);
        // Update your UI with the new comment
        break;
      case LiveEventType.new_vote:
        console.log('New vote:', event.vote);
        // Update vote counts in your UI
        break;
      case LiveEventType.updated_comment:
        console.log('Comment updated:', event.comment);
        break;
      default:
        console.log('Other event type:', event.type);
    }
    
    return true; // Return true if event was handled
  },
  (isConnected: boolean) => {
    console.log('Connection status:', isConnected ? 'Connected' : 'Disconnected');
  }
);

// Close the subscription when done
subscription.close();

Subscribe to User Events

Listen for user-specific events (notifications, mentions, etc.):

import { subscribeToUserFeed, LiveEvent, LiveEventType } from 'fastcomments-sdk/browser';

const userConfig = {
  userIdWS: 'user-session-id', // Get this from getComments response
};

// Subscribe to user's personal feed
const userSubscription = subscribeToUserFeed(
  userConfig,
  (event: LiveEvent) => {
    console.log('User event received:', event);
    
    switch (event.type) {
      case LiveEventType.notification:
        console.log('New notification:', event.notification);
        // Show notification in your UI
        break;
      case LiveEventType.notification_update:
        console.log('Notification updated:', event.notification);
        break;
      default:
        console.log('Other user event:', event.type);
    }
    
    return true;
  },
  (isConnected: boolean) => {
    console.log('User feed connection:', isConnected ? 'Connected' : 'Disconnected');
  }
);

// Close when done
userSubscription.close();

Getting userIdWS

The userIdWS parameter is required for live events and can be obtained from API responses:

const response = await sdk.publicApi.getCommentsPublic({
  tenantId: 'your-tenant-id',
  urlId: 'page-id'
});

// Extract userIdWS from the response
const userIdWS = response.data?.userSessionInfo?.userIdWS;

if (userIdWS) {
  // Now you can subscribe to live events
  const subscription = subscribeToChanges(config, tenantIdWS, urlIdWS, userIdWS, handleEvent);
}

Broadcast IDs

You'll see you're supposed to pass a broadcastId in some API calls. When you receive events, you'll get this ID back, so you know to ignore the event if you plan to optimistically apply changes on the client (which you'll probably want to do since it offers the best experience). Pass a UUID here. The ID should be unique enough to not occur twice in a browser session.

import { v4 as uuidv4 } from 'uuid';

const response = await sdk.publicApi.createCommentPublic({
  createCommentParams: {
    tenantId: 'your-tenant-id',
    urlId: 'page-id',
    comment: 'My comment',
    broadcastId: uuidv4() // Unique ID for this operation
  }
});

Error Handling

try {
  const comments = await sdk.publicApi.getCommentsPublic({
    tenantId: 'your-tenant-id',
    urlId: 'page-id'
  });
} catch (error) {
  if (error.response?.status === 404) {
    console.log('Page not found');
  } else {
    console.error('API Error:', error.message);
  }
}

TypeScript Support

The SDK is written in TypeScript and provides complete type definitions for all API methods and response models:

// Import types from the default export (safe everywhere)
import type { 
  PublicComment, 
  CreateCommentParams, 
  GetCommentsPublic200Response 
} from 'fastcomments-sdk';

// Use with browser SDK
import { createFastCommentsBrowserSDK } from 'fastcomments-sdk/browser';

const sdk = createFastCommentsBrowserSDK();
const response: GetCommentsPublic200Response = await sdk.publicApi.getCommentsPublic({
  tenantId: 'your-tenant-id',
  urlId: 'page-id'
});

const comments: PublicComment[] = response.comments || [];

License

MIT