LimeSurvey RemoteControl 2 API

Automate LimeSurvey survey management via the RemoteControl 2 JSON-RPC API.

Prerequisites

Required Environment Variables:

• LIMESURVEY_URL — Full URL to RemoteControl endpoint (e.g., https://survey.example.com/index.php/admin/remotecontrol)
• LIMESURVEY_USER — Service account username
• LIMESURVEY_PASSWORD — Service account password

Security Recommendations:

1. Use a least-privilege service account, not your full admin credentials
2. Create a dedicated LimeSurvey user with minimal required permissions (survey management only, no system administration)
3. Use a strong, unique password; rotate periodically after initial use
4. Never commit credentials to version control — use environment variables or secure vaults only
5. Verify the RemoteControl API is accessible only from trusted networks

Setup:

export LIMESURVEY_URL='https://survey.example.com/index.php/admin/remotecontrol'
export LIMESURVEY_USER='service_account_username'
export LIMESURVEY_PASSWORD='secure_service_password'

Quick Start

Setup

Set environment variables:

export LIMESURVEY_URL='https://survey.example.com/index.php/admin/remotecontrol'
export LIMESURVEY_USER='admin'
export LIMESURVEY_PASSWORD='your_password'

CLI Usage

# List all surveys
python3 scripts/limesurvey.py list-surveys

# Export responses
python3 scripts/limesurvey.py export-responses 123456 --format csv -o responses.csv

# List participants
python3 scripts/limesurvey.py list-participants 123456 --limit 100

# Add participants from JSON
python3 scripts/limesurvey.py add-participants 123456 --file participants.json

# Send invitations
python3 scripts/limesurvey.py invite-participants 123456

# Activate survey
python3 scripts/limesurvey.py activate-survey 123456

# Get survey statistics
python3 scripts/limesurvey.py get-summary 123456

Python API Usage

from scripts.limesurvey_client import LimeSurveySession

url = 'https://survey.example.com/index.php/admin/remotecontrol'

with LimeSurveySession(url, 'admin', 'password') as client:
    # List surveys
    surveys = client.call('list_surveys', client.session_key)
    
    # Export responses
    encoded = client.call('export_responses', client.session_key, 
                         survey_id, 'csv')
    csv_data = client.decode_base64(encoded)

Common Workflows

Survey Management

List all surveys:

surveys = client.call('list_surveys', client.session_key)

Activate a survey:

result = client.call('activate_survey', client.session_key, survey_id)

Get survey statistics:

stats = client.call('get_summary', client.session_key, survey_id, 'all')
# Returns: completed_responses, incomplete_responses, token_count, etc.

Copy a survey:

result = client.call('copy_survey', client.session_key, 
                    source_id, "New Survey Name")
new_id = result['newsid']

Participant Management

Initialize participant table:

# Create table with custom attributes
client.call('activate_tokens', client.session_key, survey_id, [1, 2, 3])

Add participants:

participants = [
    {"email": "user@example.com", "firstname": "John", "lastname": "Doe"},
    {"email": "user2@example.com", "firstname": "Jane", "lastname": "Smith"}
]
result = client.call('add_participants', client.session_key, 
                    survey_id, participants, True)

Send invitations:

# Send to specific tokens
token_ids = [1, 2, 3]
result = client.call('invite_participants', client.session_key, 
                    survey_id, token_ids)

# Or send to all pending
result = client.call('invite_participants', client.session_key, 
                    survey_id, None)

List participants with filters:

# Find unused tokens
participants = client.call('list_participants', client.session_key,
                          survey_id, 0, 100, True)

# Find by custom attribute
participants = client.call('list_participants', client.session_key,
                          survey_id, 0, 1000, False, False,
                          {'attribute_1': 'ACME Corp'})

Response Operations

Export all responses:

encoded = client.call('export_responses', client.session_key,
                     survey_id, 'csv')
csv_data = client.decode_base64(encoded)

with open('responses.csv', 'w') as f:
    f.write(csv_data)

Export only completed responses:

encoded = client.call('export_responses', client.session_key,
                     survey_id, 'csv', None, 'complete')

Export by token:

encoded = client.call('export_responses_by_token', client.session_key,
                     survey_id, 'json', ['token1', 'token2'])

Add a response programmatically:

response_data = {
    'G1Q1': 'Answer text',
    'G1Q2': '3',  # Multiple choice value
    'token': 'xyz123'
}
response_id = client.call('add_response', client.session_key, 
                         survey_id, response_data)

Question & Group Operations

List groups:

groups = client.call('list_groups', client.session_key, survey_id)

Add a question group:

group_id = client.call('add_group', client.session_key, survey_id,
                      'Demographics', 'Basic information')

List questions:

# All questions in survey
questions = client.call('list_questions', client.session_key, survey_id)

# Questions in specific group
questions = client.call('list_questions', client.session_key, 
                       survey_id, group_id)

Get question details:

props = client.call('get_question_properties', client.session_key,
                   question_id, ['question', 'type', 'mandatory'])

Export & Reporting

Generate statistics PDF:

encoded = client.call('export_statistics', client.session_key,
                     survey_id, 'pdf', None, '1')  # With graphs

import base64
pdf_data = base64.b64decode(encoded)

with open('stats.pdf', 'wb') as f:
    f.write(pdf_data)

Get submission timeline:

timeline = client.call('export_timeline', client.session_key,
                      survey_id, 'day', '2024-01-01', '2024-12-31')

for entry in timeline:
    print(f"{entry['period']}: {entry['count']} submissions")

Get survey fieldmap:

fieldmap = client.call('get_fieldmap', client.session_key, survey_id)
# Maps question codes to metadata

Error Handling

All API functions return status objects on error:

result = client.call('activate_survey', client.session_key, survey_id)

if isinstance(result, dict) and 'status' in result:
    print(f"Error: {result['status']}")
    # Common errors:
    # - Invalid session key
    # - No permission
    # - Invalid survey ID
    # - Survey already active
else:
    print("Success!")

Use try/except for connection errors:

from scripts.limesurvey_client import LimeSurveyError

try:
    with LimeSurveySession(url, username, password) as client:
        result = client.call('list_surveys', client.session_key)
except LimeSurveyError as e:
    print(f"API error: {e}")

Reference Documentation

• API Reference - Complete function reference with parameters and return values
• Examples - Practical code examples for common tasks

Available Functions

Session

• get_session_key(username, password) - Create session
• release_session_key(session_key) - Close session

Surveys

• list_surveys(session_key) - List all surveys
• get_survey_properties(session_key, survey_id, properties) - Get properties
• set_survey_properties(session_key, survey_id, properties) - Update properties
• activate_survey(session_key, survey_id) - Activate survey
• delete_survey(session_key, survey_id) - Delete survey
• copy_survey(session_key, source_id, new_name) - Duplicate survey
• import_survey(session_key, data, type) - Import from file
• get_summary(session_key, survey_id, stat) - Get statistics

Participants

• activate_tokens(session_key, survey_id, attributes) - Initialize table
• list_participants(session_key, survey_id, start, limit, unused, attributes, conditions) - List participants
• add_participants(session_key, survey_id, data, create_token) - Add participants
• delete_participants(session_key, survey_id, token_ids) - Delete participants
• get_participant_properties(session_key, survey_id, query, properties) - Get properties
• set_participant_properties(session_key, survey_id, query, properties) - Update properties
• invite_participants(session_key, survey_id, token_ids) - Send invitations
• remind_participants(session_key, survey_id, token_ids) - Send reminders

Responses

• export_responses(session_key, survey_id, format, ...) - Export responses
• export_responses_by_token(session_key, survey_id, format, tokens) - Export by token
• add_response(session_key, survey_id, data) - Add response
• update_response(session_key, survey_id, data) - Update response
• delete_response(session_key, survey_id, response_id) - Delete response
• get_response_ids(session_key, survey_id, token) - Find response IDs

Questions & Groups

• list_groups(session_key, survey_id) - List groups
• add_group(session_key, survey_id, title, description) - Create group
• delete_group(session_key, survey_id, group_id) - Delete group
• get_group_properties(session_key, group_id, properties) - Get properties
• set_group_properties(session_key, group_id, properties) - Update properties
• list_questions(session_key, survey_id, group_id) - List questions
• get_question_properties(session_key, question_id, properties) - Get properties
• set_question_properties(session_key, question_id, properties) - Update properties
• import_question(session_key, survey_id, group_id, data, type) - Import question
• delete_question(session_key, question_id) - Delete question

Export & Reporting

• export_statistics(session_key, survey_id, doc_type, language, graph) - Export statistics
• export_timeline(session_key, survey_id, type, start, end) - Submission timeline
• get_fieldmap(session_key, survey_id) - Get question codes

Notes

• Session management: Always close sessions with release_session_key or use LimeSurveySession context manager
• Base64 encoding: Export functions return base64-encoded data — use client.decode_base64() or base64.b64decode()
• Permissions: API calls respect user permissions — same as logging into admin interface
• Rate limiting: LimeSurvey has brute-force protection on authentication
• JSON-RPC: Content-Type must be application/json (handled automatically by client)

Full API Documentation

Official LimeSurvey API: https://api.limesurvey.org/classes/remotecontrol-handle.html

Manual: https://www.limesurvey.org/manual/RemoteControl_2_API