Using the apigee-access module

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Private Cloud Deprecation Notice:

Support for Node.js proxies and secure vaults

Since 2013, Apigee has supported the use of Node.js proxies within Apigee Edge through the use of Trireme, which enables you to run your Node.js code within Apigee Edge for Private Cloud and expose it as an API.

Apigee recommends Private Cloud customers take the following steps:

Migrate data in secure vaults to Encrypted Key Value Maps (KVM) to access sensitive data from an API proxy.
Migrate Trireme (Node.js) based API proxies to a native Node.js environment outside of Apigee.

The apigee-access module lets you access API proxy flow variables and caches from within Node.js application code. The module is included with the Apigee Edge platform; you do not need to install it as you would with other Node.js modules.

Obtaining apigee-access

The apigee-access module is integrated into the Apigee Edge platform. When you deploy Node.js code to Edge, this module is available to you. You simply need to require it in any Node.js code that you deploy. For example:

var access=require('apigee-access');

Accessing flow variables

When you deploy a Node.js application to Edge, you can access any of the supported "out-of-the-box" flow variables, flow variables created by policies, and any flow variables that you create yourself from within your Node.js code. Flow variables are created and exist within the context of an API proxy running on Edge. For detailed information, see Accessing flow variables in Node.js.

Accessing the cache

The apigee-access module lets you access the Apigee Edge distributed cache from your Node.js code. For detailed information, see Accessing the cache in Node.js.

Using the quota service

The apigee-access module lets you access the Apigee Edge quota service from your Node.js code. For detailed information, see Accessing the quota service in Node.js.

Accessing Key Value Maps

The apigee-access module lets you access Apigee Edge key value maps (KVMs) from your Node.js code. For detailed information, see Accessing key value maps in Node.js.

Running in local mode vs deployed mode

To support local development and testing, the apigee-access module works in a local mode with no dependencies on Apigee Edge; however, when the module is used with an API proxy that is deployed to Edge, the "local" functionality is replaced by native Edge functionality. For example, the full compliment of flow variables are accessible in deployed mode, while only a small subset are available when you run the Node.js application locally. For a list of these local-mode variables, see Running in local mode.

Determining the mode in which the module is running

To determine which mode you are running apigee-access in:

var access = require('apigee-access')
console.log('The deployment mode is ' + access.getMode());

The return value of getMode() tells you whether or not the Node.js application is deployed to Apigee Edge or is running in standalone mode. The method returns one of these two string results:

apigee - The Node.js application is running on Apigee Edge and all functionality is supported.
standalone - The Node.js application is running outside the Apigee Edge environment, and the default functionality described at the top of the document takes effect.

Running in deployed mode

When deployed to Edge, variables set by policies are visible to apigee-access, and variables added or modified by this module's methods are visible to subsequent policies in the proxy flow.

You can find the link of supported variables in the Variables Reference. These variables, and any that you create with your own names, are visible to apigee-access. Note that some variables are read-only. They are identified in the Variables Reference.

Running in local mode

In "local mode," you are running your Node.js code outside the context of Apigee Edge. In this mode, most of the pre-defined flow variables are not accessible within your Node.js code. This table shows the small subset of flow variables that are available. These variables are supported here in order to support local development and testing of Node.js applications for Apigee Edge.

Variable	Read-Only	Type	Notes
`client.received.start.time`	Yes	String	Time at which the request was received
`client.received.end.time`	Yes	String	Time at which the request was received
`client.received.start.timestamp`	Yes	Integer	Time at which the request was received
`client.received.end.timestamp`	Yes	Integer	Time at which the request was received

Again, on the Apigee Edge platform, a much larger set of pre-defined variables is supported. Refer to the Apigee Edge Variables Reference for the complete list.