Skip to main content
Version: 3.20

Expose

Expose service is part of the Alchemy ecosystem. Its role is to expose assets to the Internet.

Service wraps the following end projects:

  • Expose API (backend)

How it works​

First entrypoint is the React app with one main route:

/{publication-id}

The React app displays a loader while querying the expose API to fetch the publication:

GET <API_HOST>/publications/{publication-id}

If there is no protection, the response will contain all the publication payload. Otherwise the response will be limited to protection method:

{
  "id": "123",
  "securityMethod": "password | authentication"
}

Then front (React) application will display the according authentication method and request the publication payload again:

  • with password: GET <API_HOST>/publications/{id} --header "Authorization: Password {password}"

In this example we access the publication at: https://client-url.com/gallery/123

Sequence​

Sequence

​```sequence title Expose loading

note over Browser: User wants to access the publication Browser->React: GET https://expose.com/123 React->Browser: Return static page with JS note over Browser: React app boots Browser->API: GET https://api.expose.com/publications/123 API->Browser: Returns publication payload {"id": "123", ...} note over Browser: React displays the layout ​```

Definitions​

At the top level, we have layouts:

  • download (display thumbnail while downloading the whole package)
  • gallery (simple web gallery)
  • lightbox (an extended web gallery with actions on files)

At the second level, we have themes. Themes are declined graphical versions of layouts. A theme should be implemented for each layout.

Direct URL access​

We can define a unique URL path for an asset:

{
  "id": "123",
  "assetId": "asset-unique-id",
  "alternateUrl": "a/b/c"
}

Asset will be accessible at https://client-url.com/direct/{alternateUrl}.

Setup​

Override environment variables defined in .env file:

DEV_MODE=false
EXPOSE_CLIENT_ID=<THE_CLIENT_ID>

Analytics​

Add configuration to enable Analytics:

  1. Go to Expose Admin panel > Settings > Global Config
  2. Add the appropriate configuration entries (see Analytics options)

Direct URL access​

Publications and assets can be accessed directly with slugs:

e.g. GET https://mygallery.com/publication-1/asset-1

In the above example, publication should have a slug property equal to publication-1 and the asset having