PyXero

PyXero is a Python API for accessing the REST API provided by the Xero accounting tool. It allows access to both Public, Private and Partner applications.

Quickstart:

Install this library using the python package manager:

pip install pyxero

Using OAuth2 Credentials

OAuth2 is an open standard authorization protocol that allows users to provide specific permissions to apps that want to use their account. OAuth2 authentication is performed using tokens that are obtained using an API; these tokens are then provided with each subsequent request.

OAuth2 tokens have a 30 minute expiry, but can be swapped for a new token at any time. Xero documentation on the OAuth2 process can be found here. The procedure for creating and authenticating credentials is as follows (with a Django example at the end):

1. Register your app with Xero, using a redirect URI which will be served by your app in order to complete the authorisation e.g. https://mysite.com/oauth/xero/callback/. See step 3 for an example of what your app should do. Generate a Client Secret, then store it and the Client Id somewhere that your app can access them, such as a config file.

2. Construct an OAuth2Credentials instance using the details from the first step.

   >>> from xero.auth import OAuth2Credentials
   >>>
   >>> credentials = OAuth2Credentials(client_id, client_secret,
   >>>                                 callback_uri=callback_uri)

   If neccessary pass in a list of scopes to define the scopes required by your app. E.g. if write access is required to transactions and payroll employees:

   >>> from xero.constants import XeroScopes
   >>>
   >>> my_scope = [XeroScopes.ACCOUNTING_TRANSACTIONS,
   >>>             XeroScopes.PAYROLL_EMPLOYEES]
   >>> credentials = OAuth2Credentials(client_id, client_secret, scope=my_scope
   >>>                                 callback_uri=callback_uri)

   The default scopes are ['offline_access', 'accounting.transactions.read', 'accounting.contacts.read']. offline_access is required in order for tokens to be refreshable. For more details on scopes see Xero's documentation.

3. Generate a Xero authorisation url which the user can visit to complete authorisation. Then store the state of the credentials object and redirect the user to the url in their browser.

   >>> authorisation_url = credentials.generate_url()
   >>>
   >>> # Now store credentials.state somewhere accessible, e.g a cache
   >>> mycache['xero_creds'] = credentials.state
   >>>
   >>> # then redirect the user to authorisation_url
   ...

   The callback URI should be the redirect URI you used in step 1.

4. After authorization the user will be redirected from Xero to the callback URI provided in step 1, along with a querystring containing the authentication secret. When your app processes this request, it should pass the full URI including querystring to verify():

   >>> # Recreate the credentials object
   >>> credentials = OAuth2Credentials(**mycache['xero_creds'])
   >>>
   >>> # Get the full redirect uri from the request including querystring
   >>> # e.g. request_uri = 'https://mysite.com/oauth/xero/callback/?code=0123456789&scope=openid%20profile&state=87784234sdf5ds8ad546a8sd545ss6'
   >>>
   >>> credentials.verify(request_uri)

   A token will be fetched from Xero and saved as credentials.token. If the credentials object needs to be created again either dump the whole object using:

   >>> cred_state = credentials.state
   >>> ...
   >>> new_creds = OAuth2Credentials(**cred_state)

   or just use the client_id, client_secret and token (and optionally scopes and tenant_id):

   >>> token = credentials.token
   >>> ...
   >>> new_creds = OAuth2Credentials(client_id, client_secret, token=token)

5. Now the credentials may be used to authorize a Xero session. As OAuth2 allows authentication for multiple Xero Organisations, it is necessary to set the tenant_id against which the xero client's queries will run.

   >>> from xero import Xero
   >>> # Use the first xero organisation (tenant) permitted
   >>> credentials.set_default_tenant()
   >>> xero = Xero(credentials)
   >>> xero.contacts.all()
   >>> ...

   If the scopes supplied in Step 2 did not require access to organisations (e.g. when only requesting scopes for single sign) it will not be possible to make requests with the Xero API and set_default_tenant() will raise an exception.

   To pick from multiple possible Xero organisations the tenant_id may be set explicitly:

   >>> tenants = credentials.get_tenants()
   >>> credentials.tenant_id = tenants[1]['tenantId']
   >>> xero = Xero(credentials)

   OAuth2Credentials.__init__() accepts tenant_id as a keyword argument.

6. When using the API over an extended period, you will need to exchange tokens when they expire. If a refresh token is available, it can be used to generate a new token:

   >>> if credentials.expired():
   >>>     credentials.refresh()
   >>>     # Then store the new credentials or token somewhere for future use:
   >>>     cred_state = credentials.state
   >>>     # or
   >>>     new_token = credentials.token
   
   **Important**: ``credentials.state`` changes after a token swap. Be sure to
   persist the new state.

Django OAuth2 App Example

This example shows authorisation, automatic token refreshing and API use in a Django app which has read/write access to contacts and transactions. If the cache used is cleared on server restart, the token will be lost and verification will have to take place again.

from django.http import HttpResponseRedirect
from django.core.cache import caches

from xero import Xero
from xero.auth import OAuth2Credentials
from xero.constants import XeroScopes

def start_xero_auth_view(request):
   # Get client_id, client_secret from config file or settings then
   credentials = OAuth2Credentials(
       client_id, client_secret, callback_uri=callback_uri,
       scope=[XeroScopes.OFFLINE_ACCESS, XeroScopes.ACCOUNTING_CONTACTS,
              XeroScopes.ACCOUNTING_TRANSACTIONS]
   )
   authorization_url = credentials.generate_url()
   caches['mycache'].set('xero_creds', credentials.state)
   return HttpResponseRedirect(authorization_url)

def process_callback_view(request):
   cred_state = caches['mycache'].get('xero_creds')
   credentials = OAuth2Credentials(**cred_state)
   auth_secret = request.build_absolute_uri()
   credentials.verify(auth_secret)
   credentials.set_default_tenant()
   caches['mycache'].set('xero_creds', credentials.state)

def some_view_which_calls_xero(request):
   cred_state = caches['mycache'].get('xero_creds')
   credentials = OAuth2Credentials(**cred_state)
   if credentials.expired():
       credentials.refresh()
       caches['mycache'].set('xero_creds', credentials.state)
   xero = Xero(credentials)

   contacts = xero.contacts.all()
   ...

Using PKCE Credentials

PKCE is an alternative flow for providing authentication via OAuth2. It works largely the same as the standard OAuth2 mechanism, but unlike the normal flow is designed to work with applications which cannot keep private keys secure, such as desktop, mobile or single page apps where such secrets could be extracted. A client ID is still required.

As elsewhere, OAuth2 tokens have a 30 minute expiry, but can be only swapped for a new token if the offline_access scope is requested.

Xero documentation on the PKCE flow can be found here. The procedure for creating and authenticating credentials is as follows (with a CLI example at the end):

1. Register your app with Xero, using a redirect URI which will be served by your app in order to complete the authorisation e.g. http://localhost:<port>/callback/. You can chose any port, anc can pass it to the credentials object on construction, allow with the the Client Id you are provded with.

2. Construct an OAuth2Credentials instance using the details from the first step.

   >>> from xero.auth import OAuth2Credentials
   >>>
   >>> credentials = OAuth2PKCECredentials(client_id,   port=my_port)

   If neccessary, pass in a list of scopes to define the scopes required by your app. E.g. if write access is required to transactions and payroll employees:

   >>> from xero.constants import XeroScopes
   >>>
   >>> my_scope = [XeroScopes.ACCOUNTING_TRANSACTIONS,
   >>>             XeroScopes.PAYROLL_EMPLOYEES]
   >>> credentials = OAuth2Credentials(client_id, scope=my_scope
   >>>                                 port=my_port)

   The default scopes are ['offline_access', 'accounting.transactions.read', 'accounting.contacts.read']. offline_access is required in order for tokens to be refreshable. For more details on scopes see Xero's documentation on oAuth2 scopes.

3. Call credentials.logon() . This will open a browser window, an visit a Xero authentication page.

   >>> credentials.logon()

   The Authenticator will also start a local webserver on the provided port. This webserver will be used to collect the tokens that Xero returns.

   The default PCKEAuthReceiver class has no reponse pages defined so the browser will show an error, on empty page for all transactions. But the application is now authorised and will continue. If you wish you can override the send_access_ok() method, and the send_error_page() method to create a more userfriendly experience.

   In either case once the callback url has been visited the local server will shutdown.

4. You can now continue as per the normal OAuth2 flow. Now the credentials may be used to authorize a Xero session. As OAuth2 allows authentication for multiple Xero Organisations, it is necessary to set the tenant_id against which the xero client's queries will run.

   >>> from xero import Xero
   >>> # Use the first xero organisation (tenant) permitted
   >>> credentials.set_default_tenant()
   >>> xero = Xero(credentials)
   >>> xero.contacts.all()
   >>> ...

   If the scopes supplied in Step 2 did not require access to organisations (e.g. when only requesting scopes for single sign) it will not be possible to make requests with the Xero API and set_default_tenant() will raise an exception.

   To pick from multiple possible Xero organisations the tenant_id may be set explicitly:

   >>> tenants = credentials.get_tenants()
   >>> credentials.tenant_id = tenants[1]['tenantId']
   >>> xero = Xero(credentials)

   OAuth2Credentials.__init__() accepts tenant_id as a keyword argument.

5. When using the API over an extended period, you will need to exchange tokens when they expire. If a refresh token is available, it can be used to generate a new token:

   >>> if credentials.expired():
   >>>     credentials.refresh()
   >>>     # Then store the new credentials or token somewhere for future use:
   >>>     cred_state = credentials.state
   >>>     # or
   >>>     new_token = credentials.token
   
   **Important**: ``credentials.state`` changes after a token swap. Be sure to
   persist the new state.

CLI OAuth2 App Example

This example shows authorisation, automatic token refreshing and API use in a Django app which has read/write access to contacts and transactions.

Each time this app starts it asks for authentication, but you could consider using the user keyring to store tokens.

from xero import Xero
from xero.auth import OAuth2PKCECredentials
from xero.constants import XeroScopes

# Get client_id, client_secret from config file or settings then
credentials = OAuth2PKCECredentials(
    client_id, port=8080,
    scope=[XeroScopes.OFFLINE_ACCESS, XeroScopes.ACCOUNTING_CONTACTS,
            XeroScopes.ACCOUNTING_TRANSACTIONS]
)
credentials.logon()
credentials.set_default_tenant()

for contacts in xero.contacts.all()
    print contact["Name"]

Older authentication methods

In the past, Xero had the concept of "Public", "Private", and "Partner" applications, which each had their own authentication procedures. However, they removed access for Public applications on 31 March 2021; Private applications were removed on 30 September 2021. Partner applications still exist, but the only supported authentication method is OAuth2; these are now referred to as "OAuth2 apps". As Xero no longer supports these older authentication methods, neither does PyXero.

Using the Xero API

This API is a work in progress. At present, there is no wrapper layer to help create real objects, it just returns dictionaries in the exact format provided by the Xero API. This will change into a more useful API before 1.0

The Xero API object exposes a simple API for retrieving and updating objects. For example, to deal with contacts::

# Retrieve all contact objects
>>> xero.contacts.all()
[{...contact info...}, {...contact info...}, {...contact info...}, ...]

# Retrieve a specific contact object
>>> xero.contacts.get(u'b2b5333a-2546-4975-891f-d71a8a640d23')
{...contact info...}

# Retrieve all contacts updated since 1 Jan 2013
>>> xero.contacts.filter(since=datetime(2013, 1, 1))
[{...contact info...}, {...contact info...}, {...contact info...}]

# Retrieve all contacts whose name is 'John Smith'
>>> xero.contacts.filter(Name='John Smith')
[{...contact info...}, {...contact info...}, {...contact info...}]

# Retrieve all contacts whose name starts with 'John'
>>> xero.contacts.filter(Name__startswith='John')
[{...contact info...}, {...contact info...}, {...contact info...}]

# Retrieve all contacts whose name ends with 'Smith'
>>> xero.contacts.filter(Name__endswith='Smith')
[{...contact info...}, {...contact info...}, {...contact info...}]

# Retrieve all contacts whose name starts with 'John' and ends with 'Smith'
>>> xero.contacts.filter(Name__startswith='John', Name__endswith='Smith')
[{...contact info...}, {...contact info...}, {...contact info...}]

# Retrieve all contacts whose name contains 'mit'
>>> xero.contacts.filter(Name__contains='mit')
[{...contact info...}, {...contact info...}, {...contact info...}]

# Create a new object
>>> xero.contacts.put({...contact info...})

# Create multiple new objects
>>> xero.contacts.put([{...contact info...}, {...contact info...}, {...contact info...}])

# Save an update to an existing object
>>> c = xero.contacts.get(u'b2b5333a-2546-4975-891f-d71a8a640d23')
>>> c['Name'] = 'John Smith'
>>> xero.contacts.save(c)

# Save multiple objects
>>> xero.contacts.save([c1, c2])

Complex filters can be constructed in the Django-way, for example retrieving invoices for a contact:

>>> xero.invoices.filter(Contact_ContactID='83ad77d8-48a7-4f77-9146-e6933b7fb63b')

Filters which aren't supported by this API can also be constructed using 'raw' mode like this:

>>> xero.invoices.filter(raw='AmountDue > 0')

Be careful when dealing with large amounts of data, the Xero API will take an increasingly long time to respond, or an error will be returned. If a query might return more than 100 results, you should make use of the page parameter::

# Grab 100 invoices created after 01-01-2013
>>> xero.invoices.filter(since=datetime(2013, 1, 1), page=1)

You can also order the results to be returned::

# Grab contacts ordered by EmailAddress
>>> xero.contacts.filter(order='EmailAddress DESC')

For invoices (and other objects that can be retrieved as PDFs), accessing the PDF is done via setting the Accept header:

# Fetch a PDF
invoice = xero.invoices.get('af722e93-b64f-482d-9955-1b027bfec896', \
    headers={'Accept': 'application/pdf'})
# Stream the PDF to the user (Django specific example)
response = HttpResponse(invoice, content_type='application/pdf')
response['Content-Disposition'] = 'attachment; filename="invoice.pdf"'
return response

Download and uploading attachments is supported using the Xero GUID of the relevant object::

# List attachments on a contact
>>> xero.contacts.get_attachments(c['ContactID'])
[{...attachment info...}, {...attachment info...}]

# Attach a PDF to a contact
>>> f = open('form.pdf', 'rb')
>>> xero.contacts.put_attachment(c['ContactID'], 'form.pdf', f, 'application/pdf')
>>> f.close()

>>> xero.contacts.put_attachment_data(c['ContactID'], 'form.pdf', data, 'application/pdf')

# Download an attachment
>>> f = open('form.pdf', 'wb')
>>> xero.contacts.get_attachment(c['ContactID'], 'form.pdf', f)
>>> f.close()

>>> data = xero.contacts.get_attachment_data(c['ContactID'], 'form.pdf')

This same API pattern exists for the following API objects:

• Accounts
• Attachments
• BankTransactions
• BankTransfers
• BrandingThemes
• ContactGroups
• Contacts
• CreditNotes
• Currencies
• Employees
• ExpenseClaims
• Invoices
• Items
• Journals
• ManualJournals
• Organisation
• Overpayments
• Payments
• Prepayments
• Purchase Orders
• Receipts
• RepeatingInvoices
• Reports
• TaxRates
• TrackingCategories
• Users

Payroll

In order to access the payroll methods from Xero, you can do it like this:

xero.payrollAPI.payruns.all()

Within the payrollAPI you have access to:

• employees
• leaveapplications
• payitems
• payrollcalendars
• payruns
• payslip
• superfunds
• timesheets

Projects

In order to access the projects methods from Xero, you can do it like this:

xero.projectsAPI.projects.all()

Within the projectsAPI you have access to:

• projects
• projectsusers
• tasks
• time

Under the hood

Using a wrapper around Xero API is a really nice feature, but it's also interesting to understand what is exactly happening under the hood.

Filter operator

filter operator wraps the "where" keyword in Xero API.

# Retrieves all contacts whose name is "John"
>>> xero.contacts.filter(name="John")

# Triggers this GET request:
Html encoded: <XERO_API_URL>/Contacts?where=name%3D%3D%22John%22
Non encoded:  <XERO_API_URL>/Contacts?where=name=="John"

Several parameters are separated with encoded '&&' characters:

# Retrieves all contacts whose first name is "John" and last name is "Doe"
>>> xero.contacts.filter(firstname="John", lastname="Doe")

# Triggers this GET request:
Html encoded: <XERO_API_URL>/Contacts?where=lastname%3D%3D%22Doe%22%26%26firstname%3D%3D%22John%22
Non encoded:  <XERO_API_URL>/Contacts?where=lastname=="Doe"&&firstname=="John"

Underscores are automatically converted as "dots":

# Retrieves all contacts whose name is "John"
>>> xero.contacts.filter(first_name="John")

# Triggers this GET request:
Html encoded: <XERO_API_URL>/Contacts?where=first.name%3D%3D%22John%22%
Non encoded:  <XERO_API_URL>/Contacts?where=first.name=="John"

Contributing

If you're going to run the PyXero test suite, in addition to the dependencies for PyXero, you need to add the following dependency to your environment:

mock >= 1.0

Mock isn't included in the formal dependencies because they aren't required for normal operation of PyXero. It's only required for testing purposes.

Once you've installed these dependencies, you can run the test suite by running the following from the root directory of the project:

$ tox -e py

If you find any problems with PyXero, you can log them on Github Issues. When reporting problems, it's extremely helpful if you can provide reproduction instructions -- the sequence of calls and/or test data that can be used to reproduce the issue.

New features or bug fixes can be submitted via a pull request. If you want your pull request to be merged quickly, make sure you either include regression test(s) for the behavior you are adding/fixing, or provide a good explanation of why a regression test isn't possible.