Upgrade to the New Linode API

Updated Tuesday, July 3, 2018 by Linode Written by Jared Kobos

Version 4 of the Linode API is now in general release and it is a major improvement over previous versions. Almost any task which can be done through the Linode Manager can now be performed through the API. This guide will show you how to adapt existing code for previous API versions in order to take advantage of these new features.

To get started with the current version, please see the API documentation or our Getting Started with the Linode API guide.

General Changes

• The Linode API now uses a standard RESTful architecture. HTTP verbs have predictable results across the API:

  Verb	Result
  GET	Used to retrieve information about a resource.
  POST	For collections or to create a new resource of that type; also used to perform actions on action endpoints.
  PUT	Update a resource.
  DELETE	Remove a resource from your account.

• Previous versions of the API allowed users to submit request and method parameters via URL parameters; this is no longer supported. Instead, entity IDs are included in URL paths (e.g. /linode/instances/1234567 is used to access a Linode with ID 1234567). Additional parameters are passed in the request body.

• Authentication is now done through the Authorization header rather than through the query string.

• Error codes also follow standard RESTful format (e.g. 2XX for success, 4XX for bad input, 5XX for server errors). The custom error codes from previous versions are no longer used or supported.

• Most common static resources can be specified with slugs (e.g. linode/debian9 for a Debian 9 image) instead of numeric IDs.

• Batch requests are no longer supported. Many of the actions that previously required multiple requests–such as creating and booting a new Linode or creating and attaching a Block Storage Volume–can now be achieved in a single request.

• Modernized language is used throughout the API: “data centers” are now “regions”, “distributions” are now “images”, and “plans” are now “types”.

• A new version of the Linode CLI is available to make interacting with the API more convenient.

Creating a Linode

The process for creating a new Linode with the new API has been streamlined. Setting up a Linode previously required multiple requests for creating the Linode, deploying an image, and booting. All of these steps have been combined, allowing you to get a running Linode with a single request:

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
    -H "Content-type: application/json" \
    -X POST -d '{
        "type": "g5-standard-2",
        "region": "us-east",
        "image": "linode/debian9",
        "root_pass": "root_password",
        "label": "prod-1"
    }' \
    https://api.linode.com/v4/linode/instances

Examples

This section presents examples of how to convert some of the most common tasks from version 3 of the API to version 4. These example commands output JSON, and a nicer way to view this output is to pipe it into Python’s json.tool function:

curl https://api.linode.com/v4/regions | python -m json.tool

Linodes

List All Linodes

View all Linodes on your account:

API v3

curl https://api.linode.com/?api_key=sekrit&api_action=linode.list

API v4

In the new API, this is accomplished with a GET request to the /instances endpoint:

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
    https://api.linode.com/v4/linode/instances

Boot a Linode

API v3

curl https://api.linode.com/?api_key=sekrit&api_action=linode.boot&linodeID=123456

API v4

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
    -X POST \
    https://api.linode.com/v4/linode/instances/$linode_id/boot

NodeBalancers

Data center has been replaced with region in the new API and requests must also be converted to RESTful format. For example, creating a new NodeBalancer uses a POST request to the /nodebalancers endpoint:

API v3

curl https://api.linode.com/?api_key=sekrit&api_action=nodebalancer.create&DatacenterID=123456&Label=this-balancer

API v4

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -X POST -d '{
        "region": "us-east",
        "label": "nodebalancer_1"
    }' \
    https://api.linode.com/v4/nodebalancers

StackScripts

StackScripts have been moved under the /linode endpoint. To list all available StackScripts:

API v3

curl https://api.linode.com/?api_key=sekrit&api_action=stackscript.list

API v4

curl https://api.linode.com/v4/linode/stackscripts

This will list all public StackScripts, and if the request is authenticated will also list any private StackScripts on your account. You can use the ID of a StackScript to deploy from that Script when creating a Linode:

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
    -H "Content-type: application/json" \
    -X POST -d '{
        "type": "g5-standard-2",
        "stackscript_id": 10079,
        "region": "us-east",
        "image": "linode/debian9",
        "root_pass": "root_password",
        "label": "prod-1"
    }' \
    https://api.linode.com/v4/linode/instances

Volumes

Block storage volumes previously were resized through the volume.update method. This method no longer exists, and resizing is now done through the /resize endpoint. Note: In both API versions, a block storage volume size can only be increased.

To resize a volume:

API v3

curl https://api.linode.com/?api_key=sekrit&api_action=volume.update&VolumeID=1234&Size=100

API v4

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -X POST -d '{
        "size": 2000
    }' \
    https://api.linode.com/v4/volumes/$volume_id/resize

DNS

Working with DNS domains and records is similar in both versions. Resources are now Records, and are nested beneath the /domains endpoint.

To create a new A record:

API v3

curl https://api.linode.com/?api_key=sekrit&api_action=domain.resource.create&DomainID=1234&Type=A&Name=sub.example.com&Target=123.456.789.101

API v4

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -X POST -d '{
        "type": "A",
        "target": "123.456.789.101",
        "name": "sub.example.com"
    }' \
    https://api.linode.com/v4/domains/$domain_id/records

Account

Account interaction has been greatly expanded in the new API. The /accounts endpoint allows you to view events and notifications on your account, review and make payments, manage account settings and users, and view account information and invoices.

API v3

curl https://api.linode.com/?api_key=sekrit&api_action=account.info

API v4

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
    https://api.linode.com/v4/account

Transfer information, previously included in the account.info method, can now be accessed through its own endpoint:

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
    https://api.linode.com/v4/account/transfer

See the API documentation for information about the other new collections under the /account endpoint.

Utility

Version 3 of the API included utility methods for testing the API and retrieving general information about available plans, data centers, and distributions. The debugging methods api.spec and test.echo are not included in version 4, and the avail information methods have been replaced by GET requests to the corresponding endpoints. Remember that “data centers” are now referred to as “regions”, “distributions” as “images”, and “plans” as “types”.

API v3

curl https://api.linode.com/?api_key=sekrit&api_action=avail.datacenters

curl https://api.linode.com/?api_key=sekrit&api_action=avail.distributions

curl https://api.linode.com/?api_key=sekrit&api_action=avail.linodeplans

API v4

curl https://api.linode.com/v4/regions

curl https://api.linode.com/v4/images

curl https://api.linode.com/v4/linode/types

More Information

You may wish to consult the following resources for additional information on this topic. While these are provided in the hope that they will be useful, please note that we cannot vouch for the accuracy or timeliness of externally hosted materials.

• Linode API Documentation

Join our Community

Find answers, ask questions, and help others.

This guide is published under a CC BY-ND 4.0 license.