External Link Providers

This functionality allows you to link a task to additional items stored in another system.

For example, you can link a task to:

A traditional web page
An attachment (e.g., PDF documents stored on the web, archives, etc.)
Any ticketing system (e.g., bug tracker, customer support ticket)

Each item has a type, a URL, a dependency type, and a title.

By default, Kanboard includes two types of providers:

Web Link: You copy and paste a link, and Kanboard will automatically fetch the page title.
Attachment: Links to anything that is not a web page.

Workflow

The end-user copies and pastes the URL into the form and submits it.
If the link type is set to “auto,” Kanboard will loop through all registered providers until a match is found.
The link provider then returns an object that implements the ExternalLinkInterface.
A form is displayed to the user with all pre-filled data before saving the link.

Interfaces

To implement a new link provider in a plugin, you need to create two classes that implement the following interfaces:

Kanboard\Core\ExternalLink\ExternalLinkProviderInterface
Kanboard\Core\ExternalLink\ExternalLinkInterface

ExternalLinkProviderInterface

Method	Usage
`getName()`	Returns the provider name (label).
`getType()`	Returns the link type (saved in the database).
`getDependencies()`	Returns a dictionary of supported dependency types for the provider.
`setUserTextInput($input)`	Sets the text entered by the user.
`match()`	Returns `true` if the provider can correctly parse the user input.
`getLink()`	Returns the link with its properties.

ExternalLinkInterface

Method	Usage
`getTitle()`	Returns the link title.
`getUrl()`	Returns the link URL.
`setUrl($url)`	Sets the link URL.

Register a New Link Provider

In your Plugin.php, call the register() method from the ExternalLinkManager object:

<?php

namespace Kanboard\Plugin\MyExternalLink;

use Kanboard\Core\Plugin\Base;

class Plugin extends Base
{
    public function initialize()
    {
        $this->externalLinkManager->register(new MyLinkProvider($this->container));
    }
}

Examples

Kanboard includes the default providers “WebLink” and “Attachment.”