Kaizen #116 - Client Types in Zoho API Console

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.


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!

    • 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

    • Update application by uploading an updated DS file

      Is it possible? I have been working with AI on my desktop improving my application, and I have to keep copy pasting stuff... Would it be possible to import the DS file on top of an existing application to update the app accordingly?

    • Markdown support, code cells...

      Hi Zoho I'd like to vote for a feature that markdown is supported with: Headings Code highlighting Quoteblocks ... Furthermore a inline card(like inline sketch card) for special text like Code would be great. And just to add my vote as well for "Tags"!

    • Minimise chat when user navigates to new page

      When the user is in an active chat (chatbot) and is provide with an internal link, when they click the link to go to the internal page the chat opens again. This is not a good user experience. They have been sent the link to read what is on the page.

    • How do I fix this? Unable to send message; Reason:554 5.1.8 Email Outgoing Blocked.

      How do I fix this? Unable to send message; Reason:554 5.1.8 Email Outgoing Blocked.

    • Reports: Custom Search Function Fields

      Hi Zoho, Hope you'll add this into your roadmap. Issue: For the past 2yrs our global team been complaining and was brought to our attention recently that it's a time consuming process looking/scrolling down. Use-case: This form is a service report with

    • Zoho Projects app update: Voice notes for Tasks and Bugs module

      Hello everyone! In the latest version(v3.9.37) of the Zoho Projects Android app update, we have introduced voice notes for the Tasks and Bugs module. The voice notes can be added as an attachment or can be transcribed into text. Recording and attaching

    • zurl URL shortener Not working in Zoho social

      zurl URL shortener Not working in while creating a post in Zoho social

    • In the Zoho CRM Module I have TRN Field I should contain 15 digit Number , If it Contain less than 15 digit Then show Alert message on save of the button , If it not contain any number not want to sh

      Hi In the Zoho CRM Module I have TRN Field I should contain 15 digit Number , If it Contain less than 15 digit Then show Alert message on save of the button , If it not contain any number not want to show alert. How We can achive in Zoho CRm Using custom

    • Power of Automation::Streamline log hours to work hours upon task completion.

      Hello Everyone, A Custom Function is a user-written set of code to achieve a specific requirement. Set the required conditions needed as to when to trigger using the Workflow rules (be it Tasks / Project) and associate the custom function to it. Requirement:-

    • Zoho Bookings know-how: A hands-on workshop series

      Hello! We’re conducting a hands-on workshop series to help simplify appointment scheduling for your business with Zoho Bookings. We’ll be covering various functionalities and showing how you can leverage them for your business across five different sessions.

    • Custom report

      Hello Everyone I hope everything is fine. I've tried to To change the layout of the reports, especially the summary page report, and I want to divide summary of each section in the survey but I can't For example: I have a survey containing five different

    • Zoho Journey - ZOHO MARKETING AUTOMATION

      I’ve encountered an issue while working with a journey in Zoho Marketing Automation. After creating the journey, I wanted to edit the "Match Criteria" settings. Unfortunately: The criteria section appears to be locked and not editable. I’m also unable

    • Custom Fields in PDF outputs

      I created a couple of custom fields. e.g Country of Origin and HS Tariff Code. I need these to appear on a clone of a sales order PDF template but on on the standard PDF template. When I select "appear on PDFs' it appears on both but when I don't select

    • How to create a Service Agreement with Quarterly Estimate

      Hello, I'm not sure if this has been asked before so please don't get mad at me for asking. We're an NDIS provider in Australia so we need to draft a Service Agreement for our client. With the recent changes in the NDIS we're now required to also include

    • Change Currency symbol

      I would like to change the way our currency displays when printed on quotes, invoices and purchase orders. Currently, we have Australian Dollars AUD as our Home Currency. The only two symbol choices available for this currency are "AU $" or "AUD". I would

    • Zoho Social - Post Footer Templates

      As a content creator I often want to include some information at the end of most posts. It would be great if there was an option to add pre-written footers, similar to the Hashtag Groups at the end of posts. For example, if there is an offer I'm running

    • Allow to pick color for project groups in Zoho Projects

      Hi Zoho Team, It would be really helpful if users could assign colors to project groups. This would make it easier to visually distinguish groups, improve navigation, and give a clearer overview when managing multiple projects. Thanks for considering

    • Zoho Books - Quotes to Sales Order Automation

      Hi Books team, In the Quote settings there is an option to convert a Quote to an Invoice upon acceptance, but there is not feature to convert a Quote to a Sales Order (see screenshot below) For users selling products through Zoho Inventory, the workflow

    • Can't find imported leads

      Hi There I have imported leads into the CRM via a .xls document, and the import is showing up as having been successful, however - when I try and locate the leads in the CRM system, I cannot find them.  1. There are no filters applied  2. They are not

    • Custom Button Disappearing in mobile view | Zoho CRM Canvas

      I'm working in Zoho CRM Canvas to create a custom view for our sales team. One of the features I'm adding is a custom button that opens the leads address in another tab. I've had no issue with this in the desktop view, but in the mobile view the button

    • The connected workflow is a great idea just needs Projects Integrations

      I just discovered the connected workflows in CRM and its a Great Idea i wish it was integrated with Zoho Projects I will explain our use case I am already trying to do something like connected workflow with zoho flow Our requirement was to Create a Task

    • Zoho Projects MCP Feedback

      I've started using the MCP connector with Zoho Projects, and the features that exist really do work quite well - I feel this is going to be a major update to the Zoho Ecosystem. In projects a major missing feature is the ability to manage, (especially

    • Function #10: Update item prices automatically based on the last transaction created

      In businesses, item prices are not always fixed and can fluctuate due to various factors. If you find yourself manually adjusting the item rates every time they change, we have the ideal time-saving solution for you. In today's post, we bring you custom

    • email template

      How do I create and save an email template

    • Enhancements in Portal User Group creation flow

      Hello everyone, Before introducing new Portal features, here are some changes to the UI of Portals page to improve the user experience. Some tabs and options have been repositioned so that users can better access the functionalities of the feature. From

    • How do I filter contacts by account parameters?

      Need to filter a contact view according to account parameter, eg account type. Without this filter users are overwhelmed with irrelevant contacts. Workaround is to create a custom 'Contact Type' field but this unbearable duplicity as the information already

    • Can I add Conditional merge tags on my Templates?

      Hi I was wondering if I can use Conditional Mail Merge tags inside my Email templates/Quotes etc within the CRM? In spanish and in our business we use gender and academic degree salutations , ie: Dr., Dra., Sr., Srta., so the beginning of an email / letter

    • email moderation issue when email is sent in the name of a mail group

      Symptom: an email that is sent by a mail group moderator in the name of a moderated mail group is held back for approval. Reproduction: Create a moderated mail group with members and moderators. Allow that mails can be sent in the name of the group (extended settings). Send an email to the group as a group moderator, but in the name of the group. This mail is held back for moderation which is unexpected. Expected: A mail sent by group moderator to a moderated group are not held back for moderation

    • blank page after login

      blank page after logging into my email account Thanks you

    • Always display images from this sender – Is this feature available?

      In Zoho mail, I had my "Load external images" setting set to "Ask me", and that's fine. That's the setting I prefer. What's not fine though is I always need to tick "Display now" for each email I get, regardless if I've done that multiple times from several

    • Function #9: Copy attachments of Sales Order to Purchase Order on conversion

      This week, we have written a custom function that automatically copies the attachments uploaded for a sales order to the corresponding purchase order after you convert it. Here's how to configure it in your Zoho Books organization. Custom Function: Hit

    • Free webinar: Security that works: Building resilience for the AI-powered workforce

      Hello there, Did you know that more than 51% of organizations worldwide have experienced one or more security breaches, each costing over $1 million in losses or incident response? In today’s threat landscape, simply playing defense is no longer enough.

    • "Subject" or "Narration"in Customer Statement

      Dear Sir, While creating invoice, we are giving in "Subject" the purpose of invoice. For Example - "GST for the month of Aug 23", IT return FY 22-23", "Consultancy", Internal Audit for May 23". But this subject is not coming in Customer Statement. Only

    • Apply Vendor Credit Automatically

      Hello!!! Is there a way where in we can apply vendor credits automatically on the FIRST OUTSTANDING BILL of the vendor?? We have lots of VENDOR CREDITS ISSUES mostly!!! Applying it manually is a pain for us. Would be great if we have a way to apply the

    • Zoho Notebook Sync problem

      I'm facing a problem with syncing of notebook on android app. It's not syncing. Sometimes it syncs after a day or two.  I created some notes on web notebook but it's not syncing on mobile app. Please help!!!!

    • Apply Vendor Credits Automatically

      We are bulk importing Vendor credits in Zoho Books!!! Is there a way to apply vendor credits automatically to the first UNPAID bill of the Vendor?

    • Cant Save Gauge on Creator Page

      How to Save Gauge on Creator Page see movie https://vimeo.com/1116410860?share=copy#t=0

    • Apply Advance option not shown in report

      We are facing an issue in Zoho Expenses. While approving an Expense Report, the "Apply Advance" option is not appearing under the three dots (More Options). Details: Module: Expense Reports Issue: "Apply Advance" option not visible Status of Report: Awaiting

    • Auto Capitalize First Letter of Words

      Hi I am completely new to ZOHO and am trying to build a database. How can i make it when a address is entered into a form field like this: main st it automatically changes is to show: Main St Thank You

    • Follow-up emails via Workflow Automation not staying in the same thread

      Dear Zoho Support Team, I am currently using Workflow Automation in Zoho Campaigns to send follow-up emails. In my test case, I noticed the following behavior: All emails in the automation have the same subject line. If the follow-up email is sent within

    • Next Page