Event Management System using ZDK CLI

Event Management System using ZDK CLI



Hello Everyone,

Welcome back to yet another post in the Kaizen Series!

As you already may know, for the Kaizen #200 milestone, we asked for your feedback and many of you suggested topics for us to discuss. We have been writing on these topics over the past few weeks. One of the feedbacks asked us to cover "more on ZDK CLI". In this post, we will discuss building an Event Management System in Zoho CRM Using ZDK CLI.

Consider the case of Zenith, a Zoho CRM partner who is also partner for Zoho's competing products. Zenith is hosting a conference in which their representatives are inviting speakers from Zoho and also other competing products. The attendees of the conference will be either external attendees or leads or contacts of Zenith. For this purpose existing meetings module of Zoho CRM (previously called Events) can not be used as it is not a good fit for this case. Custom modules and fields are required for this. In this post, we’ll discuss how to create a Event Management System that is complimentary to Zoho CRM using ZDK CLI. 

Why Use ZDK CLI?
ZDK CLI allows developers to:
  1. Create and edit CRM metadata (modules, fields, roles, profiles, and widgets)
  2. Define relationships between modules (lookups, multi-select lookups)
  3. Push and sync metadata changes to sandbox.
  4. Resolve conflicts when multiple users work on the same metadata.

This makes it ideal for building reusable CRM systems such as event management.

Initial Setup

As the initial setup, initialize the ZDK CLI project directory using zdk init command and create a new ZDK Project folder "Zenith". 

     zdk init




Then, login to the sandbox environment for Zenith using zdk auth:login command. 

     zdk auth:login


When you execute zdk auth:login, you can either select any org that is already signed in or select NEW LOGIN to visit the login page and select the sandbox org you will be working on.




After logging in to Zoho select the sandbox environment and give required permissions.
Notes
For the current beta release, ZDK CLI is exclusively available for Sandbox environment and is not operational in Production environments. 



You will be redirected to the terminal after successful login and you can start working on ZDK CLI.



Notes
Change the api_version to 8 in zdk-project.json file.

Step 1: Define the Modules

For an event management use case, we will need the following custom modules:
  1. Conference – Stores details of each event.
  2. Attendees – Tracks participants, whether leads, contacts, or external.
  3. ConferenceAttendees (Linking Module, not created) – Connects conferences and attendees with registration status.
  4. Venues – Captures details of event locations.
  5. Speakers – Stores details of invited speakers.

This has been visualized in the data model below.


To create a module, use the command

     zdk meta:create modules




This creates the json file for module metadata : Conference.modules-meta.json  in the path Zenith/crm/meta/modules/Conference 

Conference.modules-meta.json content

{
    "singular_label": "Conference",
    "plural_label": "Conferences",
    "api_name": "Conference",
    "profiles": [
        {
            "api_name": "Administrator"
        }
    ],
    "display_field": {
        "api_name": "Conferences"
    },
    "show_as_tab": true
}

Similarly create modules Attendees , Venues, and Speakers modules

Step 2: Customize Fields

To create a field, use the command

     zdk meta:create fields

Conference module:

Conference modules's fields are:

  1. Attendees (multiselectlookup to Attendee module) 
  2. Speakers (multiselectlookup to Speakers module) 
  3. Venue (lookup to Venue module) 
  4. Date (datetime) 
  5. Duration(double) 
  6. Description (textarea) 
  7. Status (picklist: Planned, Ongoing, Completed)


Attendees field
Let us check how to create the field attendees of type multi-select lookup (to Attendee module)




The json file Attendees.fields-meta.json created in the path Zenith/crm/meta/modules/Conference/fields will look like this


To provide dependent details for the multi select lookup, add the multiselectlookup json object to the Attendees.fields-meta.json file as below:

{
    "field_label": "Attendees",
    "display_name": "Attendees",
    "api_name": "Attendees",
    "type": "used",
    "data_type": "multiselectlookup",
    "multiselectlookup": {
        "connected_details": {
            "module": {
                "api_name": "Attendee"
            },
            "field": {
                "field_label": "AttendingConference"
            }
        },
        "linking_details": {
            "module": {
                "plural_label": "Conferences_X_attendees"
            }
        }
 }
}

Speakers (multi-select lookup to Speakers module)
Similar to Attendees field, create Speakers field and modify the json file Speaker.fields-meta.json created in the path Zenith/crm/meta/modules/Conference/fields:

{
    "field_label": "Speaker",
    "display_name": "Speakers",
    "api_name": "Speakers",
    "type": "used",
    "data_type": "multiselectlookup",
    "multiselectlookup": {
        "connected_details": {
            "module": {
                "api_name": "Speaker"
            },
            "field": {
                "field_label": "AttendingConference"
            }
        },
        "linking_details": {
            "module": {
                "plural_label": "Speakers_X_attendees"
            }
        }
 }
}

Venue (lookup field to Venue module)
Similarly, create the Venue field with type as "lookup" The json file Venue.fields-meta.json created in the path Zenith/crm/meta/modules/Conference/fields will look like this


To provide dependent details for the lookup, add the lookup json object to the json as below.
{
    "field_label": "Venue",
    "display_name": "Venue",
    "api_name": "Venue",
    "type": "used",
    "data_type": "lookup"
    "lookup": {
        "display_label": "Venue",
        "api_name": "Venue",
        "module": {
          "api_name": "Venue"
        }
      }
}

Description (textarea)
After create a textarea field Description using zdk meta:create fields command, add textarea json object to the field meta json file as below :

{
        "field_label": "Description",
                "display_name": "Description",
                "api_name": "Description",
                "type": "used",
                "data_type": "textarea",
                "textarea": {
                        "type": "rich_text"
                }
}

The possible values for text area are small, large and rich_text.

Status (picklist)
After create a picklist field Status using zdk meta:create fields command, add pick_list_values json array to the field meta json file as below:

{
    "field_label": "Status",
    "display_name": "Status",
    "api_name": "Status",
    "type": "used",
    "data_type": "picklist",
  "pick_list_values": [
    {
      "display_value": "Planned",
      "actual_value": "Planned"
    },
    {
      "display_value": "Ongoing",
      "actual_value": "Ongoing"
    },
    {
      "display_value": "Completed",
      "actual_value": "Completed"
    }
  ]
}

Date and duration fields of type datetime and double does not require any edits to the created meta.json file.




Attendees Module

Similarly, add fields for attendees modules
  1. Phone (phone)
  2. Company (text)
  3. EventsAttended (multi-select lookup to Conference module)
  4. Attendee Type (picklist with options Lead, Contact, External)
  5. Leads (lookup to Lead module)
  6. Contacts (lookup to Contact module

Venue Module

  1. Location (text)
  2. Capacity (integer)
  3. Contact erson (text)
  4. ContactNumber(phone)
  5. Description(textarea)

Speakers Module
  1. Phone (phone)
  2. Company (text)
  3. SpeakerStatus (picklist with options Confirmed, Pending, Canceled)

Step 3: Create a Custom Role


To create a field, use the command

     zdk meta:create roles


This ensures event managers have the right access without interfering with other CRM operations.

Pushing changes to the sandbox environment

Once all changes are done execute zdk org:push and zdk org:push result --{jobId} command to deploy the changes to the sandbox environment. Once the changes are verified in your sandbox environment you can deploy it to the production environment.




You can extract this metadata zip file, that is created using zdk org:export command to your own ZDK project directory and try pushing the changes to your sandbox environment.

Building the Event Management System for "Zenith" illustrates the core strength of ZDK CLI. It brings software engineering best practices to Zoho CRM customization. By defining modules/fields/roles as json files directly or creating them using the command, the source truth of the metadata is available in local system. The same can be tracked via version control systems like GIT for better collaboration among the team.

    • Recent Topics

    • Cliq Meeting Calls No Audio and Screen Share

      When in a Cliq channel meeting, the audio does not work at all on pc. When i use my phone as audio source, screen share on pc does not work. I have updated audio drivers but the strangest thing is that during a 1 on 1 call, it works well. Therefore the

    • Bug in Total Hour Calculation in Regularization for past dates

      There is a bug in Zoho People Regularization For example today is the date is 10 if I choose a previous Date like 9 and add the Check in and Check out time The total hours aren't calculated properly, in the example the check in time is 10:40 AM check

    • Work anniversary and birthdays on connect

      Hello, I like the idea of having employee's work anniversary and birthdays on the dashbaord. Do you have to have the employee complete this information themselves in connect settings, or does it pull from their directory settings? (ie. we use Zoho one

    • Alias Email Id already exists

      Hi I'm trying to create an alias : contact @ yoavarielevy.co.il but i get the message  Alias Email Id already exists I had an account with the same name but I deleted it. Can you help? Thanx Yoav

    • BANK FEED - MAYBANK , provider from YODLEE IS NOT WORKING

      As per topic, the provider YODLEE is not working for the BANK FEED. It have been reported since 2023 Q3, and second report on 2023 Q4. now almost end of 2024 Q1, and coming to 2024 Q2. Malaysia Bank Maybank is NOT working. can anyone check on this issue?

    • Feature Request: Ability to Set a Custom List View as Default for All Users

      Dear Zoho CRM Support Team, We would like to request a new feature in Zoho CRM regarding List Views. Currently, each user has to manually select or favorite a custom list view in order to make it their default. However, as administrators, we would like

    • Adding Multiple Products (Package) to a Quote

      I've searched the forums and found several people asking this question, but never found an answer. Is ti possible to add multiple products to a quote at once, like a package deal? This seems like a very basic function of a CRM that does quotes but I can't

    • webinar registration confirmation are landing in SPMA folders

      I am trialing zoho webinar and do not have access to custom domains. When I test user registrations, they are working but the resulting confirmation email is landing in a spam folder. How can I avoid this?

    • Making digital signatures accessible to all: Introducing accessibility controls in Zoho Sign

      Hi there! At Zoho Sign, we are committed to building an inclusive digital experience for all our users. As part of our ongoing efforts to align with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), we’re updating the application with support that will go

    • Delegates should be able to delete expenses

      I understand the data integrity of this request. It would be nice if there was a toggle switch in the Policy setting that would allow a delegate to delete expenses from their managers account. Some managers here never touch their expense reports, and

    • Add Save button to Expense form

      A save button would be very helpful on the expense form. Currently there is a Save and Close button. When we want to itemize an expense, this option would be very helpful. For example, if we have a hotel expense that also has room service, which is a

    • Multiple organizations under Zoho One

      Hello. I have a long and complicated question. I have a Zoho One account and want to set it up to serve the needs of 6 organizations under the same company. Some of the Zoho One users need to be able to work in more than 1 organization’s CRM and other

    • Error AS101 when adding new email alias

      Hi, I am trying to add apple@(mydomain).com The error AS101 is shown while I try to add the alias.

    • Unbundle feature for composite items

      We receive composite items from our vendors and sell them either individually or create other composite items out of them. So, there is a lot of bundling and unbundling involved with our composite items. Previously, this feature was supported in form

    • Regarding the integration of Apollo.io with Zoho crm.

      I have been seeing for the last 3 months that your Apollo.io beta version is available in Zoho Flow, and this application has not gone live yet. We requested this 2 months ago, but you guys said that 'we are working on it,' and when we search on Google

    • MTD SA in the UK

      Hello ID 20106048857 The Inland Revenue have confirmed that this tax account is registered as Cash Basis In Settings>Profile I have set ‘Report Basis’ as “Cash" However, I see on Zoho on Settings>Taxes>Income Tax that the ‘Tax Basis’ is marked ‘Accrual'

    • workflow not working in subform

      I have the following code in a subform which works perfectly when i use the form alone but when i use the form as a subform within another main form it does not work. I have read something about using row but i just cant seem to figure out what to change

    • Fetch data from another table into a form field

      I have spent the day trying to work this out so i thought i would use the forum for the first time. I have two forms in the same application and when a user selects a customer name from a drop down field and would like the customer number field in the

    • Record comment filter

      Hi - I have a calendar app that we use to track tasks. I have the calendar view set up so that the logged in user only sees the record if they are assigned to the task. BUT there are instances when someone is @ mentioned in the record when they are not

    • How to View Part Inventory and Warehouse Location When Creating a Work Order in Zoho FSM

      Hi everyone, We’re currently setting up Zoho FSM and would like to improve how our team selects parts when creating a Work Order. Right now, when we add a part or item to a Work Order, we can select it from our Zoho Inventory list but we don’t see any

    • FSM too slow today !!

      Anybody else with problem today to loading FSM (WO, AP etc.)?

    • Not able to Sign In in Zoho OneAuth in Windows 10

      I recently reset my Windows 10 system, after the reset when I downloaded the OAuth app and tried to Sign In It threw an error at me. Error: Token Fetch Error. Message: Object Reference not set to an instance of an object I have attached the screenshot

    • Mapping a custom preferred date field in the estimate with the native field in the workorder

      Hi Zoho, I created a field in the estimate : "Preferred Date 1", to give the ability to my support agent to add a preferred date while viewing the client's estimate. However, in the conversion mapping (Estimate to Workorder), I'm unable to map my custom

    • The sending IP (136.143.188.15) is listed on spamrl.com as a source of spam.

      Hi, it just two day when i am using zoho mail for my business domain, today i was sending email and found that message "The sending IP (136.143.188.15) is listed on https://spamrl.com as a source of spam" I hope to know how this will affect the delivery

    • Delegates - Access to approved reports

      We realized that delegates do not have access to reports after they are approved. Many users ask questions of their delegates about past expense reports and the delegates can't see this information. Please allow delegates see all expense report activity,

    • Split functionality - Admins need ability to do this

      Admins should be able to split an expense at any point of the process prior to approval. The split is very helpful for our account coding, but to have to go back to a user and ask them to split an invoice that they simply want paid is a bit of an in

    • Is there a way to request a password?

      We add customers info into the vaults and I wanted to see if we could do some sort of "file request" like how dropbox offers with files. It would be awesome if a customer could go to a link and input a "title, username, password, url" all securely and it then shows up in our team vault or something. Not sure if that is safe, but it's the best I can think of to be semi scalable and obviously better than sending emails. I am open to another idea, just thought this would be a great feature.  Thanks,

    • Single Task Report

      I'd like a report or a way to print to PDF the task detail page. I'd like at least the Task Information section but I'd also like to see the Activity Stream, Status Timeline and Comments. I'd like to export the record and save it as a PDF. I'd like the

    • Auto-response for closed tickets

      Hi, We sometimes have users that (presumably) search their email inbox for the last correspondence with us and just hit reply - even if it's a 6 month old ticket... - this then re-opens the 6 month old ticket because of the ticket number in the email's subject. Yes, it's easy to 'Split as new Ticket', but I'd like something automated to respond to the user saying "this ticket has already been resolved and closed, please submit a new ticket". What's the best way to achieve this? Thanks, Ed

    • How to Push Zoho Desk time logged to Zoho Projects?

      I am on the last leg of my journey of finally automating time tracking, payments, and invoicing for my minutes based contact center company - I just have one final step to solve - I need time logged in zoho desk to add time a project which is associated

    • Cannot access KB within Help Center

      Im working with my boss to customize our knowledge base, but for some reason I can see the KB tab, and see the KB categories, but I cannot access the articles within the KB. We have been troubleshooting for weeks, and we have all permissions set up, customers

    • Export to excel stored amounts as text instead of numbers or accounting

      Good Afternoon, We have a quarterly billing report that we generate from our Requests. It exports to excel. However if we need to add a formula (something as simple as a sum of the column), it doesn't read the dollar amounts because the export stores

    • why my account is private?

      when i post on zohodesk see only agent only

    • Getting ZOHO Invoice certified in Portugal?

      Hello, We are ZOHO partners in Portugal and here, all the invoice software has to be certified by the government and ZOHO Invoice still isn´t certified. Any plans? Btw, we can help on this process, since we have a client that knows how to get the software certified. Thank you.

    • 500 Internal Server Error

      I have been trying to create my first app in Creator, but have been getting the 500: Internal Server Error. When I used the Create New Application link, it gave me the error after naming the application. After logging out, and back in, the application that I created was in the list, but when I try to open it to start creating my app, it gives me the 500: Internal Server Error. Please help! Also, I tried making my named app public, but I even get the error when trying to do that.

    • Client Script | Update - Client Script Support For Portals

      Dear All! We are excited to announce the highly anticipated feature: Client Script support for Portals. We understand that many of you have been eagerly awaiting this enhancement, and we are pleased to inform you that this support is now live for all

    • Professional Plan not activated after payment

      I purchased the Professional Plan for 11 users (Subscription ID: RPEU2000980748325) on 12 September 2025, and the payment has been successfully processed. However, even after more than 24 hours, my CRM account still shows “Upgrade” and behaves like a

    • how to edit the converted lead records?

      so I can fetch the converted leads records using API (COQL), using this endpoint https://www.zohoapis.com/crm/v5/coql and using COQL filter Converted__s=true for some reasons I need to change the value from a field in a converted lead record. When I try

    • Auto Update Event Field Value on Create/Edit

      Hi there, I know this question has been posted multiple times and I've been trying many of the proposed similar scripts for a while now but nothing seems to work... what might I do wrong? The error I receive is this: Value given for the variable 'meetingId'

    • Pre-orders at Zoho Commerce

      We plan to have regular producs that are avaliable for purchase now and we plan to have products that will be avaliable in 2-4 weeks. How we can take the pre-orders for these products? We need to take the money for the product now, but the delivery will

    • Next Page