tyler-efm-client 1.0.0a2

Python SDK for Tyler Technologies Electronic Filing Manager (EFM) Services

Tyler EFM Client - Python SDK

A production-ready Python SDK for integrating with Tyler Technologies Electronic Filing Manager (EFM) services. This package simplifies authentication and SOAP service calls for Electronic Court Filing (ECF) systems.

🚀 Features

• Simple Authentication: One method to authenticate with Tyler EFM services
• Flexible SOAP Operations: Call any Tyler EFM SOAP operation with automatic security handling
• WS-Security Support: Automatic RSA-SHA1/SHA1 digital signatures (Tyler legacy compatibility)
• Certificate Management: Automatic PFX certificate handling and cleanup
• Response Formats: Choose between XML and JSON response formats
• Production Ready: Built from working Tyler ECF 5.0 integration code
• Type Hints: Full typing support for better development experience

📦 Installation

Install the package using pip:

pip install tyler-efm-client

Requirements

• Python 3.8+
• Valid Tyler EFM PFX certificate
• Access to Tyler EFM services (staging or production)

🔧 Quick Start

1. Configuration Setup

Copy config.example.json to config.json and update with your credentials:

{
  "service": {
    "endpoint": "https://georgia-stage.tylertech.cloud/EFM/EFMUserService.svc",
    "court_service_url": "https://georgia-stage.tylertech.cloud/efm/v5/CourtRecordService.svc"
  },
  "certificate": {
    "pfx_file": "YOUR_CERTIFICATE.pfx",
    "pfx_password": "YOUR_PFX_PASSWORD"
  },
  "credentials": {
    "email": "[e-mail]",
    "password": "your-password"
  }
}

Note: The config.json file is excluded from version control for security.

2. Basic Authentication

from tyler_efm_client import TylerEFMClient

# Initialize client with config file
client = TylerEFMClient('config.json')

# Authenticate using config
auth_result = client.authenticate()

if auth_result.success:
    print(f"Password Hash: {auth_result.password_hash}")
    print(f"User: {auth_result.first_name} {auth_result.last_name}")
else:
    print(f"Error: {auth_result.error_message}")

Service Operations

# Call GetCaseList operation
soap_body = '''<wrappers:GetCaseListRequest xmlns:wrappers="https://docs.oasis-open.org/legalxml-courtfiling/ns/v5.0/wrappers">
    <!-- Your SOAP body content -->
</wrappers:GetCaseListRequest>'''

response = client.call_service(
    base_url="https://your-tyler-server.com/efm/v5/CourtRecordService.svc",
    password_hash=auth_result.password_hash,
    operation="GetCaseList",
    soap_body=soap_body,
    user_email="[e-mail]",
    return_json=True  # Get JSON response instead of XML
)

if response.success:
    print("Service call successful!")
    if response.json_data:
        # Work with JSON data
        print(response.json_data)
    else:
        # Work with raw XML
        print(response.raw_xml)

📚 API Reference

TylerEFMClient

The main client class for Tyler EFM operations.

authenticate(base_url, pfx_file, pfx_password, user_email, user_password)

Authenticate with Tyler EFM User Service.

Parameters:

• base_url (str): Base URL for the EFM User Service
• pfx_file (str): Path to the PFX certificate file
• pfx_password (str): Password for the PFX certificate
• user_email (str): User's email address
• user_password (str): User's password

Returns: AuthenticationResult object with:

• success (bool): Whether authentication succeeded
• password_hash (str): Password hash for subsequent service calls
• user_id (str): User's unique identifier
• first_name (str): User's first name
• last_name (str): User's last name
• email (str): User's email
• expiration_date (str): Token expiration date
• error_code (str): Error code if authentication failed
• error_message (str): Error message if authentication failed

call_service(base_url, password_hash, operation, soap_body, **kwargs)

Call any Tyler EFM SOAP service operation.

Parameters:

• base_url (str): Base URL for the EFM service
• password_hash (str): Password hash from authentication
• operation (str): Name of the SOAP operation
• soap_body (str): SOAP body content as XML string
• user_email (str, optional): User's email (required for Court Record Service)
• pfx_file (str, optional): Path to PFX certificate if not from authentication
• pfx_password (str, optional): PFX password if not from authentication
• return_json (bool, optional): Return JSON instead of XML (default: False)
• soap_action (str, optional): Custom SOAP action header

Returns: ServiceResponse object with:

• success (bool): Whether the service call succeeded
• status_code (int): HTTP status code
• raw_xml (str): Raw XML response
• json_data (dict, optional): JSON representation of response if requested
• error_message (str, optional): Error message if call failed

🏗️ Architecture

This SDK implements Tyler's exact ECF 5.0 requirements:

Authentication (User Service)

• WS-Security: Digital signatures using RSA-SHA1/SHA1 (Tyler legacy requirement)
• Certificate Auth: Mutual TLS using PFX certificates
• SOAP Structure: Exact Tyler-compatible XML namespace handling

Court Record Service Operations

• UserNameHeader: Special header structure required by Court Record Service
• No Namespace Prefix: Critical requirement - UserNameHeader must not have namespace prefix
• Header Order: UserNameHeader must be first header element
• Password Hash: Uses hashed password from authentication, not plain password

🔒 Security Features

• Automatic Certificate Handling: PFX files are processed and cleaned up automatically
• WS-Security Signatures: RSA-SHA1 digital signatures for message integrity
• Legacy Algorithm Support: SHA1 and RSA-SHA1 for Tyler compatibility
• Secure Cleanup: Temporary certificate files are automatically removed
• HTTPS Only: All communications use HTTPS with certificate verification

📖 Examples

The examples/ directory contains complete working examples:

• authentication_example.py - Basic authentication
• getcaselist_example.py - GetCaseList operation
• complete_workflow_example.py - Full workflow with multiple operations

🐛 Error Handling

The SDK provides specific exception types:

from tyler_efm_client import TylerEFMError, TylerAuthenticationError

try:
    auth_result = client.authenticate(...)
except TylerAuthenticationError as e:
    print(f"Authentication failed: {e}")
except TylerEFMError as e:
    print(f"EFM service error: {e}")

🧪 Testing

The SDK is built from working Tyler ECF integration code and tested against:

• Tyler Georgia staging environment
• Production Tyler ECF 5.0 systems
• Multiple certificate types and configurations

📋 Requirements

System Requirements

• Python 3.8 or higher
• OpenSSL for certificate processing
• Network access to Tyler EFM services

Tyler Requirements

• Valid Tyler EFM account and credentials
• PFX certificate file from Tyler Technologies
• Appropriate service URLs (staging or production)

🚀 Releases & Versioning

This package uses optimized automated building through GitHub Actions with cross-platform testing and fast build processes.

Quick Release Guide

Alpha/Development Releases:

• Go to GitHub Actions → "Publish Python Package" → "Run workflow"
• Enter version like: 1.0.0a2, 1.0.0b1
• Publishes to TestPyPI first, then PyPI

Production Releases:

# Create a version tag and GitHub release
git tag v1.0.0
git push origin v1.0.0
# Then create GitHub Release using the tag

Testing Releases:

# Install from TestPyPI for validation
pip install -i https://test.pypi.org/simple/ tyler-efm-client

📖 See VERSIONING.md for complete build and versioning guide

Build Features

• Fast Builds: Uses pre-compiled wheels to prevent timeout issues
• Cross-Platform: Tests on Windows and Linux
• Integration Testing: Real Tyler EFM credential testing via GitHub secrets
• Security Scanning: Automated vulnerability checks

🤝 Support

This SDK is based on the working implementation documented in the Tyler ECF integration project. For issues:

1. Check the examples for proper usage patterns
2. Verify your certificate and credentials
3. Ensure you're using the correct Tyler service URLs
4. Review the Tyler ECF 5.0 documentation

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

🏢 About Tyler Technologies

Tyler Technologies is a leading provider of integrated software and technology services to the public sector. Learn more at tylertech.com.

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Built with ❤️ for the Tyler ECF community