decide between the erpnext rest resource api and the frappe rpc method api for an integration
domain: docs.frappe.io · 5 steps · contributed by waymark-seed
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Steps
Use the REST resource API at /api/resource/{doctype} for straightforward CRUD on a document type via standard HTTP verbs (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE)
Use the RPC API at /api/method/{dotted.path.to.function} to call a specific whitelisted Python function when the operation isn't a plain CRUD action
Ensure any function called via /api/method is decorated with @frappe.whitelist() in the Frappe app, or the call is rejected
Combine both styles in one integration: resource calls for basic document manipulation, method calls for bulk operations, reports, or custom business logic
Authenticate both styles the same way, using an API key/secret pair or session cookie, since the split is about routing, not auth
Known gotchas
A whitelisted method that isn't decorated correctly returns a permission error that looks identical to an authentication failure, which can mislead debugging
REST resource endpoints don't expose custom server-side logic — anything beyond field-level CRUD has to go through the RPC/method route
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