Introducing Meta Business SDK v18.0 & Related Updates

Time flies. On September 15, 2023, we’re releasing the Meta Business SDK v18.0 to support the Graph API v18.0 and Marketing API v18.0. It represents an update which brings numerous long standing issues and expands support to additional features, nodes, and types. While you can find a comprehensive list of changes in our Changelog, here are notable SDK-only updates.

• AdAssetFeedSpecAssetCustomizationRule and AdAssetMessageExtensions Support: You can now use the GET API to retrieve a list of structuralized AdAssetFeedSpecAssetCustomizationRule and AdAssetMessageExtensions objects from AdAssetFeedSpec node.
• AdsHistogramStats Support:
  You can now use the GET API to retrieve a list of structuralized AdsHistogramStats objects from multiple video play related metrics.
• BusinessImage, BusinessVideo, BusinessCreativeFolder Support: You can now use the POST and GET APIs towards these types of objects via Business node.
• Four Instagram Nodes Support
  : InstagramCarousel, InstagramComment, InstagramMedia, and InstagramUser can now be queried, including all POST and GET APIs.
• Java AdsInsights Breakdowns Support: You can now get the breakdowns from the AdsInsights object constructed from the JSON response.
• Multiple LeadGen Form Objects Support: You can now work on multiple LeadGen Form related objects, including LeadGenContextCard, LeadGenCustomDisclaimer, LeadGenThankYouPage.

These are updates that many developers have been asking for. Previously, developers had to either devise local makeshift solutions to address undocumented data structures or forgo using these functionalities entirely.

Instagram Graph API Support

The SDK now fully supports the Instagram Graph API, including Comment, Media, Hashtag, and User. This means that Instagram professionals - both businesses and creators - can use their app to manage their presence on Instagram.

Using the API, you can fetch and publish media, manage and respond to comments on their content, identify media in which you’ve been @mentioned by other Instagram users, locate hashtagged media, and retrieve basic metadata and metrics about other Instagram businesses and creators. All these features are now supported in the SDK.

Here are some common use cases:

• Getting and managing published photos, videos, and stories
• Getting basic data about other Instagram Business and Creator accounts
• Moderating comments and their replies
• Measuring media and profile interaction
• Discovering hashtagged media
• Discovering @mentions
• Publishing photos and videos

Postman Script Samples

To enhance our platforms and deliver in-depth end-to-end guidance complemented by hands-on examples, we are to provide public facing Postman scripts. These sample scripts will facilitate everything from initial setup and testing to the execution of advanced use-case scenarios and integrations, simplifying both development and testing phases for our users.

Effort to Close Parity Gaps

By bridging the functionality gaps between the SDK and the MAPI/GAPI, our aim is to provide developers with authoritative, versioned data structures for the RESTful API offered by Meta. This not only dispels any confusion arising from standalone documentation and references but also lays a robust foundation for external partners to build upon.

Miscellaneous Fixes

There are relatively minor bug fixes and improvements enclosed in this version as well.

• Corrected many wrong types on strings, datetimes, and maps.
• Added numerous objects to the SDK with structured JSON format
• Single quote in value support
• Node.js event ID set failure and show header support

Published Packages and Repositories

Here is the list of all published packages:

• Java: https://mvnrepository.com/artifact/com.facebook.business.sdk/facebook-java-business-sdk
• Ruby: https://rubygems.org/gems/facebookbusiness/
• PHP: https://packagist.org/packages/facebook/php-business-sdk
• Python: https://pypi.org/project/facebook-business/
• Node.js: https://www.npmjs.com/package/facebook-nodejs-business-sdk

Here is the list of all repositories:

• Java: https://github.com/facebook/facebook-java-business-sdk
• Python: https://github.com/facebook/facebook-python-business-sdk
• Node.js: https://github.com/facebook/facebook-nodejs-business-sdk
• PHP: https://github.com/facebook/facebook-php-business-sdk
• Ruby: https://github.com/facebook/facebook-ruby-business-sdk

Deprecation Announcement

As part of our 2-year deprecation schedule for Platform SDKs, please note the upcoming deprecations and sunsets:

• October 2023: Facebook Platform SDK v11.0 or below will be sunset
• February 2024: Facebook Platform SDK v12.0 or below will be sunset