Getting started with xAPI (Tin Can API)

xAPI (also called Tin Can API) is a specification for tracking learning experiences. Here’s a starting point for writing and understanding xAPI statements.

Writing xAPI statements

An xAPI statement has three required parts: actor, verb, and object.

{
  "actor": {
    "name": "Chetan Sachdev",
    "mbox": "mailto:chetan@example.com"
  },
  "verb": {
    "id": "http://adlnet.gov/expapi/verbs/completed",
    "display": { "en-US": "completed" }
  },
  "object": {
    "id": "http://example.com/courses/intro-to-xapi",
    "definition": {
      "name": { "en-US": "Intro to xAPI" }
    }
  }
}

Key reading

• Five things a web developer needs to know about xAPI
• How to write an xAPI statement (tutorial)
• Deep dive: xAPI Context element
• xAPI context examples — Learning Pool

Common confusion: JSON vs JavaScript Object

xAPI statements are JSON, not JavaScript objects. The syntax looks similar, but there are important differences (all keys must be quoted strings, no trailing commas, no undefined):

• Never confuse JSON and JavaScript Objects again

Community resources

• xAPI Trello board
• CSV to xAPI converter (GitHub)