AppFolio Install & Auth

Overview

Configure AppFolio Stack API authentication. AppFolio uses HTTP Basic Auth with a client ID and client secret, provided through their Stack partner program. No public npm SDK exists — use direct REST API calls.

Prerequisites

AppFolio Stack partner account (appfolio.com/stack)
Client ID and Client Secret from AppFolio
Node.js 18+ or Python 3.10+

Instructions

Step 1: Obtain API Credentials

# AppFolio Stack API credentials come from the partner program
# 1. Apply at appfolio.com/stack/become-a-partner
# 2. Complete integration review
# 3. Receive the provider-issued base URL and credential delivery instructions.
# Store the values in the approved secret manager. Commit only this non-secret
# template if local development requires one:
cat > .env.example << 'ENVFILE'
APPFOLIO_CLIENT_ID=
APPFOLIO_CLIENT_SECRET=
APPFOLIO_BASE_URL=
ENVFILE

# .env remains ignored; populate it only through an approved local secret flow.

Step 2: Create API Client

// src/appfolio-client.ts
import axios, { AxiosInstance } from 'axios';

class AppFolioClient {
  private api: AxiosInstance;

  constructor() {
    this.api = axios.create({
      baseURL: process.env.APPFOLIO_BASE_URL,
      auth: {
        username: process.env.APPFOLIO_CLIENT_ID!,
        password: process.env.APPFOLIO_CLIENT_SECRET!,
      },
      headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
      timeout: 30000,
    });
  }

  async verifyConnection(): Promise<boolean> {
    try {
      const response = await this.api.get('/properties');
      console.log(`Connected! Found ${response.data.length} properties`);
      return true;
    } catch (error: any) {
      console.error(`Connection failed: ${error.response?.status} ${error.message}`);
      return false;
    }
  }

  get http(): AxiosInstance { return this.api; }
}

export { AppFolioClient };

Step 3: Verify Connection

# Quick, redacted diagnostic without putting Basic Auth in argv.
NETRC_FILE="$(mktemp)"
trap 'rm -f "$NETRC_FILE"' EXIT
chmod 600 "$NETRC_FILE"
APPFOLIO_HOST="${APPFOLIO_BASE_URL#https://}"
APPFOLIO_HOST="${APPFOLIO_HOST%%/*}"
printf 'machine %s login %s password %s\n' "$APPFOLIO_HOST" \
  "$APPFOLIO_CLIENT_ID" "$APPFOLIO_CLIENT_SECRET" > "$NETRC_FILE"
curl -s -o /dev/null -w '%{http_code}\n' --netrc-file "$NETRC_FILE" \
  "${APPFOLIO_BASE_URL}/properties"

API Endpoints

Resource	Endpoint	Methods
Properties	`/api/v1/properties`	GET
Units	`/api/v1/units`	GET
Tenants	`/api/v1/tenants`	GET
Leases	`/api/v1/leases`	GET, POST
Bills	`/api/v1/bills`	GET, POST
Vendors	`/api/v1/vendors`	GET
Owners	`/api/v1/owners`	GET
Reports	`/api/v1/reports`	GET

Output

Provider-issued credentials injected through the approved secret boundary
TypeScript REST client with Basic Auth
Redacted connectivity result for the approved safe-read endpoint

Examples

For a first authentication rehearsal, inject a sandbox credential and the provider-issued base URL through the local secret mechanism, then make one read-only request to an approved synthetic property page. Record only the status code and client configuration verdict; do not print a property payload, client ID, secret, or full host/path in shared logs. If the contract, base URL, secret binding, or status result is unverified, stop before any write workflow and have the credential owner correct the configuration.

Error Handling

Error	Cause	Solution
`401 Unauthorized`	Invalid credentials	Verify client_id/secret from AppFolio
`403 Forbidden`	Not a Stack partner	Complete partner application
`404 Not Found`	Wrong base URL	Use `your-company.appfolio.com` format
Timeout	Network issue	Check firewall allows HTTPS to appfolio.com

Resources

Next Steps

Proceed to appfolio-hello-world for your first property query.