Bluetally Data Source

Bluetally
Create a New Data Flow
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To create a new data flow, navigate to the Integrate section, and click the New Data Flow button. Then, select the desired flow type from the list, and click the Create button.
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Select the Bluetally connector tile from the list of available connectors. Then, select the credential that will be used to connect to the Bluetally instance, and click Next; or, create a new Bluetally credential for use in this flow.
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In Nexla, Bluetally data sources can be created using pre-built endpoint templates, which expedite source setup for common BlueTally endpoints. Each template is designed specifically for the corresponding BlueTally endpoint, making source configuration easy and efficient.
• To configure this source using a template, follow the instructions in Configure Using a Template.Bluetally sources can also be configured manually, allowing you to ingest data from BlueTally endpoints not included in the pre-built templates or apply further customizations to exactly suit your needs.
• To configure this source manually, follow the instructions in Configure Manually.
Configure Using a Template
Nexla provides pre-built templates that can be used to rapidly configure data sources to ingest data from common BlueTally endpoints. Each template is designed specifically for the corresponding BlueTally endpoint, making data source setup easy and efficient.
Endpoint Settings
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Select the endpoint from which this source will fetch data from the Endpoint pulldown menu. Available endpoint templates are listed in the expandable boxes below. Click on an endpoint to see more information about it and how to configure your data source for this endpoint.
Endpoint Testing
Once the selected endpoint template has been configured, Nexla can retrieve a sample of the data that will be fetched according to the current settings. This allows users to verify that the source is configured correctly before saving.
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To test the current endpoint configuration, click the Test button to the right of the endpoint selection menu. Sample data will be fetched & displayed in the Endpoint Test Result panel on the right.
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If the sample data is not as expected, review the selected endpoint and associated settings, and make any necessary adjustments. Then, click the Test button again, and check the sample data to ensure that the correct information is displayed.
Configure Manually
Bluetally data sources can be manually configured to ingest data from any valid BlueTally API endpoint. Manual configuration provides maximum flexibility for accessing endpoints not covered by pre-built templates or when you need custom API configurations.
With manual configuration, you can also create more complex Bluetally sources, such as sources that use chained API calls to fetch data from multiple endpoints or sources that require custom request parameters such as multi-tenant tenant_id values.
API Method
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To manually configure this source, select the Advanced tab at the top of the configuration screen.
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Select the API method that will be used for calls to the BlueTally API from the Method pulldown menu. The BlueTally REST API uses the following methods:
- GET: For retrieving assets, employees, licenses, and other resources
- POST: For creating new records or triggering checkout/checkin actions
- PUT: For updating existing records
- DELETE: For deleting/retiring records
API Endpoint URL
- Enter the URL of the BlueTally API endpoint from which this source will fetch data in the Set API URL field. The base URL for the BlueTally API is
https://app.bluetallyapp.com/api/v1. Append the resource path (e.g.,/assets,/employees,/licenses) to the base URL.
For multi-tenant BlueTally accounts, include the tenant_id query parameter in your URL (e.g., {'https://app.bluetallyapp.com/api/v1/assets?tenant_id={tenant_id}'}). You can test the endpoint using the Test button after configuring the URL.
Date/Time Macros (API URL)
Optionally, the API URL can be customized using macros—all macros added to the API URL will be converted into values when Nexla executes the API call. Macros are dynamic placeholders that allow you to create flexible API endpoints that can adapt to different time periods or data requirements.
Macros are particularly useful for the BlueTally List Activity and List Audits endpoints, which accept date_from, date_to, and audit_date parameters for time-based filtering.
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To add a macro, type
{at the appropriate position in the API URL (within the Set API URL field), and select the desired macro from the dropdown list.{now}– The current datetime{now-1}– The datetime one time unit before the current datetime{now+1}– The datetime one time unit after the current datetimecustom– Datetime macros can reference any number of time units before or after the current datetime—for example, enter(now-4)to indicate the datetime four time units before the current datetime
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Select the format that will be applied to datetime macros from the Date Format for Date/Time Macro pulldown menu. BlueTally typically expects
yyyy-MM-ddfor date filters. -
Select the datetime unit that will be used to perform mathematical operations in the included macro(s) from the Time Unit for Operations pulldown menu—for example, for the macro
{now-1}, whenDayis selected,{now-1}will be converted to the datetime one day before the current datetime.
Lookup-Based Macros (API URL)
Column values from existing lookups can also be included as macros in the API URL. Lookup-based macros allow you to reference data from previously configured data sources or lookups, enabling dynamic API endpoints that can adapt based on existing data.
Lookup-based macros are useful when you need to iterate over a list of BlueTally asset IDs, employee IDs, or product IDs to retrieve detailed records for each one.
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To include a lookup column value macro, select the relevant lookup from the Add Lookups to Supported Macros pulldown menu.
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Type
{at the appropriate position in the API URL, and select the lookup column-based macro from the dropdown list. Lookup-based macros are automatically populated into the macro list when a lookup is selected in the Add Lookups to Supported Macros pulldown menu.
Path to Data
If only a subset of the data that will be returned by the API endpoint is needed, you can designate the part(s) of the response that should be included in the Nexset(s) produced from this source by specifying the path to the relevant data within the response. BlueTally list endpoints wrap their results in a top-level array named after the resource type (for example, assets, employees, accessories).
Path to Data is essential for BlueTally list endpoints. For example, the List Assets endpoint returns data inside an assets array, so the path should be set to $.assets[*] to treat each asset as a record.
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To specify which data should be treated as relevant in responses from this source, enter the path to the relevant data in the Set Path to Data in Response field.
- For responses in JSON format enter the JSON path that points to the object or array that should be treated as relevant data. JSON paths use dot notation (e.g.,
$.assets[*]to access an array of assets).
Path to Data Example:For a request to
https://app.bluetallyapp.com/api/v1/employees, the response includes a top-level array namedemployees. The path to data should be entered as$.employees[*]. - For responses in JSON format enter the JSON path that points to the object or array that should be treated as relevant data. JSON paths use dot notation (e.g.,
Autogenerate Path Suggestions
Nexla can also autogenerate data path suggestions based on the response from the API endpoint. These suggested paths can be used as-is or modified to exactly suit your needs.
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To use this feature, click the Test button next to the Set API URL field to fetch a sample response from the API endpoint. Suggested data paths generated based on the content & format of the response will be displayed in the Suggestions box below the Set Path to Data in Response field.
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Click on a suggestion to automatically populate the Set Path to Data in Response field with the corresponding path. The populated path can be modified directly within the field if further customization is needed.

Metadata
If metadata is included in the response but is located outside of the defined path to relevant data, you can configure Nexla to include this data as common metadata in each record. BlueTally list endpoints typically include pagination metadata (such as total counts) alongside the resource array—configuring a metadata path preserves this context with each record.
Metadata paths are particularly useful for preserving API response context like total record counts or request timestamps that apply to all records in a BlueTally response.
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To specify the location of metadata that should be included with each record, enter the path to the relevant metadata in the Path to Metadata in Response field.
- For responses in JSON format, enter the JSON path to the object or array that contains the metadata.
Request Headers
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If Nexla should include any additional request headers in API calls to this source, enter the headers & corresponding values as comma-separated pairs in the Request Headers field (e.g.,
header1:value1,header2:value2). Additional headers may be required for content type specifications or custom client identifiers.You do not need to include the
Authorizationheader. Nexla automatically attaches the Bearer token from your selected credential to every request to BlueTally.
Endpoint Testing
After configuring all settings for the selected endpoint, Nexla can retrieve a sample of the data that will be fetched according to the current configuration. This allows users to verify that the source is configured correctly before saving.
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To test the current endpoint configuration, click the Test button to the right of the endpoint selection menu. Sample data will be fetched & displayed in the Endpoint Test Result panel on the right.
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If the sample data is not as expected, review the selected endpoint and associated settings, and make any necessary adjustments. Then, click the Test button again, and check the sample data to ensure that the correct information is displayed.
Save & Activate the Source
- Once all of the relevant steps in the above sections have been completed, click the Create button in the upper right corner of the screen to save and create the new Bluetally data source. Nexla will now begin ingesting data from the configured endpoint and will organize any data that it finds into one or more Nexsets.