I want to export a report every hour automatically to a local excel

Developer Support APIs & Integrations
1

I don’t have much developing experience but I have developed a framework to export a report every hour which needs to be done on a local machine. This is how its going to work.

1. Every hour the script goes to the hubspot report’s link

2. It will login to my hubspot ID

3. Navigate to the export button and export the file.

4. The export will come to my gmail where the script will doownload the zip of the same.

5. On my local machine it will locate the zip file and unzip it.

6. Then it will copy the contents of the unziped csv to a preexisting excel sheet.

The following things are to be assumed.

1. I have not found a way to automate this through an API since the CRM is activities.

2. I want that specific properties in the report to be exported

3. Lastly it is assumed there will be intermediateory steps like logging in etc.
Can someone help me with the approach. Its advantages and faults.

2

Hey @Ksheetizreal :waving_hand: From a developer standpoint, this makes me feel very nervous.

Here’s why:

  • Complexity and Fragility: Automating tasks like logging in and navigating a web interface can easily break if the interface changes, making the solution unreliable
  • Security Risks: Storing login credentials in a script poses significant security vulnerabilities, exposing your HubSpot account to potential breaches
  • Dependency on Email: Relying on email to receive reports complicating the process and introduces potential failure points, such as delivery issues or size limits
  • Local Machine Limitation: This solution requires a dedicated machine to run the script, which could lead to failures if that machine is offline or encounters issues
  • Scalability Issues: I don’t see how you could scale this

Additionally, how do you plan to deal with CAPTCHA challenges and two-factor authentication (2FA)?

Lastly, developing and prototyping something this custom will likely involve paid development work. To save on resources, you might want to partner up with your in-house devs or use a paid AI tool like ChatGPT Plus or Claude 3.5 to break things into smaller pieces and get you started.

We’ll leave this up in case other community members have feedback for you.

Have fun testing! — Jaycee

3

Can you tell me more about exactly what you’re trying to accomplish? Why does the export need to go to a local machine? What happens to the file once it’s there?