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soysamurai
Visitor

External Control API Search Problems

Hopefully this isn't a duplicate topic, apologies if so (and feel free to point me to the relevant thread...) but I searched and can't seem to find any relevant posts. I've been trying to make API calls to perform a search on my Roku (as outlined here: https://sdkdocs.roku.com/display/sdkdoc/External+Control+Guide#ExternalControlGuide-search) but it doesn't seem to work. 

The documentation has an example of: curl -d '' '<IP-address>:8060/search/browse?keyword=film'which just seems to yield 404s no matter what combination of query params / verbs I try (POST, GET, etc). All of the other API endpoints I've tried work fine -- I can query apps, launch them, etc. on my device just fine; it's only search that seems to be giving me trouble. 

For what it's worth I've tried sending POSTs (and GETs, PUTs and all other verbs just in case...) to /search/browse with and without query params, with and without body data all to no avail, all of them net a 404 response. On a whim I've even tried requests to /search, which yields a 400. 

Is the documentation accurate? Has anybody had any success initiating a search request to a Roku device? I'd like to be able to search by keywords, media types and TMS IDs if possible. 

Thanks in advance!
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6 REPLIES 6
RokuKC
Roku Employee
Roku Employee

Re: External Control API Search Problems

"soysamurai" wrote:

The documentation has an example of: curl -d '' '<IP-address>:8060/search/browse?keyword=film'which just seems to yield 404s no matter what combination of query params / verbs I try (POST, GET, etc). All of the other API endpoints I've tried work fine -- I can query apps, launch them, etc. on my device just fine; it's only search that seems to be giving me trouble. 


The given example should work, and should result in the Roku Search screen showing results with "Film" in the title.
Using the -d '' option to curl makes it a POST with empty body, as it should be.

Have you verified that the target device is running firmware 7.5.0?
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soysamurai
Visitor

Re: External Control API Search Problems

Oh -- it's running 7.2.2; I had wondered if perhaps it was not supported on my device but I checked for updates today to rule that out and it said it was up to date...

I guess this leads to a few questions / comments then: 

 1. How do I get 7.5.0 for my device? (I just bought it the other day, it's a Roku Premiere device)
 2. Is 7.5.0 GA software for consumers?
 3. The API docs don't seem to be clear that some functionality may only be available on certain firmware revisions (I see that in the device-info call it mentions version 7.5.0 in the response but that's the only mention of that version, and there is no other mention of version on that page) -- would it be possible to update the docs to indicate which portions of the external control API are supported in the various versions? (if this is already listed somewhere then a pointer to that information would be fine too!)

Thanks for the quick reply!
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EnTerr
Roku Guru

Re: External Control API Search Problems

Seems like an "oopsie daisy" by whoever added that entry 11/3. I checked in the "Release Notes" and it's not mentioned as new feature for 7.5. And yes, customarily they add notes since which version an API feature appears. So, uh?

7.5 is GA ... where available. :mrgreen:
In the places where not available, it's not ummm, Generally Available
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Komag
Roku Guru

Re: External Control API Search Problems

updates to firmware takes months across all the platforms, I've noticed. You'll get it, eventually.
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soysamurai
Visitor

Re: External Control API Search Problems

Any idea if there is there any way to accelerate that -- I'm happy to download the firmware and re-flash the device via TFTP/USB/whatever the devices use. There must be a mechanism for developers to access firmware updates before they're released, right?
 
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renojim
Community Streaming Expert

Re: External Control API Search Problems

Yeah, that's funny! Developers are often the last to know. Your only hope is to get into the beta program.

-JT
Roku Community Streaming Expert

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I am not a Roku employee.
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