Endpoint Methods

Understanding the available HTTP methods for FortiOS API endpoints.

Available HTTP Methods

HFortix provides direct access to FortiOS REST API through standard HTTP methods. Each endpoint may support one or more of the following methods depending on the FortiOS API capabilities:

Standard CRUD Methods

.get() - HTTP GET - Retrieve resources (list all, or get one by its key field, e.g. name=)
.post() - HTTP POST - Create new resources
.put() - HTTP PUT - Update existing resources
.delete() - HTTP DELETE - Delete resources
.set() - Idempotent create-or-update: checks if the object exists, then calls .post() or .put() accordingly (available on table endpoints)

Method Usage

from hfortix_fortios import FortiOS

fgt = FortiOS(host='192.168.1.99', token='your-token')

# GET - Retrieve all resources
addresses = fgt.api.cmdb.firewall.address.get()

# GET - Retrieve specific resource by its key field (name for firewall.address)
address = fgt.api.cmdb.firewall.address.get(name='webserver')

# POST - Create new resource
result = fgt.api.cmdb.firewall.address.post(
    payload_dict={
        'name': 'webserver',
        'subnet': '192.168.1.100 255.255.255.255',
        'comment': 'Production web server'
    }
)

# PUT - Update existing resource
result = fgt.api.cmdb.firewall.address.put(
    name='webserver',
    payload_dict={
        'comment': 'Updated comment'
    }
)

# DELETE - Remove resource
result = fgt.api.cmdb.firewall.address.delete(name='webserver')

# SET - Create-or-update (table endpoints)
result = fgt.api.cmdb.firewall.address.set(
    name='webserver',
    subnet='192.168.1.100 255.255.255.255',
    comment='Created or updated as needed'
)

Method Availability

Not all endpoints support all methods. The available methods depend on the FortiOS API design:

Endpoint Type	GET	POST	PUT	DELETE	SET
CMDB Table (e.g., firewall.address)	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
CMDB Complex (e.g., system.global, via `system.global_`)	✅	❌	✅	❌	❌
Monitor (e.g., system.status)	✅	✅	❌	❌	❌
Log (e.g., disk.event)	✅	❌	❌	❌	❌

Common Parameters

GET Method

# List all with filtering
addresses = fgt.api.cmdb.firewall.address.get(
    filter=['type==ipmask'],
    count=10,
    start=0
)

# Get specific object by its key field
address = fgt.api.cmdb.firewall.address.get(name='webserver')

# With VDOM
address = fgt.api.cmdb.firewall.address.get(
    name='webserver',
    vdom='root'
)

POST Method

# Create with payload_dict
result = fgt.api.cmdb.firewall.policy.post(
    payload_dict={
        'name': 'Allow-Web',
        'srcintf': [{'name': 'port1'}],
        'dstintf': [{'name': 'port2'}],
        'srcaddr': [{'name': 'all'}],
        'dstaddr': [{'name': 'webserver'}],
        'service': [{'name': 'HTTP'}, {'name': 'HTTPS'}],
        'action': 'accept'
    }
)

# Create with keyword arguments (Pydantic models where available)
result = fgt.api.cmdb.firewall.address.post(
    name='testserver',
    subnet='10.0.1.5 255.255.255.255',
    comment='Test server'
)

PUT Method

# Update by key field with payload_dict
result = fgt.api.cmdb.firewall.address.put(
    name='webserver',
    payload_dict={
        'comment': 'Updated web server',
        'color': 3
    }
)

# Update with keyword arguments
result = fgt.api.cmdb.firewall.address.put(
    name='webserver',
    comment='Updated comment',
    color=3
)

DELETE Method

# Delete by key field
result = fgt.api.cmdb.firewall.address.delete(name='webserver')

# Delete with VDOM
result = fgt.api.cmdb.firewall.address.delete(
    name='webserver',
    vdom='root'
)

SET Method

.set() is a convenience method on table endpoints: it checks whether the object already exists and then calls .post() (create) or .put() (update).

# Create-or-update a table entry
result = fgt.api.cmdb.firewall.address.set(
    name='webserver',
    subnet='192.168.1.100 255.255.255.255',
    comment='Idempotent create-or-update'
)

Complex (singleton) endpoints such as system.global do not have .set() — update them with .put(). Note that global is a Python keyword, so the attribute is global_:

result = fgt.api.cmdb.system.global_.put(
    hostname='firewall-01',
    timezone='America/New_York',
)

Response Objects

All methods return FortiObject or FortiObjectList instances:

# Single object response (POST, PUT, DELETE)
result = fgt.api.cmdb.firewall.address.post(...)
print(result.http_status_code)  # 200
print(result.fgt_revision)      # Configuration revision
print(result.raw)               # Full API envelope

# List response (GET without a key)
addresses = fgt.api.cmdb.firewall.address.get()
for addr in addresses:
    print(addr.name)
    print(addr.subnet)

# Single object response (GET with a key)
address = fgt.api.cmdb.firewall.address.get(name='webserver')
print(address.name)
print(address.subnet)

Using the request() Method

For maximum flexibility, use the low-level request() method:

# Direct request - copy JSON from FortiGate GUI
response = fgt.request(
    method='POST',
    path='/api/v2/cmdb/firewall/address',
    data={
        'name': 'webserver',
        'subnet': '192.168.1.100 255.255.255.255',
        'comment': 'Production web server'
    }
)

Monitor API Methods

Monitor endpoints typically only support GET and POST:

# GET - Retrieve monitoring data
status = fgt.api.monitor.system.status.get()
interfaces = fgt.api.monitor.system.interface.get()

# POST - Trigger actions
result = fgt.api.monitor.system.config.backup.post()

Error Handling

from hfortix_core.exceptions import APIError, ResourceNotFoundError

try:
    address = fgt.api.cmdb.firewall.address.get(name='nonexistent')
except ResourceNotFoundError:
    print("Address not found")
except APIError as e:
    print(f"Error: {e.http_status} - {e.message}")