[Archived] Guidance on moving to ORCID 2.0 API

ORCID API 1.2 turned off

As of the 1st August 2018 deadline, all Jisc UK ORCID consortium members using API 1.2 had stopped using that version of the API. The majority of our members were able to upgrade to use API 2.0. A very small number of members were no longer actively developing ORCID and had put their plans on hold, or will be updating their integration’s full features to use 2.0 API and above in the near future.

ORCID’s final reminder in their July 2018 newsletter:
“As per our announcement on March 19, from August 1, 2018, this API
will no longer be supported. API 1.2 was turned off on the Public API
on March 1 – https://orcid.org/blog/2018/03/19/API-1-2-sunset-date

All members currently on member API versions 1.1, 1.2, or 1.2 release
candidates must upgrade to API 2.0 or 2.1 by August 1. We have
contacted all members that we know are still using version 1.2 to
make sure you plan to update to 2.0/2.1 before this deadline, or have
requested an extension. If you are still using version 1.2 on the
member API — or are unsure — and have not been in contact with the
ORCID Community team, please reach out to us urgently at
community@orcid.org.”

Sunset Date for Member API set for 1 August 2018

From ORCID “We have now set the sunset date of API 1.2 on the Member API: August 1, 2018. ORCID members must upgrade to API 2.0 or higher by August 1 to continue benefiting from using the ORCID Member API.” Read more in the ORCID blog post.

ORCID announced the release of version 2.0 of the ORCID API in early 2017, and expected version 1.2 of the API to be retired by the end of 2017. All consortium members have been encouraged to update system(s) before the end of 2017. A letter was sent out on 16th August to all members who have registered an integration with ORCID (i.e. have requested credentials) to ask about upgrade plans and offer support, with follow up continuing into 2018. All ORCID API users who have not done so yet should be urgently upgrading to 2.0 API and planning their migration. This page will be updated with further information as it becomes available from ORCID.

From ORCID’s February 2018 newsletter:
“We will be discontinuing support for our 1.2 API on August 1, 2018. All members currently on member API versions 1.1, 1.2, or 2.0 release candidates should be actively upgrading to API 2.0 or 2.1. We’ve already spoken with many of you, and, if you haven’t already done so, please contact us urgently with your timeframe for completing your 2.0 upgrade so we can plan the sunset of older API versions later this year with as little inconvenience to you and your users as possible. Please also note that older versions of the public API are scheduled to be discontinued March 1.”

In response to the question:
Will ORCID versions pre v2.0 continue to function once support ends?

ORCID replied We are planning to sunset (switch off) the API v1.2 and all v2 release candidates by the end of the year. We will of course make sure every member has upgraded to v2.0 before we proceed to the switch-off. Should any member foresee issues meeting this deadline, we would like to be informed as soon as possible.

What do you need to do?

If you have a vendor system, e.g. a CRIS (PURE, Symplectic, Worktribe, Converis):

The following vendor systems all have a version that supports 2.0:

PURE version 5.9 (June 2017)
Symplectic version 5.6 (June 2017)
Converis version 5.10.5 (July 2017)

If you have not already upgraded to one of these versions, please plan an upgrade asap and get in touch to let us know. Most of the institutions in the UK consortium, using a vendor system, as of March 2018, have upgraded, with a small number that have agreed an extension while a planned upgrade takes place.

If you have a custom integration:

If you are not already using 2.0, you will need to urgently upgrade your systems to use version 2.0 If you’re presently developing an integration, you should develop to 2.0 which is available on the sandbox and production registries.

There are some significant changes to keep in mind:

All redirects must be updated to HTTPS — HTTP redirect URIs no longer supported
New scopes (Your old access tokens will still work)
Add/edit items to record on an individual basis using put codes
New endpoints

Using the Sandbox

For anyone testing with the release of 2.0 on Sandbox, please don’t hesitate to use the ORCID API discussion list with any questions or concerns or contact the support desk for the UK ORCID Jisc consortium if you are a member of the consortium mailto:help@jisc.ac.uk.

What are the improvements to the API as a result of the upgrade?

Summary views, making large records more efficient to handle
Support for ORCID’s peer review functionality
Support for grouped works within the ORCID message schema, reflecting the functionality in the user interface
Better support for the biographical information associated with the ORCID record
Faster API calls for the most common summary information for an ORCID record
Streamlined permission scopes
Updated error codes and messaging

The blog post by Rob Peters, technology director at ORCID provides a good overview of changes and the reasoning behind them. ORCID’s Alainna Wrigley has also described Have you upgraded to API v2.0? Read why you should in a blog post. ORCID’s documentation is listed in detail below and an overview on moving to 2.0 is a good starting point.

What help is available?

The 2.0 API was launched on February 14th 2017. ORCID have provided a number of documents to help with this transition including:

ORCID will be continuing to share information about 2.0 upgrade webinars in the monthly newsletters. The next of the monthly webinars listed on the ORCID events page dedicated to the move from 1.2 to 2.0 will be held Tue, Mar 13, 2018 7:00 AM – 8:00 AM GMT. Register here. For those who cannot attend, there is a recorded webinar for service providers or a recording of Changes in 2.0.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the UK Consortium helpdesk in the first instance: help@jisc.ac.uk