Extension Pointers #8: Handling real-time data updates between Zoho CRM and third-party applications using webhooks
A webhook is a web callback triggered by a specific event to provide real-time data updates between applications.
How does a webhook work?
Webhooks help enhance the connection between two applications. When an event occurs in a web application that implements a webhook, the webhook notices the event, serializes and collects the data, and posts the data to the URL configured in the form of a HTTP request.
You can implement either an inbound webhook or an outbound webhook. If an event triggered in your Zoho CRM account causes an action in a third-party application, it is called as an outbound webhook (going from your application to a third-party application) and the opposite is called an inbound webhook (incoming to your application from the third-party application).
How functions play a role in implementing webhooks
If Zoho CRM should be notified when a particular event occurs at the third-party end, you can create webhooks to post a callback on the occurrence of that event. In order to implement this, you need to define a function in your extension that can be triggered from the third-party application. Unlike standard functions, REST API functions can be triggered from anywhere (either from an extension or a third-party application) and thus help with timely interaction.
Webhook URLs and how to obtain them
You need to create a webhook and subscribe to events for real-time updates between applications. In order to create a webhook, a webhook URL is required. By subscribing your own webhook URL, you can customize, extend and integrate it with other third-party applications, facilitating instant web notifications.
The REST API functions/Standalone deluge functions can be written and exposed as REST APIs. The API names of these functions can be used as the webhook URL while creating your webhook.
In this post, we'll look at the basic steps on how to create an inbound webhook, where a third-party application event triggers a post-data action to your Zoho CRM account.
Note: The term "event" here refers only to the events supported by the third-party application, which you can subscribe during the creation of a webhook.
The steps to achieve this functionality while building your extension are:
➤ Establish a connection with your selected third-party application.
➤ Define a REST API function, to handle the response from the third party application.
➤ Subscribe the webhook URL of the REST API function with the third-party application.
Establishing connection with the third-party application
1. Before proceeding with implementation, it is important to check whether the third-party application supports webhooks. Establish a connection between Zoho CRM and the third-party application using the authentication methods supported by the application. You can learn more about the authentication methods for developing third-party integrations here.
2. If the method of user authentication supported by the third-party application is
- OAuth- use connectors to establish the connection
- API key forms- use custom variables to establish the connection
3. Define the third-party application's API to create a webhook with the required parameters specified by the third-party application.
Note: The subscription URL is termed in different ways by each application and is an important parameter to be noted while creating webhooks. In order to send the response to Zoho CRM, the third-party applications require a URL to perform HTTP POST request from their end. The following section defines the steps required to obtain this URL.
Defining a REST API function and obtaining a webhook URL
After establishing the connection, the next step is to define a REST API function that can be invoked by the third-party application whenever a subscribed event occurs in the third-party application.
2. Choose Functions under Automate from the left panel of the Zoho Developer console under Build, then click New Function.
3. Enter the name of the function. Choose Yes for the Invoke as REST API option to create the function as a REST API function.
4. The crmAPIRequest argument of the function is categorized as Map type by default. The entire request object is mapped automatically to the crmAPIRequest argument and holds the response from the third-party when the trigger event occurs.
5. The input for the function can be acquired from the following types:
| Component | Format | Value fetched using component of crmAPIRequest |
| body | request_body = crmAPIRequest.get("body"); | Content that is passed as a stream to the request |
| params | parameters = crmAPIRequest.get("params"); | Key-value pair or as JSON object to the request |
| file_content | filecontent = crmAPIRequest.get("file_content"); | File content passed to the request |
| user_info | user_info = crmAPIRequest.get("user_info"); | Information about the user |
| method | method = crmAPIRequest.get("method"); | HTTP method name in the request |
| auth_type | authtype = crmAPIRequest.get("auth_type"); | The name of the Authentication method(API key) |
| headers | headers = crmAPIRequest.get("headers"); | Additional information of the request available in the header |
6. The default return type of a Rest API function version 2.0 is a string. You can choose to return the response as a string or use the response object crmAPIResponse to define the following specifications of the response:
Specification key | Default value |
status_code | 200 |
Content-Type | application/json;charset=utf-8 |
headers | {"Content-Disposition", "attachment;filename=response.json"} |
body | empty |
7. When you have finished defining the REST API code, click Invoke as the REST API button.
8. The URLs to invoke the function will be displayed and are termed as webhook URLs, which will be used for subscribing the function with the third-party.
Unlike the sandbox URL provided with a predefined ZAPI key, the production URL requires the value of the user's ZAPI key.
Why ZAPI key?
For authentication purposes, the REST API functions use API keys as the method of authentication. It requires the value of the ZAPI key in order to authenticate a user.
Code snippet to obtain ZAPI Key
m = {"nameSpace":"<portal_name.extension_namespace>"}; apikeyresp = zoho.crm.invokeConnector("crm.zapikey",m); zapikey = apikeyresp.get("response"); |
9. The ZAPI key value can be passed in the Production URL, which will serve as a webhook URL to subscribe a webhook and invoke this function.
Creating and subscribing a webhook
➤ REST API functions can be triggered from a third-party application only when it is subscribed with that application while creating an inbound webhook.
➤ The webhook URL mentioned in the previous section will serve as the subscription URL while creating the webhook.
By following these steps, you can implement webhooks for third-party integrations using REST API functions. In our upcoming post, we'll look at a working example depicting this process.
We hope you found this guide helpful in creating and using custom webhooks to link your Zoho CRM account to third-party applications.For tips and guides like this, keep following this community forum.
SEE ALSO
Access your files securely from anywhere
New to Zoho Recruit?
Zoho Developer Community
New to Zoho LandingPage?
Zoho LandingPage Resources
New to Zoho Survey?
New to Zoho CRM Plus?
Deliver unforgettable customer experiences
New to Zoho CRM Plus?
Deliver unforgettable customer experiences
New to Zoho Marketing Plus?
Everything you need to run your marketing
New to Zoho Marketing Plus?
Everything you need to run your marketing
New to Bigin?
Topic Participants
Nanditha Somasundaram Somasundaram
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 FAQsKaizen #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
New to Zoho TeamInbox?
Zoho TeamInbox Resources
Zoho CRM Plus Resources
Zoho Books Resources
Zoho Subscriptions Resources
Zoho Projects Resources
Zoho Sprints Resources
Qntrl Resources
Zoho Creator Resources
Zoho CRM Resources
Design. Discuss. Deliver.
Zoho Show Resources
Get Started. Write Away!
Writer is a powerful online word processor, designed for collaborative work.
Zoho CRM コンテンツ
-
オンラインヘルプ
-
Webセミナー
-
機能活用動画
-
よくある質問
-
Ebook
-
-
Zoho Campaigns
- Zoho サービスのWebセミナー
その他のサービス コンテンツ
Nederlandse Hulpbronnen
ご検討中の方
Recent Topics
COQL order by COUNT not working
Dear community, I am trying to get a list of deal amounts per planner working on it and sorted to get see who has the least amount of deals. For some reason, I am unable to use sort by in combination with a COUNT. My original code was: query = "selectI want to duplicate a report and name it something else
Hi, I have created a report, and now want to reproduce it and call it something else. so that I will end up with TWO separate reports with different titles. Please tell me how do I copy / reproduce a report pleaseZoho CRM: Sales Rep Professional Certification Program on Coursera
We are happy to share that we have published the Zoho Sales Representative Professional Certificate in partnership with Coursera, a leading platform for online learning and career development that offers access to courses and degrees from leading universitiesOS X Notebook quits immediately upon launch
NoteBook for OS X (Sequoia, but also under Sonoma) always quits immediately upon launch (so I cannot use the "Attach user log" option). I've restarted my MacBook but the problem persists. If it helps, attached is a diagnostic report from Library>LogCan External users upload files or images to WorkDrive?
I want to know if it is possible for someone externally through a link and PW be able to upload files and images onto WorkDrive?Multi-line fields character limits
Is there a way to set the character limit higher on multi-line fields so that we are not losing information pasted into the field? When the text is entered or pasted, there is no error to say that the text is too large. After saving and going back to view most of the text is gone. Also, when viewing the resume, the text is not wrapped in the multi line fields and can t be read without scrolling across the page.Taz bot not working — What should I do to resolve this issue?
I am experiencing issues with the Taz bot in Zoho Cliq—not receiving responses or it does not seem to work as expected. Could you please explain why the Taz bot might not be functioning and what steps I should take to resolve this issue? Thank you!Zoho Calendar soft bounce on @hotmail.com and @yahoo.com email addresses
Hello, our Zoho calendar recently does not send the calendar invites to emails with hotmail and yahoo domains and comes back with a "soft bounce". other domains like Gmail works fine. Also sending "email" to the same emails to the above domains work wellOneNote Migration
I am trying to migrate two notebooks from OneNote. For five days now I have had no notification that migration has completed and the migration page show 50% complete - one notebook completed one not finished. It just stays like this. I am unable to cancelSet various time slot reminders for task and event
Hi I would like known if there is possibility to set various time reminders for a task or event like we have the possibility to do in google calendar or google task. For example I'am creating an event or task and I want to be alerted before 30min andis it possible to add more than one Whatsapp Phone Number to be integrated to Zoho CRM?
so I have successfully added one Whatsapp number like this from this User Interface it seems I can't add a new Whatsapp Number. I need to add a new Whatsapp Number so I can control the lead assignment if a chat sent to Whatsapp Phone Number 1 then assignZoho Calendar not functioning---cannot edit, add attendees, etc.
Hello, My calendar is acting strange. I'm using Chrome as my browser and pop ups are not blocked (the calendar worked fine yesterday). When creating an event, I'm not able to "edit" the event and add attendees, etc. The link is non-responsive. I cannotSpilt Axis for stacked column and line graph
Each month around this time I prepare a business review deck. One of the biggest annoyances I have with Zoho, also happens to be something that most other platforms have provided for a long time now, and that is being able to create a chart with stackedPin a note on top
Dear Zoho Notebook Team, Please highly consider adding ability to pin a note on top and arrange pinned notes. I have a lot of notes that I want to pin important ones on top and this feature is missing badly. Thank you.Windows 11 app ver 2.2.8
I have been trialing Zoho Notes syncing between my PC and iphone. No problems with iphone but the Windows 64 bit app ver 2.2.8 was very buggy and would lock up completely, needing a Control Alt Delete etc to close it down. It seemed to be connected toDeluge Script: Onboarding → Access Form
Hello everyone, Edit: Sorry, I think I put this topic in the wrong section. I’ve recently run into an issue that’s been giving me a bit of a headache for the past few weeks. Context: This is my first time using Deluge to create a script, but it’s notZOHO BOOKS - EXCESSIVELY SLOW TODAY
Dear Zoho Books This is not the first time but it seems to be 3 times per week now that the system is extremely slow. I work on Zoho Books 95% of my day so this is very frustrating. Zoho you need to do something about this. I have had my IT guy checkWindows Device Authentication
We have recently started using ManageEngine, and my boss saw a device management feature in the Zoho One directory. We thought it would either help give us more intergration into Zoho one through bringing ManageEngine services through Zoho one. Or, itHow can I change spell check language?
I cannot find the way to change spell check language. My "display language" is English, and I want to have the same one for Spell Check, but it is Russian!!! How can I change it? In one of your explanations you mentioned that I have to choose it fromMail is so slow - doesn't even work!
Mail has been getting slower and slower - and today it's not even pulling up emails in either Inbox or Unread. This is beyond frustrating since email is a big part of business. Sent a request through the useless help portal - no response. Called the uselessUser marked as SPAMMER. Mail Fetch has also been disabled for any active POP accounts.
I am the administrator for joelles.com One of our accounts has been blocked saying this: User marked as SPAMMER. Mail Fetch has also been disabled for any active POP accounts. I cannot change the disabled account in the control panel as it says that itMy domain did not activate
Hi, my domain (apsaindustrial.com.ar) did not activate, and the phone verification message never arrived. Please would you solve this problem? Thanks.ME SALE ESTE ERROR: No fue posible enviar el mensaje;Motivo:554 5.1.8 Email Outgoing Blocked
Ayuda!! Me sale este error al intentar enviar mensajes desde mi correo electronico de Zoho! Tampoco recibo correos pues cuando me envia rebotan. Ayuda, Me urge enviar unos correo importantes!! Quedo atenta MAGDA HERNANDEZ +5731120888408Is there a way to sync Tags between CRM and Campaigns/Marketing Hub?
I wonder if there is a way to synch the tags between CRM and Marketing-Hub / Campaigns?how to see if a specific contact opened an email in zoho campaign?
how to see if a specific contact opened an email in zoho campaign?Rich Text For Notes in Zoho CRM
Hello everyone, As you know, notes are essential for recording information and ensuring smooth communication across your records. With our latest update, you can now use Rich Text formatting to organize and structure your notes more efficiently. By usingRevenue Management: #8 Revenue Recognition in Educational & Training Institutions
Educational Institutions and training centres typically collect course fees at the time of enrolment, sometimes for a one-day workshop and sometimes for a year-long certification course. You might also charge separately for course materials or evaluation.How to Customize Task Creation to Send a Custom Alert Using JavaScript in Zoho CRM?
Hello Zoho CRM Community, I’m looking to customize Zoho CRM to send a custom alert whenever a task is created. I understand that Zoho CRM supports client scripts using JavaScript, and I would like to leverage this feature to implement the alert functionality.how to use validation rules in subform
Is it possible to use validation rules for subforms? I tried the following code: entityMap = crmAPIRequest.toMap().get("record"); sum = 0; direct_billing = entityMap.get("direct_billing_details"); response = Map(); for each i in direct_billing { if(i.get("type")Using files from Zoho CRM in Gemini/ChatGPT/Claude
Hi all, I’ve got subscriptions to Gemini and a few other AI tools which I use for tasks like data enrichment, email composition, etc. In our workflow, we often receive various documents from clients — such as process workflows, BRDs/requirement documentsEnhancements to the formula field in Zoho CRM: Auto-refresh formulas with the "Now" function, stop formula executions based on criteria, and include formulas within formulas
Dear Customers, We hope you're well! By their nature, modern businesses rely every day on computations, whether it's to calculate the price of a product, assess ROI, evaluate the lifetime value of a customer, or even determine the age of a record. WithMaximum file limit in zoho people LMS
Dear Team, I am having approximately 4.9 GB of material, including PPTs and videos for uploading in zoho people LMS course. May I know what is the maximum limit limit for the course files Thanking you, With regards, Logeswar V Executive _ OperationsDisplaying related quotes in sales order and back
Hi, My colleague liked to see to which sales orders, the quote has been converted. Quote shows Invoices, but not SO. Same, they would like to see the quotes in the sales order, as they can see invoices, packages, shipment, How can we achieve this ? Thankautomations: Can I execute a step on a specific date?
I have created a form in Zoho forms, and created a contacts list. I have also begun setting up an automation with the intention of sending the form to the contact list on a specific date every month (via email) for the entire year (essentially sendingDynamically prefill ticket fields
Hello, I am using Zoho Desk to collect tickets of our clients about orders they placed on our website. I would like to be able to prefill two tickets fields dynamically, in this case a readonly field for the order id, and a hidden field for the sellerOptimize your Knowledge Base for better visibility by allowing search engine crawling and indexing
All you need to know about no-follow and no-index in KB. What are article crawlability and indexability? Crawlability and indexability are vital for making an article visible and accessible to search engines. When a search engine crawls an article, itHas anyone created a public ASAP Guide that I can check out?
I am thinking of adding an ASAP guide to my web application, but I have noticed that the ASAP widget itself can be really slow to load sometimes. Has anyone created a public ASAP Guide that I can check to see how performant it is? I don't want to spendZoho Desk Partners with Microsoft's M365 Copilot for seamless customer service experiences
Hello Zoho Desk users, We are happy to announce that Zoho Desk has partnered with Microsoft's M365 to empower customer service teams with enhanced capabilities and seamless experiences for agents. Microsoft announced their partnership during their keynoteWhat’s New in Zoho Analytics – September 2025
Hello Users!! In this month’s update, we’re raising the bar across multiple touchpoints, from how you bring in data, plan and track projects to how you design and brand your dashboards. We’ve added the all-new Gantt chart for project visualization, expandedZoho MCP has no tools for Creator or 3rd Party Apps?
I don't see a Zoho MCP community forum so putting this here. Two big problems I see: 1) Although Zoho advertises "over 950 3rd party apps" as available through their MCP, when I go to "Add Tools" there are ZERO 3rd party apps available to choose from.Next Page