CB User API Component for Joomla 5

A simple REST API component for Joomla 5 that retrieves Community Builder user profile data. This component allows you to fetch CB user fields from one Joomla site to another via a secure API endpoint.

Features

• Retrieve Community Builder profile data via REST API
• Token-based authentication
• Returns user data in JSON format
• Includes core Joomla user fields (id, email)
• Includes Community Builder fields (firstname, lastname, avatar, address, city, state, country)
• Automatic avatar URL conversion
• Built with modern Joomla 5 namespace structure

Installation

1. Create the component files in this structure:

2. Zip the com_cbuserapi folder

3. Install via Joomla Administrator → System → Extensions → Install

4. The component will be installed and ready to use

Configuration

Set Your Authentication Token

1. Open site/src/Controller/DisplayController.php
2. Find this line in the validateToken() method:

   $validToken = 'YOUR_SECRET_API_TOKEN_HERE'; // Change this!

3. Replace YOUR_SECRET_API_TOKEN_HERE with a strong, random token
4. Example: $validToken = 'k9mP2xL8vQ4wN7rT3jH6yU1zF5bS0aD9';

Customize Namespace (Optional)

If you want to use your own namespace instead of YourName:

1. Edit all PHP files and replace YourName with your namespace (e.g., MyCompany)
2. Update the namespace in cbuserapi.xml:

   <namespace path="src">MyCompany\Component\Cbuserapi</namespace>

Usage

API Endpoint

GET https://yoursite.com/index.php?option=com_cbuserapi&task=getUser&user_id={USER_ID}&token={YOUR_TOKEN}

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
option	string	Component name (always com_cbuserapi)
task	string	Action to perform (currently only getUser)
user_id	integer	The Joomla user ID to retrieve
token	string	Your authentication token

Example Request

https://yoursite.com/index.php?option=com_cbuserapi&task=getUser&user_id=123&token=k9mP2xL8vQ4wN7rT3jH6yU1zF5bS0aD9

Response Format

Success (200):

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "id": 123,
    "email": "john.doe@example.com",
    "firstname": "John",
    "lastname": "Doe",
    "avatar": "tn123_avatar.jpg",
    "avatar_url": "https://yoursite.com/images/comprofiler/tn123_avatar.jpg",
    "cb_address": "123 Main Street",
    "cb_city": "Dallas",
    "cb_state": "TX",
    "cb_country": "United States"
  }
}

Invalid Token (401):

{
  "success": false,
  "message": "Invalid or missing authentication token"
}

User Not Found (404):

{
  "success": false,
  "message": "User not found"
}

Calling from Another Joomla Site

Using PHP cURL

<?php
$userId = 123;
$token = 'k9mP2xL8vQ4wN7rT3jH6yU1zF5bS0aD9';
$apiUrl = 'https://yoursite.com/index.php?option=com_cbuserapi&task=getUser&user_id=' . $userId . '&token=' . $token;

$ch = curl_init();
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_URL, $apiUrl);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER, true);

$response = curl_exec($ch);
$httpCode = curl_getinfo($ch, CURLINFO_HTTP_CODE);
curl_close($ch);

if ($httpCode === 200) {
    $data = json_decode($response, true);
    if ($data['success']) {
        $user = $data['data'];
        echo "Name: " . $user['firstname'] . " " . $user['lastname'];
        echo "Email: " . $user['email'];
    }
}
?>

Using JavaScript/AJAX

const userId = 123;
const token = 'k9mP2xL8vQ4wN7rT3jH6yU1zF5bS0aD9';
const apiUrl = `https://yoursite.com/index.php?option=com_cbuserapi&task=getUser&user_id=${userId}&token=${token}`;

fetch(apiUrl)
  .then(response => response.json())
  .then(data => {
    if (data.success) {
      console.log('User:', data.data);
      console.log('Name:', data.data.firstname, data.data.lastname);
    } else {
      console.error('Error:', data.message);
    }
  })
  .catch(error => console.error('Request failed:', error));

Security Best Practices

Required Security Measures

Optional Enhanced Security

IP Whitelisting: Add allowed IP addresses to restrict access

Database Token Storage: Store tokens in a database table instead of hardcoding

Rate Limiting: Prevent abuse by limiting requests per time period

Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
"Invalid or missing authentication token"	Verify the token in the URL matches the one in DisplayController.php. Check for extra spaces or special characters.
"User not found"	Verify the user ID exists in the #__users table. Check that the user has a Community Builder profile.
"Database error"	Verify Community Builder is installed. Check that CB tables exist (#__comprofiler).
Component won't install	Check that all files are in the correct folder structure. Verify XML syntax in cbuserapi.xml.
Empty or null field values	Some CB fields may be optional and empty. Check the CB field names match your installation.

Requirements

• Joomla 5.x
• Community Builder installed and configured
• PHP 7.4 or higher
• MySQL 5.6 or higher

Extending the Component

Adding More CB Fields

To retrieve additional Community Builder fields, edit the SELECT query in DisplayController.php and add the desired field names.

Creating Additional Endpoints

To add new functionality (e.g., update user data), create a new method in DisplayController.php and call it with a different task parameter.

License

GNU General Public License version 2 or later

Changelog

Version 1.0.0 (2025-01)

• Initial release
• Basic user data retrieval
• Token authentication
• JSON response format