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The SDK documentation on this page is meant for developers building connectors on App Xchange. For a broader introduction to the App Xchange integration platform, view our help docs including an overview of common connector builder questions and pre-development considerations.

Getting Started

Connectors are built using .NET and the creation is driven by our CLI tooling Trimble.Xchange.Connector.CLI. These tools are needed to start building a connector. This guide will help you through that process!

Prerequisites for using the Connector SDK

  • Have an HTTP API. It is possible to create a Connector that interacts with your software outside of an HTTP API, however the SDK is currently optimized for use with HTTP endpoints.

  • Able to request test data from your software. You won’t want to build your Connector using live/actual data that matters to your customers. Verify you have a way to access test data from your system during your Connector build that won’t impact your customers in a negative way.

  • At minimum, intermediate C# development skills. The SDK currently supports C#.

  • Installation of .NET SDK. You can install .NET here with a preference towards versions with long term support. See also our support policy on current versions.

  • A solid understanding of your HTTP API resources. Before you can efficiently create a Connector, you will need to know your product’s API pretty well and how to make requests against its endpoints.

  • An initial use case or target integration for which to build. It can be helpful to begin with an initial use case, or an example of the type of integration that would be developed using the connector. The connector may provide for initial use cases to begin with and can be extended upon later as needed.

Main parts of the App Xchange Connector Building

The App Xchange Connector SDK consists of two main parts:

  • The SDK library NuGet package, which provides a framework to build and run connectors.
  • The CLI, an interactive tool for working with the Xchange platform and local code.

Install Trimble.Xchange.Connector.CLI as a .NET tool

The recommended way to install the CLI is to install it as a global .NET Tool. This will automatically download the appropriate package for your system and make the Xchange command available in your environment PATH, as well as enable easy updates when new versions are released. Ensure that the .NET Core SDK v7.0 or higher is installed on your system.

Install Trimble.Xchange.Connector.CLI as a .NET global tool:

dotnet tool install Trimble.Xchange.Connector.CLI --global

To Update:

dotnet tool update Trimble.Xchange.Connector.CLI --global

If you have already started building your connector and are updating, make sure to also update PackageReference Include in your connector.csproj file.

List .NET global tools on your system:

When running:

dotnet tool list --global

You should see Trimble.Xchange.Connector.CLI in the list.

Congratulations!

You should now be able to invoke xchange directly from any directory.