How does the sync.blue® Directory work?

Benefit

As a rule, sync.blue® does not save any contacts on its own and synchronizes them instead live between two accounts, such as a Microsoft 365 account (Groupware) and a Placetel account (telephone system).

In some scenarios, however, it is necessary for sync.blue® to be used as an online contact store and makes the contacts available for download in various formats:

• Phone book for IP phones: Contacts from a specific Address book sources such as Microsoft 365 should be used for an IP phone (e.g.: snom or Yealink) can be provided as a phone book.
• Merge multiple accounts: Contacts from different Accounts such as Microsoft 365, Apple iCloud and Google Contacts should merge and duplicated for its own enterprise application to be provided.
• Push instead of pull: Contacts can be created from an internal company application cannot be accessed by sync.blue® and should be accessed from the internal network to be pushed into the sync.blue® directory.

Technology

How do contacts get into the sync.blue® directory?

sync.blue® directory as connection target

Choose the sync.blue® directory as the target in a classic sync.blue® Connection (e.g. source "Microsoft 365" and destination "sync.blue® Directory"). 

Several connections can be created with the same sync.blue® directory Account as target.

sync.blue® Directory as push target

First, create a local CSV file with the following columns:

The order of these columns is irrelevant, the names of the columns are not.

You can find an example file here.

Push this CSV file called contacts.csv into the sync.blue® directory, e.g. via cURL:

Example of (tested with cURL version 7.77.0 on macOS): 

curl -F 'file=@contacts.csv' https://directory.sync.blue/contacts/YOUR_API_KEY

Example for (tested with cURL version 7.84.0 on Windows): 

curl --insecure -F file=@contacts.csv https://directory.sync.blue/contacts/YOUR_API_KEY

Technical requirements:

• Request: POST
• Form type: multipart/form-data
• CSV file parameter name: file

The API key can be thought up by yourself (exactly 14 characters, characters 0-9 and A-Z) and must be unique.

How does the sync.blue® directory provide contacts?

Depending on the URL ending, the sync.blue® directory gives contacts in the desired Format from:

• As a CSV file (example: https://directory.sync.blue/contacts/DEMOabcABC0123)
• As an XML file for Yealink IP phones (Example: https://directory.sync.blue/contacts/DEMOabcABC0123/yealink/v1)
• As an XML file for snom IP phones (example: https://directory.sync.blue/contacts/DEMOabcABC0123/snom/v1)
• As an XML file for Gigaset IP telephones/DECT bases (example: http://directory.sync.blue/contacts/DEMOabcABC0123/gigaset/ v1)
• As CardDAV URL (under development)

Security and privacy

• Provision of contacts only via HTTPS (SSL encrypted)
• Contacts only if personal API key known

More on that too here. 

Limits

• The sync.blue® is a technical online contact storage without a user interface for creating, editing and deleting contacts.
• Only the most important fields are synchronized.