HTTP Callout in Flow

Build a Screen Flow using the HTTP Callout action in Flow to generate random affirmations for your Users.

Your Users need some daily inspiration on their Home Page, and the Affirmations API seems like the perfect vehicle toward providing this. Thanks to Flow Builder's HTTP Callout, we can fulfill this requirement declaratively!

Here are the high-level steps:

Create External Credential
Create Named Credential
Create Permission Set
Create Screen Flow
Add the Screen Flow to the Home Page

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Create External Credential

We'll add an External Credential to specify the authentication protocol in use. With this specific API, there is no authentication required.

Navigate to Setup > Security > Named Credentials > External Credentials and click "New"
Label: No Authentication
Name: No_Authentication
Authentication Protocol: No Authentication

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Add a Principal for the External Credential so that we can expose this metadata to Permission Sets.

Under Principals, click "New"
Parameter Name: All Users
Sequence Number: 1

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Create Named Credential

Let's add a Named Credential that will encompass the Affirmations API's endpoint details.

Navigate to Setup > Security > Named Credentials and click "New"
Label: Affirmations
Name: Affirmations
URL: https://www.affirmations.dev/
External Credential: No Authentication

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Create Permission Set

Create a Permission Set that grants access to the Anonymous External Service.

Navigate to Setup > Security > Named Credentials and click "New"
Label: Affirmations
API Name: Affirmations
Description: Grants access to the Affirmations API and related metadata.
Add the "No_Authentication - All Users" External Credential Principal
Assign the Permission Set to all relevant Users

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Create Screen Flow

Now that we've done our busywork, let's put that metadata to use! We'll build a Screen Flow to leverage the API and display affirmations to Users.

Navigate to Setup > Flows and click "New Flow"
Choose Screen Flow and click "Create"

We'll add the HTTP Callout action to the Flow through the use of External Services.

Choose Add Element > Action and click "Create HTTP Callout"
Name: Affirmations
Description: This External Service leverages the Affirmations API.
Named Credential: Affirmations
Click "Next"

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Following along, we'll build the Invocable Action that encompasses the GET callout. We can skip over the URL path variables due to the simplicity of this API.

Label: Get Affirmation
Method: GET
Description: Makes a GET callout to the Affirmations API and returns an affirmation.

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We'll also need to provide a sample API response body.

Click "New"
Input the sample JSON response (see below) and click "Review"
After the Data Structure compiles, click "Done"
Click "Save"

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_{Sample JSON Response}

{"affirmation":"You'll figure it out"}

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Let's finish defining the action.

Label: Get Affirmation
API Name: Get_Affirmation
Description: Gets an affirmation from the Affirmations External Service.

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Let's add a Screen element to the canvas. The Screen will solely be used to display an affirmation upon page load (i.e. no interaction will be taking place).

Choose Add Element > Screen
Label: Affirmation Screen
API Name: Affirmation_Screen
Description: Displays an affirmation to the current user.

Hide the header as it's unnecessary for our purpose.

Expand the Configure Header accordion
Show Header: unchecked

Hide the footer to prevent navigation.

Expand the Configure Footer accordion
Show Footer: unchecked

Add some Display Text to the Screen that displays an affirmation.

Drag the Display Text component onto the Screen
API Name: textAffirmation
Encapsulate the affirmation output (via Outputs from Get_Affirmation > 2XX > affirmation) in quotes from the Get Affirmation action