How to post a photo from Bubble to Xano

In this beginner-friendly guide, we'll walk through the steps to upload images from a Bubble application to your Xano database. By following this tutorial, you'll learn how to create a seamless integration between Bubble and Xano, allowing you to store and manage user-uploaded images efficiently.

Step 1: Set Up Your Xano Database

Before we dive into the Bubble integration, let's ensure that your Xano database is ready to store images.

1. Log in to your Xano account and navigate to your project.
2. Create a new table called "images" with a field named "photos" of the type "image."
3. In the "Storage" section, make sure the "image" option is enabled. This will allow you to store image files in your Xano database.

Step 2: Create an API Endpoint in Xano

Next, we'll create an API endpoint in Xano to handle the image upload process.

1. Go to the "API" section in your Xano project.
2. Create a new API group (e.g., "Image Uploads").
3. Click "Add an API Endpoint" and select "Upload Content" > "Image."
4. For this example, we'll enhance the basic upload functionality by automatically creating a new record in the "images" table with the uploaded image. Here's how:

1. Copy the API endpoint URL by clicking the "Copy URL" button.

Step 3: Set Up the Bubble Integration

With the Xano API endpoint ready, let's move to the Bubble side and configure the image upload functionality.

1. In your Bubble application, navigate to the "API Connectors" section and create a new connector for the Xano API endpoint.
2. Set the "Method" to "POST" and the "Body Type" to "Form Data."
3. In the "Parameters" section, add a new parameter with the key as "content" and the value as a file. Make sure to check the "Send File" option.

Step 4: Design the User Interface in Bubble

Now, let's create the user interface components in Bubble to allow image uploads.

1. Add a "File Uploader" element to your Bubble page.
2. (Optional) Add an "Image" element to display a preview of the uploaded image.
3. Add a "Button" element to trigger the image upload workflow.

Step 5: Create the Bubble Workflow

Finally, we'll create the workflow in Bubble that handles the image upload process.

1. Click on the "Button" element and select "Start Editing Workflow."
2. In the workflow editor, locate the "API Connector" plugin and select the Xano API connector you created earlier.
3. Set the "Dynamic Link" parameter to the value of the "File Uploader" element using the "Insert Dynamic Data" option.
4. Save and close the workflow editor.

Testing the Integration

Now that everything is set up, let's test the integration.

1. Preview your Bubble application.
2. Click the "File Uploader" element and select an image file.
3. (Optional) Check the preview image display.
4. Click the "Button" element to trigger the upload workflow.
5. Go back to your Xano project and navigate to the "images" table. You should see the uploaded image stored in the "photos" field.

Congratulations! You've successfully integrated Bubble with your Xano database, enabling users to upload images seamlessly. This integration showcases the power of Xano's no-code backend capabilities and Bubble's user-friendly frontend development platform.