Simple Annotation Server

This is a very simple annotation server intended for testing purposes, implementing both the Web Annotation Protocol as well as the Web Annotation Data Model with simple REST-based user management. The server is written in JavaScript and runs in Node.js, running an in-process LevelDB database.

The server is in active development and its API is subject to frequent change.

Usage

With a recent version of Node.js installed (v12 should be sufficient), install all dependencies via npm install. Then, start the annotation server via ./bin/server.js index.js—3000 will be its default port. With each start, the annotation server will generate a new, random API token which will be reported in its terminal output during startup.

Creating Users

We'll be using curl to access the annotation server's JSON API. To create new user, run the following command, specifying the API token either via GET parameters (access_token) or via HTTP bearer authentication:

curl -XPOST \
  -H 'content-type: application/json' \
  --data '{"name": "alice"}' \
  "http://localhost:3000/?access_token=${API_TOKEN}"

In its HTTP response, the server will return a new, random password for that user. We can verify the creation via:

curl --user alice:${PASSWORD} http://localhost:3000/alice

Creating Collections

With the newly created user and the assigned password, we'll create a new annotation collection. A collection corresponds to a Web Annotation Container, which is a collection of annotations. Each user can have multiple collections.

To create such a collection named ‘Notes’ for Alice, run the following command:

curl -XPOST \
  --user alice:${PASSWORD} \
  -H 'content-type: application/json' \
  --data '{"name": "notes"}' \
  http://localhost:3000/alice

The newly created collection will then be available under her profile:

curl --user alice:${PASSWORD} http://localhost:3000/alice

More TBD.

API Documentation

TBD.

License

MIT