Using Websocket or HTTP

Hivekit provides SDKs for JavaScript/Node.js, Kotlin/Java, and Swift. It also comes with a REST API and WebSocket API that allows you to integrate it from any programming language or environment.

Your default choice should be to use one of the SDKs, as they are the easiest to use and provide the most functionality. But, if you need to use a different language, or if you need to use a different environment, here's how you can decide what's right for you:q

But first - you need to decide if you need real-time data

Hivekit has a well structured REST API that lets you create, query, update and delete objects, areas, tasks and all other Hivekit concepts. You can also publish events and retrieve location history. But, because it's a Request-Response based API, it can't give you realtime update feeds. To get the full functionality, we provide a WebSocket API that uses the same JSON based protocol that the client SDKs communicate in. The REST API is a little bit easier to use, but if you need real-time updates, you'll need to use the WebSocket API.

Option 1: I don't need realtime update feeds

Alright, let's get you started with Hivekit's REST API. All you need is a programming language that can make HTTP requests - which is pretty much all of them. Once you're ready, head over to getting started using the HTTP API

Option 2: I need realtime update feeds

If you need real-time updates, you'll need to use the WebSocket API. This is a little bit more complex, but it's still pretty easy. You'll need a programming language that can run continuously and make WebSocket connections. That means, languages that are run in response to HTTP server queries such as PHP or Ruby won't work. But, languages like Python, Java, C#, C++, Go, Rust and many others will work.

Once you're ready, head over to getting started using the WebSocket API