README.md

highcharts-image-api

Rails API for generating highchart charts on the server side. Useful for embedding highcharts into emails or anywhere else where javascript is not an option. Leverages the highchart-convert.js script as outlined developed here.

Requires ruby 1.9.3 and phantomjs.

Getting Started Locally

Clone the project

git clone git://github.com/kbaum/highchart-image-api.git

Install gems

cd highchart-image-api
gem install bundler
bundle

Install phantomjs

gem install brew
brew install phantomjs

Start up the server

rails server

Generate a chart using curl

HIGHCHART_OBJECT=`cat ./spec/fixtures/input.json`
curl -X POST -d "input=$HIGHCHART_OBJECT" http://localhost:3000/chart_images -o ./chart.png

Or optionally with width:

curl -X POST -d "input=$HIGHCHART_OBJECT&width=900" http://localhost:3000/chart_images -o ./chart.png

Deploying to Heroku

This project is made to deploy to heroku. It is using the heroku-buildingpack-multi depending including both phantomjs and ruby. Just create a new project within heroku and push it like you know how.

Calling API from ruby

Using httparty:

require 'httparty'

chart_object_js = File.read('spec/fixtures/input.json')
response = HTTParty.post('http://localhost:3000/chart_images', body: {input: chart_object_js, width:550})
File.open('./chart.png', 'wb'){ |file| file << response.body }

Where chart_object_js is a string value that can be passed into the Highcharts.Chart constructor.