Get Zoho Mail API working (including DRE Connector, Oauth Token, ZUID, ZOID & ACCOUNT_ID)

Get Zoho Mail API working (including DRE Connector, Oauth Token, ZUID, ZOID & ACCOUNT_ID)

Disclaimer: I’m not a professional coder!



Do you need to use Zoho Mail API?


Me too. It lets you do all sorts of things — like reading the complete header of an email, or forwarding an email with its attachments — which is what I wanted to do.


But setting up the API (application programming interface) took me hours.


It didn’t need to, but advice on this forum sent me in circles and, while the Knowledgebase probably has all the information, it’s not easy to determine which are the relevant bits. So…


Maybe this little guide will help you.

       To use Zoho Mail API you need:

a) A working OAuth Token (Open Authorization token)

b) Up to three Zoho IDs — User, Organization, Account

c) Depending on what you want to do, additional IDs for emails, folders, etc


OAUTH TOKEN


The token validates you when you make an API call. There are various ways to create it.

The hard way: it’s possible to create an OAuth token via Developer Space but this requires lots of options to be chosen and the OAuth token needs to be frequently refreshed. This route is intended for developers who are using external apps to link with Zoho.


The easy way, at least for me, was via a custom function in filters — because it’s simple to do, refreshing the OAuth token is handled by Zoho, and creating a custom function is what I was trying to do anyway


If you already have an OAuth token, great. If not, but have already created a custom function, jump to 4 below. Alternatively:


      1)    In Zoho Mail, go to settings/filters

      2)    Create a new filter and, under Actions, select ‘Custom Function’. Zoho help file here.

      3)    Click ‘Select Function’ and create a new function or use an existing one

      4)    Once the custom function is on screen, select ‘DRE Connectors’ (Deluge Runtime Environment) at the top right

      5)    Click ‘Create Connection’ and under ‘Default Services’ choose ‘Zoho OAuth’

      6)    ‘Connection Name’ can be anything you like. It’s the ‘Connection Link Name’ that you will use in your Deluge scripts.

      7)    Chose the ‘Scopes’ of your token. There are zillions of them and they determine what your script can and can’t do. The most basic might be ‘ZohoMail.messages.READ’. The API Guide Index lists every API command and, for each, details what scope you need (e.g. the send an email page shows you’ll need the scope  ZohoMail.messages.ALL or ZohoMail.messages.CREATE). It's good security practice to only use the minimum scope you need.

      8)    After you click ‘Create and Connect’ you should have a working OAuth token with a lowercase ‘link name’ that you can paste into your Deluge scripts.


NB: The OAuth token only applies to the Zoho area where you have your account (Zoho.eu in my case). So, for example, if I cut and paste a snippet into my script from the send an email page: https://mail.zoho.com/api/accounts/{accountId}/messages it will NOT work with my Europe OAuth token. I would need to change the snippet to: https://mail.zoho.eu/api/accounts/{accountId}/messages


GETTING YOUR IDS


Without API

You’ll see from the snippet above that this particular API needs your ‘accountId’ to work. Zoho advises getting your IDs via an API call, but you don't need to:


1)   Zoho User ID (ZUID).  Just log into Zoho and click the ‘My Profile’ icon (top right). Your user ID is right there under your name and email address.

2)  Zoho Organisation ID (ZOID). Open your Zoho Mail Dashboard (remember, this link is for zoho.eu, you’ll need to use your area). Then select ‘Organization’ on the left menu bar to display ‘Organization Info’, including your Zoho Organization ID.

3) Zoho Account ID (ZAID). Select any of your emails in Zoho Mail. Right click and pick 'Open in New Window'. Your Zoho Accound ID is the number following "accId=". (See Zoho's help page to get the message ID of emails — it also shows the accountId.)

With API
Alternatively, you can get all three IDs with one API call: https://mail.zoho.eu/api/accounts (remember to adjust for your area). Help page here for what scope you need for this API call. The call returns a mass of information but buried in it are your Zoho User ID (ZUID), Zoho Organisation ID (ZOID) and Zoho Account ID (ZAID).


So how do I make the API call?

There are various ways but I use a bit of deluge script:

apiUrl = "https://mail.zoho.eu/api/accounts";
response = invokeurl
[
    url :apiUrl
    type :GET
    connection:"your_oauth_token" // the OAuth token you created, in quotes
];
info response;

1) Create a new Zoho Mail custom function and paste in the above script.
2 ) In the function window, click 'Test Run' (top right). You'll be asked for a Message ID.
3) For this script, any message will do. Select any message in your Zoho Mail inbox. Right click and choose 'Open in New Window'. You'll see the Message ID after 'msgId=' in the URL displayed by your browser. See here for visual.
4) Paste the Message ID into the function window and press 'Proceed'. You'll be presented with the heading 'Console' and the result of your API call beneath it, where you'll find the IDs you need after 'zuid=', 'zoid=' and 'accountId='.

FOLDER & EMAIL IDs


      1)    You may be able to use the name of a folder (e.g. “Trash”) in your Deluge script but if you need the folder ID number, either use this API or, even easier, select an email in the folder your interested in, right click and pick 'Open in New Window'. The folder ID comes after 'folId=' in the browser URL.

      2)    All my scripts are triggered by an email by arriving in my inbox. The ID for that current email is held in the variable ‘mail_messageId’.

      3)    For everything else refer to the API Guide Index


Finally, there might be a better way to do any of the above — I did warn you I’m not a pro! — please feel free to add improvements.

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