Kaizen #116 - Client Types in Zoho API Console

Hello everyone!

Welcome back to another post in the Kaizen series!

This week, we will discuss different client types available in Zoho API Console, and when to use each.

When you register an app in Zoho API Console, you typically choose a client type based on how your application interacts with Zoho services.

Let us discuss the available client types and how authorization is handled for each.

Available client types

1. Server-based
   
2. Client-based
   
3. Self client
   
4. Non-browser-based
   
5. Mobile-based

1. Server-based

If you have a web-based application that runs on a dedicated HTTP server and interacts with Zoho services by calling Zoho APIs via that server, you must register your app with this client type.

This client type is for applications that redirect the users to another URL on a web browser to authorize themselves, where they give consent to your application to use their data.

In other words, you must use this client type when you have a front-end web UI and require user intervention before your app can access user data via the dedicated server.

Consider that you are developing a web-based custom application. Users authorize that app via browser to allow their Zoho CRM data to be accessed and used by that application.

During the registration process in Zoho API Console, you would choose the "Web-based" client type.

OAuth 2.0 would be used for user authentication, allowing your app to securely access and interact with Zoho CRM data on behalf of the users.

Here is a gist of what happens:

1. Users visit your website where you have the Login with Zoho button.
   
2. When a user clicks it, that user will be redirected to accounts.zoho.com with the details of your app such as client ID, scope, redirect uri, access type as the URL parameters.
   
3. Your app must make an API call to Zoho Accounts with the client ID, scope, redirect uri, and access type. Users are shown the data that your application wants to use.
   
4. When users give their consent, Zoho redirects them back to your app.This will be the "Redirect URL" you give while registering your app.
   
5. The redirect URL will have the authorization code(grant token) as one of the parameters, along with the location(user's domain).
   
6. Your app must then make API calls from your web server to Zoho Accounts to generate access and refresh tokens with the generated grant token.
   
7. You must store these tokens in your DB to access that user's data in Zoho CRM. While making API calls, you must send this access token in the header.
   
8. Your app must also have the logic to regenerate access tokens from refresh tokens when the access token expires.
   

Note that your app must take care of storing user's details like email, organization ID, and tokens.

The following image shows the protocol flow.

You can use any of our server-side SDKs to simplify this process.

When you use our SDK, all you have to do is, generate the grant token and initialize the SDK with the client details and this token. The SDK takes care of access token generation, refreshing it, and token storage.

Refer to these older Kaizen posts on Integrating a third-party app using Java SDK and Java SDK for Self Client.

For more details, you can refer to the Accounts guide and CRM help doc.

2. Client-based applications

This client type is for applications that do not have a server and run exclusively on a web browser.

This is also called the Implicit flow as your app makes API calls to Zoho only when users are using your app.

This type of application loads data dynamically on the webpage, and accesses Zoho CRM data by making API calls via Javascript.

Consider the same example where there is a Login with Zoho button on your webpage.

Here is a gist of what happens when a user clicks it.

1. Your app redirects the user to Zoho Accounts.
   
2. Your app makes the authorization request with the client ID, redirect uri, scope, and response type as token.
   
3. The user is shown the data that your webpage would use.
   
4. When the user gives consent, Zoho Accounts sends the access token to the redirect uri as a parameter, along with the expiry time and the location of user's data in Zoho's accounts server.
   
5. You can include the "email" in your scope parameter in the access token request to get user's information. The response will have a parameter called id_token that will be in the header.payload.signature format. You need to decrypt the payload section of the parameter using the base-64 decryption algorithm to get user information.
   
6. Your app must then make API calls to Zoho with this access token to fetch data.
   
7. When the access token expires, your app must take care of regeneration and storage.
   

As the API calls are made from your domain to a different domain(zohoapis.com), for security reasons, the browser will throw the CORS error. So, your domain will be registered while registering your app, and Zoho will know to allow the API calls made from that domain.

As the tokens are available on the browser itself, we recommend handling them with care.

When you use our client-side JS SDK, it automatically generates a new access token upon expiry.

3. Self Client Applications

When your application does not have a redirect URL or a UI, but performs only a backend job, and does not need user intervention, then you must choose this client type.

A self client is often used when the application and Zoho services are operated by the same entity, and you want to enable secure communication between them. For example, you have an internal reporting tool and integrate it with Zoho Analytics. In this case, both the tool and Zoho Analytics are operated by the same entity.

Similarly, consider that you have a legacy product management system and want to perform data sync between Zoho CRM and the system, then you must use the self client.

Here is a gist of what happens.

1. You register your app as self client in Zoho API Console.
   
2. You will get the client details such as ID and secret.
   
3. You provide the scopes required for your app to access CRM data.
   
4. You will receive the grant token.
   
5. Your app must then make API calls to Zoho Accounts to generate access and refresh tokens.
   
6. Your app can then use this access token to make API calls to Zoho CRM and use data.
   

You can refer to our older Kaizen post on this topic for more details.

Note that self client apps can also use any of our server-side SDKs. As already said, the SDK takes care of access and refresh token generation, refreshing the access token, and token storage.

4. Non-browser applications

This client type is for devices that do not have a user agent such a web browser. A TV, for instance.

Let us consider an example involving a smart TV application that integrates with Zoho ShowTime. In this scenario, the smart TV application acts as a non-browser client.

Here is how authentication is handled:

1. You must register your smart TV app in Zoho API Console with the type "Non-browser application".
   
2. Users install a dedicated Zoho ShowTime application on their smart TVs.
   
3. When users launch the Zoho ShowTime application on their smart TV, they are prompted to authenticate with their Zoho ShowTime account.
   
4. When they successfully authenticate, Zoho Accounts sends the grant token to your app, along with the user-code, device-code and verification URL,The user must go to this verification URL on a browser and enter the user-code to grant permission to the app.
   
5. Meanwhile, your app must poll the accounts server using the grant token to check if the token has been received.
   
6. When the user enters the user code, Zoho Accounts sends the access token to your app.
   
7. Your app can then use the access token to make API calls to Zoho. Your app must take care of token storage and renewals.
   

Here is the protocol flow. For more details, refer to this doc.

5. Mobile-based applications

You must use this client type when you have developed an app exclusively for mobile devices. The protocol flow is similar to server-based application where a browser session is required for the users to authenticate.

Similar to server-side apps, mobile apps also need to handle redirection, token generation and storage.

If you use any of our Mobile SDKs, the SDK itself handles token generation and storage.

We hope you found this post useful. Let us know your thoughts in the Comment section or write to us at support@zohocrm.com.

Cheers!

• Topic Participants

• Shylaja S

  

• Piyush Dwivedi

• Ishwarya SG

  

• Onur Gulay - Smile Center Turkey®

  

• Sunderjan Siddharth

  

• 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

• Agent Performance Report

  From data to decisions: A deep dive into ticketing system reports An agent performance report in a ticketing system provides a comprehensive view of how support agents manage customer tickets. It measures efficiency and quality by tracking key performance

• Show both Vendor and Customers in contact statement

  Dear Sir, some companies like us working with companies as Vendor and Customers too !!! it mean we send invoice and also receive bill from them , so we need our all amount in one place , but in contact statement , is separate it as Vendor and Customer, 

• URL validation

  We use an internal intranet site which has a short DNS name which Zoho CRM will not accept.   When attempting to update the field it says "Please enter a valid URL". The URL I am trying to set is http://intranet/pm/ Our intranet is not currently setup with a full DNS name and given the amount of links using the shortname probably isn't a feasible change for us.

• Pourquoi dans zohobooks version gratuite on ne peut ajouter notre stock d'ouverture??

  Pourquoi dans zohobooks version gratuite on ne peut ajouter notre stock d'ouverture ??

• How can I adjust column width in Zoho Books?

  One issue I keep running into is as I show or hide columns in reports, the column widths get weird. Some columns have text cut off while others can take a fourth of the page for just a few characters. I checked report layout guides and my settings, but

• Invalid value passed for file_name

  System generated file name does not send file anymore - what is the problem?

• Custom Function for Estimates

  Hey everyone, I was wondering if there was a way to automate the Subject of an estimate whenever one is created or edited: * the green box using following infos: * Customer Name and Estimate Date. My Goal is to change the Subject to have this format "<MyFirm>-Estimate

• This domain is not allowed to add. Please contact support-as@zohocorp.com for further details

  I am trying to setup the free version of Zoho Mail. When I tried to add my domain, theselfreunion.com I got the error message that is the subject of this Topic. I've read your other community forum topics, and this is NOT a free domain. So what is the

• Search in module lists has detiorated

  Every module has a problem with the search function :-/

• YouTube Live #1: AI-powered agreement management with Zia and Zoho Sign

  Hi there! We're excited to announce Zoho Sign’s first YouTube live series, where you can catch the latest updates and interact with our Zoho Sign experts, pose questions, and discover lesser-known features. We're starting off by riding the AI wave in

• Search in module lists has detiorated

  Every module has a problem with the search function :-/

• Sales Receipts Duplicating when I run reports why and how do we rectify this and any other report if this happens

  find attached extract of my report

• Add Zoho Forms to Zoho CRM Plus bundle

  Great Zoho apps like CRM and Desk have very limited form builders when it comes to form and field rules, design, integration and deployment options. Many of my clients who use Zoho CRM Plus often hit limitations with the built in forms in CRM or Desk and are then disappointed to hear that they have to additionally pay for Zoho Forms to get all these great forms functionalities. Please consider adding Zoho Forms in the Zoho CRM Plus bundle. Best regards, Mladen Svraka Zoho Certified Consultant and

• Bigin: filter Contacts by Company fields

  Hello, I was wondering if there's a way to filter the contacts based on a field belonging to their company. I.e.: - filter contacts by Company Annual Revenue field - filter contacts by Company Employee No. field In case this is not possibile, what workaround

• Has Zoho changed the way it searches Items?

  Right now all of our searches have broken and we can no longer search using the SKU or alias. It was fine last night and we came in this morning to broken.....this is impacting our operations now.

• Refunds do not export from Shopify, Amazon and Esty to Zoho. And then do not go from Zoho inventory to Quickbooks.

  I have a huge hole in my accounts from refunds and the lack of synchronisation between shopify , Amazon and Etsy to Zoho ( i.e when I process a refund on shopify/ Amazon or Etsy it does not come through to Zoho) and then if I process a manual credit note/

• CRM->INVENTORY, sync products as composite items

  We have a product team working in the CRM, as it’s more convenient than using Books or Inventory—especially with features like Blueprints being available. Once a product reaches a certain stage, it needs to become visible in Inventory. To achieve this,

• Zoho Calendar not working since a few days

  Hey there, first off a minor thing, since I just tried to enable the Calendar after reading this in another topic (there was no setting for this though) : For some reason my current session is showing me based in New York - I'm in Germany, not using a

• Monthly timesheet, consolidation of time by project

  I have time logs for various jobs for project. Is it possible to consolidate the time spent for each job, when I am generating a timesheet for a month? I am getting the entries of jobs done on each day when I generate a timesheet for a month For example

• Building a Strong Online Identity with G-Tech Solutions

  In today’s fast-moving world, having a strong online identity is essential for every business. https://gtechsol.com.au helps businesses establish a digital presence that reflects their vision and values. By focusing on innovation and quality, they create

• Sending emails from an outlook account

  Hi, I need to know if it's possible to send automatic emails from an Outlook account configured in Zoho CRM and, if so, how I can accomplish that. To give you some context, I set up a domain and created a function that generates PDF files to be sent later

• Struggling with stock management in Zoho CRM – is Zoho Inventory the solution?

  My biggest pain point today with Zoho is inventory management. I run a retail business and reliable stock management is absolutely critical. Obviously, I need this inventory to be visible inside the CRM. At first, I tried handling it through custom modules

• Automating CRM backup storage?

  Hi there, We've recently set up automatic backups for our Zoho CRM account. We were hoping that the backup functionality would not require any manual work on our end, but it seems that we are always required to download the backups ourselves, store them,

• Nimble enhancements to WhatsApp for Business integration in Zoho CRM: Enjoy context and clarity in business messaging

  Dear Customers, We hope you're well! WhatsApp for business is a renowned business messaging platform that takes your business closer to your customers; it gives your business the power of personalized outreach. Using the WhatsApp for Business integration

• can't login Kiosk URGENT

  already try, can't login pls help to support. thanks.

• 【Zoho CRM】CRM for Everyoneに関するアップデート：関連データ機能

  ユーザーの皆さま、こんにちは。コミュニティチームの中野です。 今回は「Zoho CRM アップデート情報」の中から、CRM for Everyoneの新機能「関連データ機能」をご紹介します。 関連データ機能は、あるタブのデータを別のタブに柔軟に関連付け、異なるタブで管理されている情報を1か所にまとめて表示できます。 たとえば、組織タブとチームタブのデータを関連付けることで、必要な情報に効率よくアクセスでき、顧客理解を深めながら他チームとの連携もスムーズに行えます。 目次 1. 関連データの設定方法

• Zoho Books

  How do I manually insert opening balance?

• Profit / margins on Sales orders / Invoices / Estimates

  When we select an SKU or item name in any of these documents, much info such as invoice.line_items.rate is pulled from the item & filled into the document being worked on. If we had another lineItem DB field (hidden) auto filled at the same time: invoice.line_items.purchase_rate

• Inventory to Xero Invocie Sync Issues

  Has anyone had an issue with Invoices not syncing to Xero. It seems to be an issue when there is VAT on a shipping cost, but I cannot be 100% as the error is vague: "Unable to export Invoice 'INV-000053' as the account mapped with some items does not

• How to activate RFQ? What if a price list has ladder price for items?

  Where can I find the option to activate request for quotation? How does it work? If the item has ladder price, does it gets calculated depending on how many items are in the cart?

• Mailk got blocked / Inquiry About Email Sending Limits and Upgrade Options

  Dear Zoho Support Team, My name is Kamr Elsayed I created this account to use for applying for vocational training in Germany. As part of this process, I send multiple emails to different companies. However, after sending only 8 emails today, I received

• Can't join canal Developers Zoho User

  Hello, I received an invitation to join this channel, but I get an error when I try to join it, and I get the same error when I go to the Zoho Cliq interface > Search for a channel. Is this because I don't have a license linked to this email address?

• Desk Email reply - set default font / use custom font

  Hello, in our e-mails, which we send to our customers, a certain font must be used (Corporate Design): Segoe UI https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Segoe#Segoe_UI How can this be included? How can this be set as the default font to ensure that this font is

• PDF Templates - Checkbox Borders

  Is there a way to remove the border of a radio/checkbox on a PDF? I'd like to use the function of checkbox but if there's no easy way to remove the border (the PDF form already has a rectangle so it gets cluttered), then I'm forced to create a single

• Zoho CRM's custom views are now deployable from sandboxes

  This feature is now available for users in the AU, JP, and CN DCs. New update: This feature is now available for users in CA and SA DCs. Hello everyone, We're excited to announce that you can now deploy custom views from sandboxes to your production environment

• Settings Icon No Longer in ZOHO Desk?

  In ZOHO desk, there has been a gear icon for settings. as of yesterday, it is no longer there. I showed up briefly this morning but is gone again. Anybody else experiecing this?

• Introducing the all-new email parser!

  Greetings, We are pleased to introduce to you, a brand-new, upgraded version of the Zoho CRM Email Parser, which is packed with fresh features and has been completely redesigned to meet latest customers needs and their business requirements. On that note,

• Tip #43 - Track, Review, and Analyze Your Assist Sessions with Reports-'Insider Insights'

  Did you know you can generate detailed reports for both remote support sessions and unattended access sessions in Zoho Assist? This makes it easy to monitor technician activity, measure efficiency, and review customer interactions. Let us now take a closer

• Function #20: Custom calculation in item table of invoices

  When you create an invoice in Zoho Books, the 'Amount' of a line item is typically calculated as the product of the "Quantity" and the "Rate" of the item. For instance, if an item has a sales rate of $50 and a quantity of 5 is sold, then the amount would

• CBSA - GST CHARGES on imports

  Hi there, We have a questions about landed cost categorization. We received a shipment from overseas. CBSA invoiced us for the GST on the items. Now we entered the CBSA-GST as a separate bill and attached it as landed cost to the main invoice based on

• Next Page