civicrm_api4: How do I create a Contact with Tags (EntityTag)?

Question

Creating a CiviCRM contact using "Chaining" for a group works, but not with Tags (EntityTag), any idea why?

If I remove the chain using EntityTag the contact is created.

here is the error:

Error: Cannot use object of type CRM_Core_BAO_EntityTag as array in civicrm_entity_civicrm_post() (line 551 of modules/contrib/civicrm_entity/civicrm_entity.module).

  $civi_fields = [ 
    'values' => [
      'contact_type'  => 'Individual', 
      'first_name'    => $input['first_name'],
      'last_name'     => $input['last_name'], 
      'employer_id' => $employer_id,
      'job_title' => $input['job_title'],
    ],
    'chain' => [ // Create these entities using the Contacts '$id'
      'phone' => ['Phone', 'create', ['values' => ['contact_id' => '$id', 'phone' => $input['phone']]]],
      'email' => ['Email', 'create', ['values' => ['contact_id' => '$id', 'email' => $input['mail']]]],
      'tag' => ['EntityTag', 'create', ['values' => ['entity_table' => 'civicrm_contact', 'entity_id' => '$id', 'tag_id' => '4']]],
    ],
    'checkPermissions' => false, // Or API will throw a permission exception
  ];

  // --- Create CiviCRM Contact ---
  $civi_result = civicrm_api4('Contact', 'create', $civi_fields);

I also tried removing the chain to entity_id and creating that entity separately, but got the same error:-

  // --- Create CiviCRM Tags linked to the contact ---
  $civi_fields = [ 
    'values' => [
      'entity_table'  => 'civicrm_contact', // Specify the contact type.
      'entity_id'     => $civi_result[0]['id'],
      'tag_id'        => '4',
    ],
    'checkPermissions' => false, // Or API will throw a permission exception
  ];

  // Create CiviCRM Tag
  $civi_result = civicrm_api4('EntityTag', 'create', $civi_fields);

My Setup:-

Drupal 10.1.6 with Enabled Drupal "civi" modules:-

CiviCRM Core (civicrm)               
CiviCRM Theme (civicrmtheme)
CiviCRM Entity (civicrm_entity)                             4.0.0-alpha6
CiviGroup Roles Sync (civicrm_group_roles)        1.3.2

PHP 8.1.23 CiviCRM + extensions are up to date and status is good:-

Extensions

All extensions are up-to-date:
AuthX: Version 5.67.0
CiviEvent: Version 5.67.0
CiviMail: Version 5.67.0
CiviMember: Version 5.67.0
CiviReport: Version 5.67.0
CKEditor4: Version 5.67.0
Contribution cancel actions: Version 5.67.0
Custom search framework: Version 5.67.0
Event Cart: Version 5.67.0
Financial ACLs: Version 5.67.0
FlexMailer: Version 5.67.0
FormBuilder: Version 5.67.0
Form Core: Version 5.67.0
Mosaico: Version 3.3.1697392242
reCAPTCHA: Version 5.67.0
SearchKit: Version 5.67.0
Sequential credit notes: Version 5.67.0
SparkPost integration: Version 1.6
Theme: Greenwich: Version 5.67.0

As a temporary fix, I'm using API3:

      $civi_result = civicrm_api3('EntityTag', 'create', array(
        'entity_table'  => 'civicrm_contact', 
        'entity_id'     => ($civi_result[0]['id']),
        'tag_id'        => [4,7],
      ));

Most examples found online show looping over civicrm_api3 and adding one tag at a time, but this does not work due a different civi error when adding more than one entry. It appears that in the latest version of either API or Drupal module civicrm_entity you must add multiple entries using an array.

CRM_Core_Exception: Unable to add tags in civicrm_api3() (line 138 of /var/www/html/vendor/civicrm/civicrm-core/api/api.php).

Answer 1

Apply this patch Jeremy -> this is fixed in the D10 version of CiviCRM Entity, but the D9 version requires this backport by Pradeep:

root@46c1218044c0:/var/www/drupal/web/sites/default/modules/civicrm_entity# curl -L https://patch-diff.githubusercontent.com/raw/eileenmcnaughton/civicrm_entity/pull/449.diff --output 449.diff

root@46c1218044c0:/var/www/drupal/web/sites/default/modules/civicrm_entity# cat 449.diff |patch -p1 --dry-run
checking file civicrm_entity.module
root@46c1218044c0:/var/www/drupal/web/sites/default/modules/civicrm_entity# cat 449.diff |patch -p1          
patching file civicrm_entity.module