Working with Webflow Data in LINQPad

The CData ADO.NET Provider for Webflow enables you to use standard ADO.NET interfaces like LINQ and the Entity Framework to work with Webflow data. This article will demonstrate the process of establishing a connection from LINQPad and executing LINQ queries.

Create the Data Model

After downloading and installing both the provider and LINQPad, create a new class library project within Visual Studio.

See the help documentation for a guide to setting up an EF 6 project to use the provider.

1. Right-click your project and click Add -> New Item -> ADO.NET Entity Data Model. In the resulting dialog, select Code First from database. Click New Connection and specify the connection string options in the resulting wizard.

   Authentication

   Webflow uses OAuth 2.0 authentication to ensure secure access to sites, CMS collections, e-commerce data, and other resources. This authentication method allows you to securely connect to your Webflow workspace and manage resources with proper authorization.

   OAuth 2.0 Setup and Configuration

   Step 1: Create a Webflow OAuth Application

   To set up OAuth authentication:

   1. Visit the Webflow Developer Portal
   2. Navigate to "Apps & Integrations" in your Webflow account
   3. Click "Register an App" to create a new OAuth application
   4. Configure the application name, description, and redirect URI (CallbackURL)
   5. Copy the Client ID and Client Secret for use in your connection

   Required Connection Properties

   • AuthScheme: Set this to OAuth (required)
   • OAuthClientId: Client ID from your Webflow OAuth application (required)
   • OAuthClientSecret: Client secret from your Webflow OAuth application (required)
   • CallbackURL: Redirect URI specified in your OAuth application (required)
   • InitiateOAuth: Set to GETANDREFRESH for automatic token management (recommended)

   Required OAuth Scopes

   The Webflow API Profile requires the following OAuth scopes:

   • sites:read - Read access to site information and configuration
   • pages:read - Read access to site pages
   • cms:read - Read access to CMS collections and items
   • forms:read - Read access to forms and form submissions
   • assets:read - Read access to media assets and folders
   • ecommerce:read - Read access to products, orders, and inventory
   • authorized_user:read - Read access to the authorized user

   Below is a typical connection string:

   Profile=C:\profiles\Webflow.apip;AuthScheme=OAuth;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;OAuthClientId=your_client_id;OAuthClientSecret=your_client_secret;CallbackUrl=your_callback_url;

   

2. Select the desired tables and views and click Finish to create the data model.

   
3. Build the project. The generated files can be used to create the Webflow connection in LINQPad.

Connect to Webflow Data in LINQPad

After you have obtained the required connection properties and created the data model assembly, follow the steps below to start using the data model in LINQPad.

1. Open LINQPad and click Add Connection.

2. Select the "Use a typed data context from your own assembly" option.

3. Select Entity Framework DbContext.

   

4. Click Browse next to the Path to Custom Assembly box and browse to your project folder. Browse to the .dll or .exe under the bin folder.

5. Select the name of the DbContext.
6. If you saved your connection string in App.Config, specify the path to the App.config.

You can now query Webflow data through LINQPad. For examples of the supported LINQ queries, see the "LINQ and Entity Framework" chapter in the help documentation.