Kaizen #141 - Zoho CRM's API Collection in Postman

Kaizen #141 - Zoho CRM's API Collection in Postman

Hello everyone!
Welcome back to another week of Kaizen!

In today's post, we will discuss:
  1. What is Postman?
  2. Zoho CRM's API Collection in Postman
  3. Where is it available?
  4. Prerequisites for using the collection
  5. Forking the API Collection from Zoho CRM Developer Workspace
  6. Setting up the environment
  7. Registering a Client in Zoho API Console
  8. Generating tokens
  9. Making an API call
  10. A quick alternative to token generation using Guided Auth

1. What is Postman?

  • A popular tool for API development and testing.
  • User-friendly interface for making API requests, viewing responses, and managing different environments.

2. Zoho CRM's API Collection in Postman

  • Boilerplate requests that you can use to test and explore the CRM APIs in various environments for multiple organizations.
  • Makes the process of exploring APIs swift and effortless. It also significantly reduces the risk of errors.

3. Where is it available?

The Zoho CRM API Collection is available in Zoho CRM Developers workspace in Postman.

4. Prerequisites for using the Collection

  • A Zoho CRM account to access the Zoho API Console.
  • A registered client (self-client/web-based) to generate an org-specific grant token.

5. Forking the API Collection from Zoho CRM Developer Workspace

  1. ‌Download and install Postman.
  2. In the Postman app, click the search icon at the top bar and type Zoho CRM Developers. The Zoho CRM Developers Workspace opens.
  3. Click Collections on the left bar.
  4. Click the more actions icon.
  5. Click Create a Fork.
  6. Give a name to your collection, and choose the workspace you want to save it to.
  7. You can select one or more environments to fork and pin to the collection.
  8. Click Fork Collection. Forking will happen in the background.


6. Setting up the environment

An environment is a group of variables that you can reuse in API requests and scripts.
  1. Click Environments on the left bar.
  2. Click Create Environment and give it a name.
  3. Under Variable, add the following variables:
    client-id
    client-secret
    redirect-uri
    authorization-code
    access-token
    refresh-token
    accounts-url
    api-domain
    expiry-time


7. Registering a client in Zoho API Console

For your app to be able to use users' data in Zoho CRM across multiple orgs, you must register your app as a client in Zoho CRM.
In this post, we have used Self Client as the client type. For details about when to choose between a self-client and web-based client, refer to this Kaizen post.
  1. Go to Zoho API Console.
  2. Click Add Client.
  3. Choose Self Client from the list of client types and click Create Now.
  4. You will see the client ID and client secret.


8. Generating the tokens for a self client

Zoho CRM APIs follow the OAuth2.0 protocol for authentication.
This involves three tokens viz, grant token(authorization code), access token and refresh token.
  • Grant token - Also called the authorization code, for a self client, this token is generated in the API console itself. This token informs Zoho's authorization server(Zoho Accounts) that your app wants to access Zoho CRM users' data(bound by scopes). This token is environment-specific, i.e, if you choose a production org while generating this token, you can access Zoho CRM data in the production environment only. This token is valid from 3 minutes to 10 minutes based on what you choose in the console.
  • Access token - After you have authenticated your app and generated a grant token, you must exchange it with Zoho Accounts for an access token. This access token will also have the same scopes as your grant token. This token is valid for one hour. You must send this token in the header of every API call as a bearer token.
  • Refresh token - Since the access token is valid only for an hour, you can use the refresh token to generate a new access token. Instead of creating a grant token again for the same scopes and generating another access token, you can directly use the refresh token and get a new access token with the same scope. Refresh token is valid until you revoke it.
Let's see how to generate these tokens.



Creating the grant token is a one-time process. After you generate access and refresh tokens using the grant token, you can simply use the refresh token to create new access token every hour.

9. Making an API call

Now that we have generated the tokens, let's make an API call using the access token.
  1. Navigate to V6 > REST APIs > Records > Get Records > Accounts.
  2. You can see the request with a few fields already in place.
  3. Modify the parameters as required.
  4. Under Auth, you can see the variable {{access-token}} that holds the access token we generated earlier.
  5. Hit Send to get a response.


10. A quick alternative to token generation using Guided Auth

Postman has introduced a new flow called the Guided Auth. This method allows new users to acquaint themselves with making API calls and testing them, without the hassIe of setting up a client.
In this flow, Zoho acts as the client and takes care of generating the grant and access tokens for a set of pre-defined scopes.
Follow these steps to use Guided Auth.
  1. Click Set Up New Authorization in Postman.
  2. Click Authorize. You will be redirected to Zoho's Login page.
  3. Sign in to your Zoho account.
  4. Choose the org for which you want to generate the token.
  5. Click Agree on the consent screen to grant permission to use your Zoho CRM data as per the scopes on the screen.
In the backend, Zoho generates the grant and access tokens, and you will see the access token in your Postman instance under Auth Credentials.
Note that flow does not give you a refresh token. This method is only to get a head-start with APIs without facing authorization errors. As always, the access token is valid for an hour, after which you have to follow the process of authorizing Zoho to generate another token.



As you can see, when you use our API collection, making API calls to Zoho CRM is a piece of cake as all the requests are already in place with examples.


We hope you found this post useful. We'll meet you next week with another interesting post!
Let us know your feedback in the comment section or write to us at support@zohocrm.com.
Cheers!


    • Sticky Posts

    • Kaizen #197: Frequently Asked Questions on GraphQL APIs

      🎊 Nearing 200th Kaizen Post – We want to hear from you! Do you have any questions, suggestions, or topics you would like us to cover in future posts? Your insights and suggestions help us shape future content and make this series better for everyone.

    • Kaizen #198: Using Client Script for Custom Validation in Blueprint

      Nearing 200th Kaizen Post – 1 More to the Big Two-Oh-Oh! Do you have any questions, suggestions, or topics you would like us to cover in future posts? Your insights and suggestions help us shape future content and make this series better for everyone.

    • Celebrating 200 posts of Kaizen! Share your ideas for the milestone post

      Hello Developers, We launched the Kaizen series in 2019 to share helpful content to support your Zoho CRM development journey. Staying true to its spirit—Kaizen Series: Continuous Improvement for Developer Experience—we've shared everything from FAQs

    • Kaizen #193: Creating different fields in Zoho CRM through API

      🎊 Nearing 200th Kaizen Post – We want to hear from you! Do you have any questions, suggestions, or topics you would like us to cover in future posts? Your insights and suggestions help us shape future content and make this series better for everyone.

    • Client Script | Update - Introducing Commands in Client Script!

      Have you ever wished you could trigger Client Script from contexts other than just the supported pages and events? Have you ever wanted to leverage the advantage of Client Script at your finger tip? Discover the power of Client Script - Commands! Commands

    • Recent Topics

    • email forwarding not working

      Your email forwarding service does not work. I received the confirmation email and completed the confirmation, after that nothing and nothing since no matter what I have tried. Shame as everything else was smooth. I spose it's harder to run one of these web based internet mail services than you guys thought!!! can you fix the email forwarding asap PLEASE!

    • Google Ads Conversions Not Being Tracked in Zoho CRM

      We have 3 different conversions created in our Google Ads Account. Only one of the 3 conversion types is tracking in Zoho CRM. Our forms are Elementor Forms that are mapped into Zoho CRM. It apprears to me that all leads are showing up in Zoho CRM, but

    • Enable Locations for Expense

      Hi, please enable Locations (ex Branches) for Zoho Expense so that there is consistency between this app and Zoho Books. Thanks in advance.

    • Currency abbreviations

      Hello, Im stuck, and need help. I need the currency fields for example, opportunity value, or total revenue, to be abbreviated, lets say for 1,000 - 1K, 1,000,000 - 1M, and so on, how should I do this?

    • in the Zoho Creator i have File Upload field get the file on submission of the form Get the File and upload to Zoho Books

      in the Zoho Creator i have File Upload field get the file on submission of the form Get the File and upload to Zoho Books . how I get the file From zoho creator and upload to Zoho Books . using Api response = invokeUrl [ url: "https://www.zohoapis.com/creator/v2.1/data/hh/l130/report/All_Customer_Payments/"+input.ID

    • Generate a link for Zoho Sign we can copy and use in a separate email

      Please consider adding functionality that would all a user to copy a reminder link so that we can include it in a personalized email instead of sending a Zoho reminder. Or, allow us to customize the reminder email. Use Case: We have clients we need to

    • Syntax for URLs in HTML Snippets

      What are some best practices for inserting a URL in an HTML snippet? I've looked at Zoho Help articles on navigation-based and functional-based URLs, but I'm still unclear on how to incorporate them in an HTML snippet. For example, 1. How do I link to

    • Rate Limiting in Zoho Flow (OpenAI API)

      Hi Everyone, We are facing some issues when using Zoho Flow as we have a deluge script running which is making external calls to OpenAI endpoint. Sometimes the response takes more than 30 seconds meaning the script will timeout. We want to implement a

    • Placing a condition before converting the LEAD

      Hi,  I need some assistance with Lead conversion. I need to place certain conditions before allowing the user to convert the lead.  For example: up until the certain status's doesn't equal "green" don't allow to convert lead.  I tried creating this using

    • it is possible to open a widget via deluge script function

      I have one function that is workflow action I call my fucntion I need to call the internal widget it is possible to open or it have to please tell me the solution

    • Creator - Portal Custom Domain

      I will pay $100 in crypto to anyone who can actually get my Creator Custom Domain to function (actually tell me how you got yours to).  Domain verifies, Nothing. I've been fighting it a week, multiple chats to customer service. Clearly I'm doing something wrong.  Some datapoints Domain name itself unimportant, can be a string of numbers.  I need to know what registrars are working for you because GoDaddy does NOT.  Do I need hosting? I've tried both ways and nothing works.  I pushed through Cloudflare

    • steps and options to change Domain DNS/Nameservers settings

      Please share the options or steps to change  Domain DNS/Nameservers settings 

    • Employees in Leave Policy exceptions

      In the Leave Policies we should be able to add specific employees to the exception list So it will be like All Employees except A,B,C in the exception list, currently we can only add departments etc

    • Searching customer field

      Hello, When entering a receipt, we select customer information. The customer information is synced with Zoho CRM. However, we can't find the customer information because it searches for words that begin with the entered value. It needs to search for words

    • How I set default email addresses for Sales Orders and Invoices

      I have customers that have different departments that handle Sales Orders and Invoices. How can i set a default email for Sales Orders that's different than the default email for Invoices? Is there a way I can automate this using the Contact Persons Departments

    • Modular Permission Levels

      We need more modular Permissions per module in Books we have 2 use cases that are creating problems We need per module export permission we have a use case where users should be able to view the sales orders but not export it, but they can export other

    • Kaizen #157: Flyouts in Client Script

      Hello everyone! Welcome back to another exciting edition of our Kaizen series, where we explore fresh insights and innovative ideas to help you discover more and expand your knowledge!In this post, we'll walk through how to display Flyouts in Client Script

    • How get stock name from other column ?

      How get stock name from other column ? e.g. =STOCK(C12;"price") where C12 is the code of the stock

    • Adding a developer for editing the client application with a single user license

      Hi, I want to know that I as a developer I developed one application and handed over to the customer who is using the application on a single user license. Now after6 months customer came back to me and needs some changes in the application. Can a customer

    • Download an email template in html code

      Hello everyone, I have created an email template and I want to download it as html. How can i do that? I know you can do it via the campaigns-first create a campaign add the template and download it as html from there. But what if i don't want to create

    • Attachment is not included in e-mails sent through Wordpress

      I have a Wordpress site with Zeptomail Wordpress plugin installed and configured. E-mails are sent ok through Zeptomail but without the included attachment (.pdf file) Zeptomail is used to send tickets to customers through Zeptomail. E-Mails are generated

    • Upcoming Changes to the Timesheet Module

      The Timesheet module will undergo a significant change in the upcoming weeks. To start with, we will be renaming Timesheet module to Time Logs. This update will go live early next week. Significance of this change This change will facilitate our next

    • Best way to schedule bill payments to vendors

      I've integrated Forte so that I can convert POs to bills and make payments to my vendors all through Books. Is there a way to schedule the bill payments as some of my vendors are net 30, net 60 and even net 90 days. If I can't get this to work, I'll have

    • Cant update image field after uploading image to ZFS

      Hello i recently made an application in zoho creator for customer service where customers could upload their complaints every field has been mapped from creator into crm and works fine except for the image upload field i have tried every method to make

    • Billing Management: #4 Negate Risk Free with Advances

      In the last post, we explored how unbilled charges accumulate before being invoiced. But what happens when businesses need money before service begins? Picture this: A construction company takes on a $500,000 commercial building project expected to last

    • Is there an equivalent to the radius search in RECRUIT available in the CRM

      We have a need to find all Leads and/or Contacts within a given radius of a given location (most likely postcode) but also possibly an address. I was wondering whether anyone has found a way to achieve this in the CRM much as the radius search in RECRUIT

    • Zoho CRM Inventory Management

      What’s the difference between Zoho CRM’s inventory management features and Zoho Inventory? When is it better to use each one?

    • Cannot Enable Picklist Field Dependency in Products or Custom Modules – Real Estate Setup

      Hello Zoho Support, I am configuring Zoho CRM for real estate property management and need picklist field dependency: What I’ve tried: I started by customizing the Products module (Setup > Modules & Fields) to create “Property Type” (Housing, Land, Commercial)

    • Get Workflow Metadata via API

      Is there a way to get metadata on workflows and/or custom functions via API? I would like to automatically pull this information. I couldn't find it in the documentations, but I'm curious if there is an undocumented endpoint that could do this. Moderation

    • Zoho Projects - Q2 Updates | 2025

      Hello Users, With this year's second quarter behind us, Zoho Projects is marching towards expanding its usability with a user-centered, more collaborative, customizable, and automated attribute. But before we chart out plans for what’s next, it’s worth

    • FSM setup

      So we have been tinkering with FSM to see if it is going to be for us. Now is the time to bite the bullet and link it to our zoho books and zoho crm. The help guides are good but it would really help if they were a bit more in depth on the intergrations.

    • Upcoming Updates to the Employees Module in Zoho Payroll (US)

      We've made a couple of updates to the Employees module in Zoho Payroll (latest version of the US edition). These changes will go live today. While creating an employee Currently, the Compensation Details section is part of the Basic Details step, where

    • Possible to Turn Off Automatic Notifications for Approvals?

      Hello, This is another question regarding the approval process. First a bit of background: Each of our accounts is assigned a rank based on potential sales. In Zoho, the account rank field is a drop-down with the 5 rank levels and is located on the account

    • ZOHO Creator subform link

      Dear Community Support, I am looking for some guidance on how to add a clickable link within a Zoho Creator subform. The goal is for this link to redirect users to another Creator form where they can edit the data related to the specific row they clicked

    • Allow Resource to Accept or Reject an Appointment

      I have heard that this can be done, is there any documentation on how?

    • Create new Account with contact

      Hi I can create a new Account and, as part of that process, add a primary contact (First name, last name) and Email. But THIS contact does NOT appear in Contacts. How can I make sure the Contact added when creating an Account is also listed as a Contact?

    • Custom Fonts in Zoho CRM Template Builder

      Hi, I am currently creating a new template for our quotes using the Zoho CRM template builder. However, I noticed that there is no option to add custom fonts to the template builder. It would greatly enhance the flexibility and branding capabilities if

    • Python - code studio

      Hi, I see the code studio is "coming soon". We have some files that will require some more complex transformation, is this feature far off? It appears to have been released in Zoho Analytics already

    • Sync desktop folders instantly with WorkDrive TrueSync (Beta)

      Keeping your important files backed up and accessible has never been easier! With WorkDrive desktop app (TrueSync), you can now automatically sync specific desktop folders to WorkDrive Web, ensuring seamless, real-time updates across devices. Important:

    • How To Insert Data into Zoho CRM Organization

      Hi Team I have this organization - https://crm.zoho.com/crm/org83259xxxx/tab/Leads I want to insert data into this Leads module, what is the correct endpoint for doing so ? Also I have using ZohoCRM.modules.ALL scope and generated necessary tokens.

    • Next Page