Desktop application for multiple users

[RobinKun]

Dear Fitbit API Team

I am working on a research project where we will use multiple Fitbit Ones. The goal is, that once a day, the data for all users is grabbed and stored in a local database. This process needs to be automated. It is supposed to be a desktop application. The users are known and will stay the same. The desktop application has access to the users names and passwords.

Since it is supposed to be a desktop application I do not host an application website. Is it necessary to use oauth for my purposes? I tried the this desktop minimum working example which uses a pin (http://blog.kopis.de/minimum-working-example-for-fitbit4j/) . However it still needs some manual steps and depends on the currently logged in user. Is it possible automate these steps given the users, passwords and the application? Would it be possible as a destkop application? Would it be possible at all? What would be the minimum requirements?

Fyi I am not a software developer. I am a PhD student in mechanical engineering. I am not proficient with the topic but I usually find a way to learn the necessary things to make things work.

Thank you for your help

[ibahdanau]

Due to security reasons you we don't allow to use login and password to authenticate 3rd party applications to use Fitbit user's data.

You'll have to follow oauth 1.0a approach to get user sepcific data. Unfortunately this is the only option Fitbit offering now.

Please see more at https://wiki.fitbit.com/display/API/Fitbit+API

[RobinKun]

Thanks for your reply.

I understand that much. (or better thats what I get after reading through all the docs.) Before I invest more time I need to know, that it is possible with the oauth procedure to autmate the data grabing. (I need the basic data (distance, strairs...) for different user once a day). and by automated I mean that each day at 18:00 a programm starts, grabs the data for all the users and stores it locally on the computer. 

This is critical to know, since if I have to sign in with each user manually then I can just read out the numbers for each user from the device display and put it in an excel sheet or so and don't have to bother.

Again I am neither interested in an application nor that unknown user can sign in. I just want to grab the data from all my devices.

Thanks for your help

[Michael · Accepted solution]

Yes it is possible to create a program that can grab the data from Fitbit and store it locally. You would have to go through the oAuth authentication process for each of the Fitbit accounts so that the application has access to their data.