Retrieving raw package data

9.2.2 Available from 9.2.2. This API retrieves raw package data, which contains information about all packages discovered on your computers. This information is retrieved from the Windows registry. Unlike in the UI, through this API you can retrieve all historical data that is stored in the database.

To obtain information about detected software use api/sam/v2/software_instances API.

Before you begin

Use limit parameter when previewing API output

When you use api/sam/raw_package_facts API for test purpose, append the limit parameter to achieve faster response time. First 100 records should be sufficient to have a view on the data available.

https://hostname:port/api/sam/raw_package_facts?token=token&limit=100

Note: Each API request must be authenticated with the token parameter. You can retrieve it by using REST API for retrieving authentication token. You can also log in to BigFix Inventory, hover over the User icon

, and click Profile. Then, click Show token.

Table 1. Operation descriptions
Operation details	Description
Operation	`GET /api/sam/raw_package_facts`
Purpose	Returns raw package data.
HTTP method	`GET`
Resource URI	https://`server_host_name`:`port_number`/api/sam/raw_package_facts
URL link relation	n/a
URI query parameters	n/a
Request headers	Header `Accept-Language` (optional) Values en-US (only English is supported) Used to negotiate the language of the response. If this header is not specified, the content is returned in the server language.
Request payload	n/a
Request `Content-Type`	`application/json`
Response headers	Header `Content-Type` Values `application/json` Specifies the content type of the response.
Response headers	Header `Content-Language` Values en-US, … Specifies the language of the response content. If this header is not specified, the content is returned in the server language.
Response payload	`Package Fact` element
Response `Content-Type`	`application/json`
Normal HTTP response codes	`200 – OK`
Error HTTP response codes	`400 – “Bad Request”` if a query parameter contains errors or is missing Message body includes an error message with details.

Available columns

Table 2. Available columns
Column	Description	Displayed by default	Type
install_date	Software installation date. For Windows, date is specified in package's local time zone. For Linux, the latest updated date is specified. The time zone followed is UTC.	Package installation date.	String
path	Software installation path.	Package installation path.	String
is_suppressed	Indicates that package is suppressed. When the package is suppressed the column value is 1. When the package is not suppressed, the value is 0.		Boolean
comment	Comment about the suppression.		String
package_property_id	Identifier of the unix package property.	✓	Numeric
index_sha1	Package sha1 checksum	✓	String
computer_id	Identifier of the computer as defined in BigFix Inventory.	✓	Numeric
description	Description of the package.	✓	String
name	Name of the package.	✓	String
version	Version of the package.	✓	String
vendor	Vendor of the package.	✓	String
valid_from	Date and time when the package was reported for the first time. The time is specified in the GMT time zone.	✓	String
valid_to	Date and time when the package was reported for the last time. The time is specified in the GMT time zone.	✓	String

Query parameters

You can use query parameters to narrow down the results of your search.

Table 3. Query parameters
Parameter	Description	Required	Value
columns	Specify which columns to retrieve. If you do not specify this parameter, a set of default columns is retrieved. Example: Retrieve the name and computer_id columns: `URL?columns[]=name&columns[]=computer_id`	No	String
order	Specify how to sort the returned data. The default direction for sorting columns is ascending. If you want to specify a descending sort, append `desc` to the column name. Example: Order by name descending: `URL?order[]=name desc`	No	String
limit	Specify the number of rows to retrieve. If you omit this parameter, all rows are retrieved. For BigFix Inventory versions up to 10.0.1, if you omit the 'limit' parameter, 100 000 rows are retrieved. The number is defined at raw_data_api_default_limit on the Advanced Server Settings panel. Note: Parameter raw_data_api_default_limit has been removed since BigFix Inventory version 10.0.2.	No	Numeric
offset	Specify the number of rows to skip for retrieving results. You can use it together with the limit parameter to paginate results. Example: Retrieve 50 records starting after record 150: `URL?limit=50&offset=150`	No	Numeric
token	A unique user authentication identifier. You can view your token in the Profile preferences of BigFix Inventory.	Yes	Alphanumeric
criteria	Retrieve records which match specific conditions. The parameter should have the following structure, written on one line: `<criteria> ::= <left-brace> <boolean-operator><colon> <left-bracket> <criterion> [{ <comma> <criterion> }...] <right-bracket> <right-brace>` `<boolean-operator> ::= "and" \| "or" <criterion> ::= <criteria> \| <left-bracket> <column> <comma> <operator> <comma> <value> <right-bracket> <column> ::= <json-string> <operator> ::= <json-string> <value> ::= <json-array> \| <json-string> \| <json-numver> \| <json-null>` For more information about operators, see Common connectors and operators. Example: Retrieve package data from computer systems with ID greater than 10: `URL?criteria={ "and": [ ["computer_id", ">", "10"]]}` For columns that use the date and time values, such as Last Seen, you can retrieve data also for a instead of a specific date. To do so, use `last` or `next` as <operator>, and then specify the time value in the following convention: PxD/PxW/PxM/PxY, where x is a number in the 1-999 range, and D, W, M, or Y is a designator that represents days, weeks, months, or years respectively. For example, to retrieve computer systems that reported within last 7 days, use the following API request: `URL?criteria={"and":[["last_seen","last","P7D"]]}`

Example HTTP conversation

Request

GET api/sam/raw_package_facts
?token=7adc3efb175e2bc0f4484bdd2efca54a8fa04623
Host: localhost:9081 
Accept: application/json 
Accept-Language: en-US

Response header

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Content-Type: application/json
Content-Language: en-US

Response body (JSON)

 {
  "package_property_id": 1,
  "computer_id": 3,
  "description": "{FA7394B8-CE65-4F9E-AC99-F372AD365424}",  
  "name": "SQL Server 2008 R2 Database Engine Services",
  "version": "10.50.1600.1",
  "vendor": "Microsoft Corporation",
  "valid_from": "2015-08-05T14:41:19Z",
  "valid_to": "9999-12-31T23:59:59Z" 
 }
 {
  "package_property_id": 1,
  "computer_id": 3,
  "description": "{0AECF03B-E9FC-4A17-999D-6641A2851B26}",
  "name": "BigFix Client",
  "version": "9.2.3.68",
  "vendor": "IBM Corp.",
  "valid_from": "2015-08-05T14:41:19Z",
  "valid_to": "9999-12-31T23:59:59Z"  
 }