Setting up a URL Feed as a Data Source

Setting up a URL feed as a data source for Templater requires knowledge of and experience with configuring web servers. You can use any technology stack to setup the URL as required by your project.

WARNING  When using a URL feed, The Bot cannot update the value of the "render-status" key because the data source is specific to the user's system. Therefore, users should register custom scripts to update "render-status" values at appropriate events to avoid re-rendering "ready" data. As of version 2.1.10, the Post Job, Post Batch, and On Bot Disable events are broadcast.

Follow these steps to set up a URL feed for use as a Templater data source:

1. Using your choice of technology stack, setup a web server.
2. On the web server, create a REST API with endpoints that return responses as JSON object arrays. Property keys included in the JSON objects must match dynamic layer names in your After Effects project file or any of the reserved keys. See below for an example of a properly formatted JSON response.

   TIP To quickly setup a REST API, use a framework for your server language. For example, ExpressJS for Node or Laravel for PHP.

   // Sample REST API endpoint for retreiving album information
   https://sampledomain.com/feeds/albums	
   				
   // Response delivered as JSON object array
   [
     {
       "ID": "json_dyn",
       "title": "Create Dynamic Renders",
       "caption-1": "Prepare AE projects!",
       "caption-2": "parameterized rendering",
       "album-cover": "vangelis-spiral.jpg",
       "disc-face": "discs/vangelis-spiral.png",
       "tint": "89B85C",
       "render-status":"ready"
     },
     {
       "ID": "json_fit",
       "title": "Automatic Fitting",
       "caption-1": "Auto scales your data",
       "caption-2": "to fit your layout",
       "album-cover": "gatsby.jpg",
       "disc-face": "discs/gatsby.png",
       "tint": "684489",
       "render-status":"ready"
     },
     {
       "ID": "json_easy",
       "title": "Easy Alignment",
       "caption-1": "Align dynamic elements",
       "caption-2": "for perfect renders",
       "album-cover": "achtung-baby.jpg",
       "disc-face": "discs/achtung.png",
       "tint": "D369B3",
       "render-status":"ready"
     },
   ]