velo-sync

velo-sync

The velo-sync tool imports data into a collection on a Wix site. The tool syncs database items and media files (images, videos, audio files or documents) making them available in a wix data collection.

velo-sync supports the following operations:

Command	Data	Description
import	Doesn't include a keyField	Each data item is added as a new item in the collection
import	Includes a keyField	Existing items with a matching keyfield are updated. If no item with a matching keyfield exists, a new item is added top the collection
sync	Doesn't include a keyField	Similar to import without keyField, but removes all other items from the collection
sync	Includes a keyField	Similar to import with a keyField, but removes all other items from the collection

The velo-sync application can be used in two different ways:

• As a CLI Application to import and sync CSV files and referenced media
• As an API to import JavaScript objects and referenced media

Usage as a CLI Application

To use the velo-sync CLI Application, you need to:

• Prepare your data
• Prepare your site
• Prepare the app

Prepare your Data

1. Prepare the CSV file

The data to be imported or synced should be formatted as a standard CSV file, that includes the following conventions:

• A header line with field names.
• Any field that includes a comma (,) or a new line should be enclosed with quotes (").
• Any field values that include quotes should escape the quotes with double quotes ("").

The following is an example of a CSV file:

Image,Artist,Location,Description,ID,Name
wix:image://v1/596320_525e18eaa2ce459a94dd3b812a7db930~mv2.jpg/BenWilson_chewing_gum_issa_23.jpg#originWidth=634&originHeight=436,c1c03e11-024b-4dad-a689-1c3610913b9b,London Bridge,,0451962b-9cd2-4fe2-aa24-f7973d073d75,Little Mermaid
wix:image://v1/fc7570_846eb609b9d640d184345e6309f8768c~mv2.jpg/%20Shop%20till%20you%20drop%20%20%20.JPG#originWidth=1600&originHeight=1067,50072d76-8368-42f7-99ee-0e9296029d75, Bruton Street,"Also known as the “Falling Shopper”, the mural is located on Bruton Lane on the side of a large office building in the heart of the West End district. The piece is over two storeys up and represents a woman falling with a trolley from the top of a building. Banksy’s aim was to point out the dangers of consumerism.  The mural was painted in November 2011 in broad daylight. A scaffolding and a tarpaulin were used to make sure nobody caught the artist red-handed. “Shop Till You Drop” is still visible and quite damaged.",0560c783-f374-44f6-b318-908d6de77816, Shop Till You Drop
wix:image://v1/596320_f0681085ac544bea9527272059955ba2~mv2.jpg/46600548_595929587504016_290259145196053.jpg#originWidth=1080&originHeight=1080,777a0f48-b2ff-421e-a435-739081cf05ba,King John Court,,0a910c5e-cf3c-4d92-b911-8db7819296f1,Artemis
wix:image://v1/596320_65dfa944076d44a9a945868d7702331b~mv2.jpeg/IMG_6611.jpeg#originWidth=1000&originHeight=750,59430c6f-11f4-49c5-a7f5-19b855d2b5f3,Shoreditch Underground,,0b75e1d7-073c-44ae-b965-a1fa6bb2c15a,Hey Baby
wix:image://v1/fc7570_dfbf8d18bf2f4d8db98a48b65e491d78~mv2.jpg/Banksy-There-is-Always-Hope.jpg#originWidth=1500&originHeight=1076,50072d76-8368-42f7-99ee-0e9296029d75,South Bank,"Arguably Banksy’s most iconic piece, it appeared in South Bank, London in around 2002. The words ‘There Is Always Hope’ are written just behind a young girl, who can be seen reaching for a balloon in the shape of a heart. Intense debate has raged on over the years regarding the true meaning of this stencil, with a variety of ideas involving love, innocence and – obviously – hope",1c138979-d640-4d53-b390-187a4196db5f,There Is Always Hope
wix:image://v1/596320_a2535724be2c4376b382260f10d7f069~mv2.jpg/BaltimoreBorn.jpg#originWidth=1080&originHeight=827,777a0f48-b2ff-421e-a435-739081cf05ba,Old Street,,297516b7-3389-49ae-b1c7-14a28b4ba76b,Baltimore Born
wix:image://v1/fc7570_221a6ef024794bb69a43a208225643bd~mv2.jpg/street-art-in-london-banksy-graffiti-pai.jpg#originWidth=640&originHeight=428,50072d76-8368-42f7-99ee-0e9296029d75,Portobello Road Market," This piece can be found beside Regent’s Canal tunnel and under the London Transport Police Headquarters in Camden. The mural, painted in 2009, represents a city worker covering the work of another graffiti artist painted in 1985 with grey wallpaper.  This wall became the battleground of a graffiti war between Banksy and the deceased London graffiti legend King Robbo. Shortly after, Robbo struck back and covered Banksy’s piece on the pretext that he broke the underground code of conduct. The wall undergone eight other modifications from both artists. The feud stopped when King Robbo was hospitalised for life-threatening head injuries. When Banksy heard about King Robbo’s serious health condition, he painted an ode to Robbo’s original graffiti piece. As a tribute to Robbo, the mural was restored to its original form with slight changes.",414c339e-0300-44b9-b8a4-376d8f0acbca, Graffiti Painter
wix:image://v1/596320_057219a2167d4b6dbdac4ffc8bf70012~mv2.jpg/G.%20Davis%20is%20Innocent%20OK.jpg#originWidth=1200&originHeight=800,777a0f48-b2ff-421e-a435-739081cf05ba,Sclater Street,,63d5d8d0-3939-4c68-b641-8e93e7bc61f5,G. Davis is Innocent OK
wix:image://v1/fc7570_d259e3c970094cb3a2cdec0c8e28eb93~mv2.png/Screenshot%20at%20Mar%2005%2011-13-56.png#originWidth=1702&originHeight=1176,50072d76-8368-42f7-99ee-0e9296029d75,Rivington Street Shoreditch,"Banksy’s mural is located on Essex Road, North London. Painted in 2008 on the side of a pharmacy, Banksy’s work depicts a group of three children pledging their allegiance to the British supermarket chain Tesco.  One of them is raising a flag composed by a Tesco carrier bag. Even though it was quickly covered in perspex, “Very Little Help” has been vandalised on several occasions and it is currently partially damaged. The flag has been painted over and replaced with a tag from Robbo.",696f7b91-cd61-4a6c-a5f8-06fe1e916354,Tesco Kids
wix:image://v1/596320_e970850a978147cf89d49d62e0442736~mv2.jpg/ad2dd_Jose-Mendez-1.jpg#originWidth=470&originHeight=470,59430c6f-11f4-49c5-a7f5-19b855d2b5f3,Shoreditch,,6d779be3-bc57-49e0-b1a7-291d9429bbf8,Happy Walk
wix:image://v1/596320_25360281cc7e491bb4870bd5d32e909f~mv2.jpg/Garden+Of+Desire6+WEB.jpg#originWidth=709&originHeight=653,59430c6f-11f4-49c5-a7f5-19b855d2b5f3,Shoreditch,,7242d0da-73b7-431e-abaa-7efc18fa56f0,Garden of Desire
wix:image://v1/596320_c29d9c5caa03466ebe86d216f0c652f1~mv2.jpg/ben-wilson8_orig.jpg#originWidth=796&originHeight=800,c1c03e11-024b-4dad-a689-1c3610913b9b,London Bridge,,7bd23aac-2bce-4a69-8907-69152838ba82,London Sky
wix:image://v1/596320_1f2d833d379047579240f9f0e9c1ddad~mv2.jpg/1.jpg#originWidth=1000&originHeight=1000,59430c6f-11f4-49c5-a7f5-19b855d2b5f3,Shoreditch,,aed627a9-47da-404d-96ee-42e042eb6602,Red Gallery Window
wix:image://v1/596320_e8f7ee11aaa9428bb25233cf1304cb54~mv2.jpg/fingercrossed.jpg#originWidth=640&originHeight=640,777a0f48-b2ff-421e-a435-739081cf05ba,Brick Lane,,c1ba82f3-fd79-4860-87ce-d894c15c98fb,Fingers Crossed
wix:image://v1/596320_44bc2bdb102a48f3ae6e596bb2d2806c~mv2.jpg/tn_IMG_5069.jpg#originWidth=555&originHeight=740,c1c03e11-024b-4dad-a689-1c3610913b9b,London Bridge,,c2e3c665-664b-4797-a91f-f59559497ad2,I'll Quit Tomorrow
wix:image://v1/596320_1e8978648f0e4e56b79712f03ff80fa7~mv2.jpg/tn_IMG_0369-001.jpg#originWidth=864&originHeight=837,c1c03e11-024b-4dad-a689-1c3610913b9b,Old Street,,d5e474f2-7faf-47be-9702-27cbab81d0e7,BW Face

Note: More examples of CSV files can be found in the example-datasets folder.

2. Prepare the schema file

The schema file describes the values in the CSV file. It maps the values in the CSV file to the correct field types in your site's collection.

An example schema file:

{
  "keyField": "ID",
  "fields": {
    "Image": "Image",
    "Artist": "Reference",
    "Location": "string",
    "Description": "string",
    "ID": "string",
    "Name": "string"
  }
}

The schema file has two main properties:

• keyField - [optional] A value in the CSV file used to identify existing data in the collection. If the collection has an item whose _id matches the keyField value, the existing item is updated with the new values from the CSV file. If no item with that _id exists, a new item is added to the collection.

• fields - The fields in the CSV file that match the fields in your site's collection. The property name is the name of the field in your collection and its value is the field type.

Supported Types

Type	Valid Values	Example Values
string	Text that includes commas has to be surrounded with quotes (""). Multiline text is supported when surrounded with quotes ("")	Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed" column 1, column 2,"Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed", column 4, column 5/
number	Any valid JavaScript number	1234 1234.34 1234.34e12
boolean	- true, false - yes, no - y, n
Image	- Relative file location - Image url - Wix image url	./images/carson-arias-7Z03R1wOdmI-unsplash.jpg https://some-domain.com/image.jpeg wix:image://v1/e15137_e05ba45c616448a0a0e9d73e726a9168~mv2.jpg/carson-arias-7Z03R1wOdmI-unsplash.jpg#originWidth=2598&originHeight=3247
Datetime	Any date time value parsable by new Date(value)	2001-01-01T01:23:45.678Z 2001-01-01
Time	hours : minutes : seconds	01:23:45
RichText	An HTML string that conforms to Wix text element HTML formatting	<h1>some text</h1>
Reference	The _id of the referenced item	0065e20a-48ca-4357-a8d6-e1ffa1d091bc
URL	Any valid URL	https://some-domain.com/directory
Document*	- Relative file location - Document URL	./document/sample.pdf https://some-domain.com/doc.pdf
Video*	- Relative file location - Video URL	./video/production ID_3755072.mp4 https://some-domain.com/vid.mp4
Audio*	- Relative file location - Audio URL	./song.mp3 https://some-domain.com/audio.mp3
Address	The Wix address object, as described in the Address Input value property	{"formatted": "15 Fairmont Pl, Sterling, VA 20165, USA"} {"city": "Sterling", "location": { "latitude": 39.0501381, "longitude": -77.426225 }, "streetAddress": { "number": "15", "name": "Fairmont Place", "apt": "" }, "formatted": "15 Fairmont Pl, Sterling, VA 20165, USA", "country": "US", "postalCode": "20165-5769", "subdivision": "VA" }
Tags	An array of strings	["one", "two", "three"]
Array	A JavaScript array	[1,2,3]
Object	A JavaScript object	{a: 1, b: 2}
Gallery	- A comma separated list of URLs or files - A gallery object as described in the Gallery items property	./file1.jpg, ./file2.mp4, http://domain.com/image.png [{type: 'image', src: './file1.jpg'}, {type: 'video', src: './file2.mp4'}, {type: 'image', src: 'http://domain.com/image.png'}]

* For media and files, the upload process supports 4 different formats of file references:

• Relative file location - The file will be uploaded to Wix and replaced with a Wix URL (wix:image, etc.). The file location is relative to the CSV file.
• File URL - The file will be uploaded to Wix and replaced with a Wix URL.
• Wix statics URL - The public URL of a file already stored on Wix. The file will not be uploaded again and will be replaced with a Wix URL.
• Wix URL (wix:image, etc.) - The file is already on Wix with a Wix URL and will not be uploaded.

Prepare your site

To enable velo-sync on a Wix site:

1. Add an http-functions.js file to your Backend files.
2. Copy the contents of http-functions.js into the http-function.js file.
3. Define a secret named velo-sync in the Secret Manager (Settings > Secrets Manager), and give it a unique value.
4. Publish the site so that the http-functions.js file will be deployed to the site.

Prepare the application

Make sure you have node.js version v12 or above installed. From the command line, run the application with the following command. The app usage should be displayed:

➜ npx velo-sync
npx: installed 115 in 8.748s
Usage: 
 npx velo-sync [command] [options...]

Commands:
  init          generates a config file for the import / export / sync process
  is-alive      tests the config and the connection to the site
  sync          runs the sync process
  import        runs an import process

1. init the connection to your Wix site

Run npx velo-sync init and follow the instructions:

➜ npx velo-sync init
npx: installed 115 in 7.133s
hello to velo-sync init
what is the url of the site homepage? https://dommain.com
what is the velo-sync secret? <your secret>

The init command creates a config.json file with the connection to your site.

2. Test the connection

The is-alive command is used to verify the connection to your site using the config.json file generated by the init command.

➜ npx velo-sync is-alive
npx: installed 115 in 7.64s
checking if the API for site https://domain.com is alive...
API of site https://domain.com is working and alive!!!

3. Run the sync process in Dry Run mode

You can optionally run the sync or import commands in dry-run mode. In Dry Run mode, no data is imported or updated on your site. The sync process reads all the data and all the referenced files and reports any potential issues.

Dry Run detects any data parsing or file reference issue.

The sync and import commands require the following parameters:

• -f - the CSV file to import
• -c - the name of the collection to import data into
• -s - the schema file
• --dry - run in dry-run mode.

4. Run the sync process

You can now run the sync or import commands. import will import the data and files, while sync will also remove existing items from the collection.

The sync and import commands require the following parameters:

• -f - the CSV file to import
• -c - the name of the collection to import data into
• -s - the schema file

Example run:

➜ npx velo-sync import -f Art.csv -c Items -s Art-schema.json
npx: installed 115 in 7.349s
0:0:0    starting import Art.csv to Items
0:0:0      check update state batch 0 with 16 items
0:0:3        check update state batch 0 with 16 items. ok: 13, need update: 0, not found: 3
0:0:3      upload images for batch 0 with 3 items needing image upload
0:0:3        uploaded images for batch 0 with 3 items. Uploaded Images: 0, rejected: 0
0:0:3      saving batch 0 with 3 items
0:0:3        saving batch 0 with 3 items. inserted: 3, updated: 0, skipped: 0, errors: []
0:0:3    statistics
0:0:3      read csv: 16
0:0:3      batches: 1
0:0:3      batched items: 16
0:0:3      check update state: 16
0:0:3      up to date items: 13
0:0:3      update: 3
0:0:3    completed importing Art.csv to Items

Usage as an API

velo-sync can be used directly as an API. To use it as an API, import the createDataSync function from the npm package.

import {createDataSync, LoggingStatistics, LoggerRejectsReporter} from 'velo-sync';

async function run() {
  // The data to import to your site
  let data = [...];
  // The collection name on your site
  let collection = 'items'; 
  // Your connection configuration
  let config = { 
    "siteUrl": "https://domain.com",
    "secret": "<your secret>"
  };
  // Your data's schema
  let schema = { 
    "keyField": "ID",
    "fields": {
      "Image": "Image",
      "Artist": "Reference",
      "Location": "string",
      "Description": "string",
      "ID": "string",
      "Name": "string"
    }
  };
  // Statistics reporter
  let stats = new LoggingStatistics(); 
  // Rejects reporter
  let rejectsReporter = new LoggerRejectsReporter(stats); 
  // Base folder for resolving relative filenames
  let filesFolder = './'; 
  // implementation of FileUploadCache, based on local sqlite database
  let uploadFileCache = new SQLiteFileUploadCache('./.upload-cache.sqlite.db')
  // if a local file cache is not needed, we can use the NoopFileUploadCache implementation 
  //let uploadFileCache = new NoopFileUploadCache();
  // dry run - do not update data on the wix site side
  let dryRun = false;

  // open sqlite cache 
  await uploadFileCache.open();
  try {
    let dataSync = createDataSync(collection, config, schema, stats, filesFolder,
            rejectsReporter, uploadFileCache, dryRun)

    // Add the items to the data sync and if the internal queues are full, wait for space for the next item
    for (item of data)
      await dataSync.handleItem(item);

    // Mark that there are no more items to be imported, to flush all internal buffers
    dataSync.noMoreItems();
  
    // Wait for the sync process to complete
    await dataSync.done();
  }
  finally {
    // close and flush the sqlite file
    await uploadFileCache.close();
  }
}

Formal types

createDataSync

export interface Config {
  siteUrl: string, // The URL of the Home page of the site
  secret: string // The value of the velo-sync secret as defined in the Secrets Manager
}

type FieldType =
        'string'
        | 'number'
        | 'boolean'
        | 'Image'
        | 'Datetime'
        | 'Time'
        | 'RichText'
        | 'Reference'
        | 'URL'
        | 'Document'
        | 'Video'
        | 'Audio'
        | 'Address'
        | 'Tags'
        | 'Array'
        | 'Object'
        | 'Gallery';

export interface Schema {
  keyField: string, // The name of the key field in the input objects
  fields: {
    [key: string]: FieldType // The fields of the input object and their to Velo field types
  }
}

export interface Statistics {
  reportProgress(who: string, items: number) // Reports on the progress of different stages
  print(); // Triggers printing the statistics. When used as an API, can be implemented as no op.
}

export interface RejectsReporter {
  reject(item: any, error: Error): void; // Reports an item that is invalid
}

export interface Next<T> {
  handleItem: (item: T) => Promise<void> // Adds an item to the sync process
  noMoreItems: () => void // Notifies the sync process that there are no more items to sync
}

export interface DataSync extends Next<Record<string, any>>{
  done(): Promise<void>; // Used to wait for the sync process to complete
}

export interface FileUploadCache {
  open(): Promise<void> // called before the cache is used, can be used to read state from a file or another service
  close(): Promise<void> // called after the cache was used, at the end of the sync process. Can be used to flush state to disk or remote service
  setVeloFileUrl(fileUrlOrPath: string, hash: string, veloFileUrl: string): Promise<void>; // stores a new mapping of a file url + hash -> velo file url  
  getVeloFileUrl(fileUrlOrPath: string, hash: string): Promise<string>; // tries to find a velo file url from cache, given a filename and a file hash value
}

export declare function createDataSync(
    collection: string, // The name of the collection to sync with 
    config: Config, // The config object 
    schema: Schema, // The schema object  
    stats: Statistics, // Statistics implementation
    filesFolder: string, // The base folder for relative file names 
    rejectsReporter: RejectsReporter, // Rejects reporter
    uploadFilesCache: FileUploadCache, // files upload cache, implemeting FileUploadCache 
    dryrun: boolean = false, // Trigger a Dry Run): DataSync