Hootsuite Install & Auth Skill

Hootsuite Install & Auth

Overview

Configure Hootsuite REST API OAuth 2.0 authentication. Hootsuite uses OAuth 2.0 with Bearer tokens. You register an app in the Hootsuite Developer Portal, get client credentials, and exchange authorization codes for access tokens.

Prerequisites

Hootsuite account (Business plan or higher for API access)
Registered app at https://developer.hootsuite.com
Client ID and Client Secret from your app

Instructions

Step 1: Register Your App

Go to https://developer.hootsuite.com
Create a new app
Note your Client ID and Client Secret
Set redirect URI to https://your-app.com/callback

Step 2: Configure Environment

# .env (NEVER commit)
HOOTSUITE_CLIENT_ID=your_client_id
HOOTSUITE_CLIENT_SECRET=your_client_secret
HOOTSUITE_REDIRECT_URI=https://your-app.com/callback
HOOTSUITE_ACCESS_TOKEN=  # Populated after OAuth flow

# .gitignore
.env
.env.local

Step 3: OAuth 2.0 Authorization Flow

// auth.ts — OAuth 2.0 authorization code flow
import 'dotenv/config';

const { HOOTSUITE_CLIENT_ID, HOOTSUITE_CLIENT_SECRET, HOOTSUITE_REDIRECT_URI } = process.env;

// Step 1: Redirect user to authorize
function getAuthUrl(): string {
  const params = new URLSearchParams({
    response_type: 'code',
    client_id: HOOTSUITE_CLIENT_ID!,
    redirect_uri: HOOTSUITE_REDIRECT_URI!,
    scope: 'offline',
  });
  return `https://platform.hootsuite.com/oauth2/auth?${params}`;
}

// Step 2: Exchange authorization code for tokens
async function exchangeCode(code: string) {
  const response = await fetch('https://platform.hootsuite.com/oauth2/token', {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: {
      'Content-Type': 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded',
      'Authorization': `Basic ${Buffer.from(`${HOOTSUITE_CLIENT_ID}:${HOOTSUITE_CLIENT_SECRET}`).toString('base64')}`,
    },
    body: new URLSearchParams({
      grant_type: 'authorization_code',
      code,
      redirect_uri: HOOTSUITE_REDIRECT_URI!,
    }),
  });

  const tokens = await response.json();
  console.log('Access Token:', tokens.access_token);
  console.log('Refresh Token:', tokens.refresh_token);
  console.log('Expires In:', tokens.expires_in, 'seconds');
  return tokens;
}

// Step 3: Refresh expired token
async function refreshToken(refreshToken: string) {
  const response = await fetch('https://platform.hootsuite.com/oauth2/token', {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: {
      'Content-Type': 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded',
      'Authorization': `Basic ${Buffer.from(`${HOOTSUITE_CLIENT_ID}:${HOOTSUITE_CLIENT_SECRET}`).toString('base64')}`,
    },
    body: new URLSearchParams({
      grant_type: 'refresh_token',
      refresh_token: refreshToken,
    }),
  });
  return response.json();
}

Step 4: Verify Connection

async function verifyConnection(accessToken: string) {
  const response = await fetch('https://platform.hootsuite.com/v1/me', {
    headers: { 'Authorization': `Bearer ${accessToken}` },
  });
  const user = await response.json();
  console.log('Connected as:', user.data.fullName);
  console.log('Organization:', user.data.organizationName);
  return user;
}

Output

OAuth 2.0 app credentials configured
Access token obtained via authorization code flow
Token refresh mechanism for long-lived access
Connection verified with user profile

Error Handling

| Error | Cause | Solution | |-------|-------|----------| | 401 Unauthorized | Invalid or expired token | Refresh token or re-authorize | | invalid_client | Wrong client ID/secret | Check app credentials | | invalid_grant | Authorization code expired | Codes expire in 30s; re-authorize | | redirect_uri_mismatch | URI doesn't match | Must exactly match app registration |

Resources

Next Steps

After auth, proceed to hootsuite-hello-world for your first API call.

Agent Skills: Hootsuite Install & Auth

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