Understanding Script.Util in SSJS

Carlito · September 21, 2023

SSJS   SFMC

Think of the Script.Util object as a backstage pass holder. It grants access to a set of utility functions to interact with internal and external REST/SOAP APIs. These objects are a part of the Content Syndication section of the SSJS documentation.

Make HTTP Requests

Script.Util.HttpRequest: The all-purpose, powerful tool for making HTTP requests (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE). Use it to interact with external APIs, retrieve data and handle responses. It gives full access to REST API calls. To use it with SFMC REST API, it requires an authentication call.

<script runat="server">
    Platform.Load("core", "1.1.1")
        
    var accessToken = ;
    var auth = 'Bearer' + accessToken;
    var payload = {
            "firstName": "Carlito",
            "lastName": "EmailGeek",
            "email": "carlitoemailgeek@duck.com"        
            };

    var req = new Script.Util.HttpRequest("https://example.com/users");

    req.emptyContentHandling = 0;
    req.retries = 2;
    req.continueOnError = true;
    req.contentType = "application/json";
    req.setHeader("Authorization", auth);
    req.encoding = "UTF-8";
    req.method = "POST"; //change the method here
    req.postData = Stringify(payload);
    var resp = req.send();

    Platform.Response.Write(resp.content);
</script>

Just Fetch Data

Script.Util.HttpGet: Specifically focuses on making HTTP GET requests. Perfect for when you just want to fetch data from an external resource. To execute it use the Script.Util.HttpGet.send() method; it returns the HttpResponse object.

<script runat="server">
    Platform.Load("core", "1.1.1")

    var req = new Script.Util.HttpGet("http://www.example.com/users");
    var resp = req.send();

    Write(resp.content);
</script>

Returned HTTP Responses

Script.Util.HttpResponse: a returned object from the send() method. This is a CLR format object and must converted to a string before parsing it further to the JSON format.

<script runat="server">
Platform.Load("core", "1.1.1")
try {
    var req = new Script.Util.HttpGet("http://www.example.com/users");
    var resp = req.send();

    if (resp.statusCode == 200) {
        var content = resp.content();
        var respContent = content.Platform.Function.ParseJSON(String(content));
        for(var i=0; i<respContent.length; i++) {
            Write("<p>First Name: " + respContent[i].firstName + "</p>");
            Write("<p>Last Name: " + respContent[i].lastName + "</p>");
            Write("<p>Email: " + respContent[i].email + "</p>");
        }
    }
    else {
        Write("Errors found<br>");
        Write("Error code: " + resp.statusCode(); + "<br>") 
    }
}
catch(e) {
    Write(Stringify(e));
}
</script>

WSProxy

Script.Util.WSProxy: A kind of the VIP pass to accomplish SOAP API calls. Use WSProxy to retrieve data, create records, and update objects from nearly any SOAP API that needs to interact with SFMC. To make a call, it uses native authentication of the user performing the call, meaning that there is no need to provide any auth calls.

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