Kaizen #15 - Java SDK for Self Client
Hello everyone!
Welcome to yet another post in the Kaizen series.
This week, we are going to discuss the Java SDK for a self client .
What is a Software Development Kit (SDK)?
A software development kit contains all the tools (compiler, debugger, code samples, and so on) that are needed to create applications in one package. SDKs are language-specific and thus used to build client applications in a specific programming language.
Java Software Development Kit
Java SDK allows you to create a client Java applications that can be integrated with Zoho CRM effortlessly. It serves as a wrapper for the REST APIs , thus making it easier to use the services of Zoho CRM.
Here is a sample of how SDK acts as a middleware between Zoho CRM and Client Java Application.
What can you do with the Java Software Development Kit?
- You can use Java SDK to exchange data between Zoho CRM and the client Java application.
- The authentication process becomes hassle-free with Java SDK. Since it is handled in the SDK code by default, you need not worry about generating the grant token, access/refresh tokens every time you sync data between Zoho CRM and your self client.
Environment Setup
Java SDK requires Java version 7 or above to be set up in your development environment.
Including the Java SDK in your project
You can include the Java SDK in your project using:
a. Maven distribution
b. Gradle
c. Downloadable JARs
a. Maven distribution - It is a build automation tool used primarily for Java projects. Include the following code to your pom.XML file.
<repositories> <repository> <id>java-sdk</id> <url> https://maven.zohodl.com </url> </repository> </repositories> <dependencies> <dependency> <groupId>com.zoho.crm</groupId> <artifactId>java-sdk</artifactId> <version>2.0.2</version> </dependency> </dependencies> |
b. Gradle - It is also a build tool, similar to Maven. The major difference is that, instead of XML files, Gradle uses Groovy (a domain-specific programming language) to declare the Java project configuration. You need to add the following code to your build.gradle file.
repositories{ maven { url " https://maven.zohodl.com " } } dependencies{ implementation 'com.zoho.crm:java-sdk:2.0.2' } |
c. Downloadable JARs (by Zoho) - Java Archive is a platform-independent file format that aggregates many files into one. The JAR file consists of the SDK. You have to download individual dependency JARs and add them to your reference libraries in your Java application: Download JAR (SDK)
Click here to download the dependency JARs.
The list of dependency JARs are:
- hamcrest-all-1.3 : Hamcrest consists of a single jar file that contains base classes and a library of useful matcher implementations.
- httpclient-4.4.1 : The Apache HttpClient library allows you to handle HTTP requests.
- httpcore-4.4.4 : HttpCore is a set of low-level HTTP transport components that you can use to build custom client and server-side HTTP services.
- httpmime-4.5.3 : The Apache HttpMime library consists of MIME code entities.
- json-20170516 : The files in this package implement JSON encoders/decoders in Java. It also includes the capability to convert between JSON and XML, HTTP headers, Cookies, and CDL.
- servlet-api-2.5 : Servlet API consists of classes to support HTTP servlet.
- commons-logging-1.1.3 : The commons-logging JAR provides an API for logging in server-based applications that you can use around a variety of different logging implementations.
- mysql-connector-java-5.1.44-bin.jar : You need to include this JAR if you are using a MySQL database. MySQL Connector JAR provides connectivity for java client applications with MySQL Connector (a driver that implements the Java Database Connectivity (JDBC) API)
How to start using the Java SDK?
In this section, we will discuss how to start using the Java SDK for your application (authenticated via self-client) which uses Zoho CRM.
- Prerequisite: Register your application
- Knowlege Base: Adding persistence classes
- Initialization
1. Prerequisite: Register your application
All the Zoho CRM APIs are authenticated by the OAuth2.0 standards . It is mandatory to authenticate the self client with Zoho.
Step 1: Goto https://api-console.zoho.com
Step 2: Click ADD CLIENT
Step 3: Choose Self Client and click CREATE NOW
Step 4: Choose the Client Type as Self Client , and click CREATE .
Step 5: Once you successfully register your self-client, you will receive a Client ID and Client Secret .
2. Knowledge Base: Adding persistence classes
This section consists of two parts:
a. Initializing your client application
b. Adding persistence classes
a. Initializing your client application
To authenticate the client application, you need to add the following key-value configuration pairs to the initialization code of your java client.
Key Description
Key | Description |
client_id, client_secret, and redirect_uri mandatory | You can get these values after registering your client. |
currentUserEmail mandatory | The Email ID of the current user. |
persistence_handler_class mandatory | The implementation of ZohoOAuthPersistenceInterface |
logFilePath optional | The absolute/relative file path of the file that stores the logs. |
domainSuffix optional | The domain from which the API calls are made. It can be .com (for US), .eu (for Europe), .cn (for China). If you specify this value, you need not specify apiBaseUrl and iamURL. |
accessType optional | The type of environment from which the API calls are made. Possible values are "Production", "Development", or "Sandbox" |
access_type optional | Must be set as as "offline". Online OAuth client is not supported by the Java SDK as of now |
apiBaseUrl optional | The URL that is used to make API calls. You need not specify this value if you give domainSuffix. The possible values are: https://www.zohoapis.com (default) |
iamURL optional | The accounts URL. You need not specify this value if you specify domainSuffix. The possible values are: |
mysql_password and mysql_username mandatory when you use MySQL persistence | The MySQL username and password, respectively. |
Key Value Configuration
HashMap <String, String> zcrmConfigurations = new HashMap <String, String >(); zcrmConfigurations.put("minLogLevel", "ALL"); zcrmConfigurations.put("currentUserEmail","{user_email_id}"); zcrmConfigurations.put("client_id","1000. xxxxxxxxx"); zcrmConfigurations.put("client_secret","xxxxxxxxxxxx"); zcrmConfigurations.put("redirect_uri",""); zcrmConfigurations.put("persistence_handler_class","com.zoho.oauth.clientapp.ZohoOAuthDBPersistence ");//for database. "com.zoho.oauth.clientapp.ZohoOAuthFilePersistence" for file, user can implement his own persistence and provide the path here zcrmConfigurations.put("oauth_tokens_file_path","/path/to/oauthtokens.properties");//optional path can be absolute(Ex:/User/Document/testapplication/src/oauthtokens.properties) or relative (Ex: /testapplication/src/oauthtokens.properties) zcrmConfigurations.put("domainSuffix","com");//optional. Default is com. "cn", "eu", and "in" supported zcrmConfigurations.put("accessType","Production");//Production->www(default), Development->developer, Sandbox->sandbox(optional) zcrmConfigurations.put("access_type","offline");//optional zcrmConfigurations.put("apiBaseUrl"," https://www.zohoapis.com ");//optional zcrmConfigurations.put("iamURL"," https://accounts.zoho.com ");//optional zcrmConfigurations.put("logFilePath","/path/to/file.log");//path can be absolute(Ex:/User/Document/testapplication/src/file.log) or relative (Ex: /testapplication/src/file.log) zcrmConfigurations.put("mysql_password","pass@123");//optional zcrmConfigurations.put("mysql_username",username");//optional ZCRMRestClient.initialize(zcrmConfigurations);//for initializing |
2. Adding persistence class
Your application should retain tokens (grant, access, and refresh tokens) to automate the process of data-sync between your java application and Zoho CRM.
You can persist tokens in your application by using any one of the below mentioned persistence methods:
a. By using an implementation of the inbuilt ZohoPersistenceHandler interface .
- ZohoOAuthFilePersistence (To store tokens in a File )
- ZohoOAuthDBPersistence (To store tokens in a Database )
b. By using your own implementation
Let us now look into each of the above mentioned methods.
a. By using an implementation of the inbuilt ZohoPersistenceHandler interface
Our Java SDK provides two default implementations of the ZohoPersistenceHandler interface within the client library. They are:
i. ZohoOAuthFilePersistence
ii. ZohoOAuthDBPersistence
i. ZohoOAuthFilePersistence - This type of persistence uses a file to read and write OAuth tokens. The file persists the token of a single user. So, it is best used for the 'self-client' type of authentication since it involves only one user.
Values to be given in configuration map
persistence_handler_class =com.zoho.oauth.clientapp.ZohoOAuthFilePersistence
oauth_tokens_file_path =absolute or relative path of the "oauthtokens.properties" file in the workspace.
ii. ZohoOAuthDBPersistence - This type of persistence uses MySQL persistence. You can use this type of persistence if you have more than one user using the application.
Some of the prerequisites for using this type of persistence are:
- MySQL should be running in the same machine serving at the default port 3306.
- The database name should be "zohooauth".
There must be a table "oauthtokens" with the columns "useridentifier" (varchar(255)), "accesstoken" (varchar(255)), "refreshtoken" (varchar(255)) and "expirytime" (bigint).
Values to be given in configuration map
persistence_handler_class =com.zoho.oauth.clientapp.ZohoOAuthDBPersistence
mysql_username =root
mysql_password ={your MySQL password}
b. By using your own implementation
You can also use your own implementation. The ZohoPersistenceHandler interface must have the following methods:
- getOAuthTokens() — invoked to fetch the saved tokens. This method should return ZohoOAuthTokens object for the library to process it.
- saveOAuthData(ZohoOAuthTokens tokens) — invoked to store the tokens.
- deleteOAuthTokens() — invoked to delete the tokens.
C. Initialization
Intializing your application involves the following steps:
Step 1: Generating the grant token
Step 2: Generating the access and refresh tokens using the grant token
Step 3: Generating the access token using the refresh token
Step 1: Generating the Grant Token
(i). Go to https://api-console.zoho.com/
(ii). Choose Self-Client
(iii). Enter the comma separated ZohoCRM scopes along with aaaserver.profile.READ . Choose the time duration (the grant token will be valid only till the time chosen here) and enter the description . Now, click GENERATE.
(iii). Copy the grant token displayed
Step 2: Generating the Access and Refresh Tokens
After obtaining the grant token, put the following code snippet in a java file and execute it from your main class to get access and refresh tokens.
ZCRMRestClient.initialize(configurations_map); ZohoOAuthClient cli = ZohoOAuthClient.getInstance(); String grantToken = “paste_the_self_authorized_grant_token_here”; ZohoOAuthTokens tokens = cli.generateAccessToken(grantToken); String accessToken = tokens.getAccessToken(); String refreshToken = tokens.getRefreshToken(); System.out.println("access token = " + accessToken + " & refresh token = " + refreshToken); |
2a. On using ZohoOAuthFilePersistence method
The access and refresh tokens are generated and stored in the oauth_tokens.properties file .
2b. On using ZohoOAuthDBPersistence method
The access and refresh tokens are generated and stored in " oauthtokens " table of your MySQL
Step 3: Generating the Access token from Refresh token
Use the below code snippet to generate the access token from the refresh token.
ZohoOAuthClient client = ZohoOAuthClient.getInstance(); client.generateAccessTokenFromRefreshToken(refreshToken, userMailId); |
Sample SDK Code
When you build your application using the Java SDK, the code template will be similar to:
Refer to the attachment to get the code. For more sample codes, refer to our SDK guide .
The isTokenGenerated Method:
This method checks if the access token has already been generated or not. It returns a boolean value:
true - The access token has already been generated.
false - The access token has not been generated previously, thus, it shifts the control to the code snippet that leads to access token generation.
See you next week with another post.
Cheers!
Previous 'Kaizen' - Notification API
Next 'Kaizen' - Python SDK
Access your files securely from anywhere
Centralize Knowledge. Transform Learning.
All-in-one knowledge management and training platform for your employees and customers.
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
Sneha Sridharan
Umashankar
Praveen Sankar
Sticky Posts
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.Kaizen #226: Using ZRC in Client Script
Hello everyone! Welcome to another week of Kaizen. In today's post, lets see what is ZRC (Zoho Request Client) and how we can use ZRC methods in Client Script to get inputs from a Salesperson and update the Lead status with a single button click. In thisKaizen #222 - Client Script Support for Notes Related List
Hello everyone! Welcome to another week of Kaizen. The final Kaizen post of the year 2025 is here! With the new Client Script support for the Notes Related List, you can validate, enrich, and manage notes across modules. In this post, we’ll explore howKaizen #217 - Actions APIs : Tasks
Welcome to another week of Kaizen! In last week's post we discussed Email Notifications APIs which act as the link between your Workflow automations and you. We have discussed how Zylker Cloud Services uses Email Notifications API in their custom dashboard.Kaizen #216 - Actions APIs : Email Notifications
Welcome to another week of Kaizen! For the last three weeks, we have been discussing Zylker's workflows. We successfully updated a dormant workflow, built a new one from the ground up and more. But our work is not finished—these automated processes are
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
Disable payment thank-you emails
Hello, can someone please tell me how to disable sending of the "Payment Thank-You" emails?Internal Fillable Contract with Zoho Writer (Before Sending to Client)
Hi everyone, I’m trying to automate the following process in Zoho CRM and would appreciate some guidance. Process: When a Deal moves to a specific stage, CRM triggers an automation. CRM sends a contract template to an internal team member so they canHow to backdate record payment for the invoice
I would like to record a payment which happened 2 days ago, but I am not able to select any date later than today. I backdated the invoice, too, but it doesn't change anythingHelp with deluge script
Hi Community, this is my first Deluge script. I've pieced it together from reading various articles I want to use it in a workflow to 1 Convert a lead to a contact 2. Create a record in a custom module Below is what I have got so far but it does not fireMarketer's Space: Why email authentication matters in Zoho Campaigns
Welcome back to another post in Marketer's Space! If you've recently started using Zoho Campaigns, you've probably come across terms like SPF and DKIM. You may have also noticed emails that show "via zcsend.net" in Gmail when testing or sending campaigns.Feature Request: "Send Invitation" Toggle for Events
I am writing to request a critical "Quality of Life" update for the Activities module. Currently, adding people to the Participants field in an Event triggers an automatic email invitation/acceptance tracking with no way to opt-out. For general eventsEdit email address that appears on invoice
Hi How do I change the email address that appears on invoices, it is showing the email address that i used to sign up to zoho with but I want to change it to another email address that we use for accounts. also is there a way to edit the position of aAnyone worked out how to export or screengrab a full heatmap?
I'd love to be able to include a copy of a heatmap in a report but can't work out how to grab the whole thing as there doesn't appear to be an export function? Thanks in advance.Introducing Zoho Sprints 3.0
Zoho Sprints is consistently evolving in steady increments. The introduction of the latest version, with its enterprise level solutions, brings to you advanced capabilities that propel your agile efforts in the right direction. Here's a quick glimpseGoogle Fonts Integration in Pagesense Popup Editor
Hello Zoho Pagesense Team, We hope you're doing well. We’d like to submit a feature request to enhance Zoho Pagesense’s popup editor with Google Fonts support. Current Limitation: Currently, Pagesense offers a limited set of default fonts. Google FontsClone entire dashboards
If users want to customize a dashboard that is used by other team members, they can't clone it in order to customize the copy. Instead they have to create the same dashboard again manually from scratch. Suggestion: Let users copy the entire dashboardClone Entire Zoho Boooks Organization, including all transactions for testing & training
Can Zoho Books support help with direct cloning of entire Zoho Books & Inventory Organization? including all transactions, just like a copy & paste or disk cloning. Is this possible?Restrict portal signup until registration form and payment are completed
Hi everyone, I am working on a Zoho Creator portal for a project. In our business flow, users must first fill out a registration form and pay a registration fee before they are allowed to access the portal. However, when I share the portal link, usersZoho Creator In-App Notification
Hi Team, I have implemented an in-app notification using code, as it required some customization. I followed the example in the link below: https://www.zoho.com/deluge/help/pushnotify-using-deluge.html#Example I have a couple of questions regarding thisSystem Components menu not available for Tablet to select language
I have attached a screenshot of my desktop, mobile, and tablet menu builder options. I am using 2 languages in my application. Language Selection is an option under the System Components part of the menu, but only for my desktop and phone(mobile). MyTip #64- Exploring Technician Console: Screenshot- 'Insider Insights'
Hello Zoho Assist Community! Have you ever needed to capture exactly what's happening on a remote machine, whether to document an issue, guide a customer, or keep a record of your session? That's where the Screenshot feature in Zoho Assist comes in! WithIntegration of CRM and Recruit
hi team, Is it possible to sync deals <> job openings from only 1 pipeline? My configuration of CRM has pipeline for each business unit, so I will have all data in the CRM system. body leasing and recruitment is one BU (hence 1 pipeline) - can I syncRelating Invoices to Projects
Hi Zoho team, If I have already created previously an invoice in Books, so I want to know how can I associate it with a relevant project? Thank youCreate a quote/estimate that includes a range of prices
I am interested in using Zoho Books' Quote templates to create estimates for my customers. I do a mix of fixed-bid quotes and quotes based on an hourly rate. For the hourly rate quotes/estimates, I like to include a price range, for example: 2-4 laborBudget
I have just upgraded to the standard plan in order to be able to utilize the budgeting function and record budget amountCapirec bank Automatic feed update
Can anyone tell me if Zoho supports Automatic bank feed update from a Capitec bank account in south africa?Restrict Payment Methods
Allow us to restrict certain payment methods specific for each customer.ZOHO Reports are taking longer time to get refresh
Hi Team, Since last few days, I'm facing issues in getting updated reports. For eg: right after making an expense entry or even posting a journal, it is taking longer then expected for the updated reports. Refer below: "You are viewing the report thatFree webinar! Accelerate deals with Zoho Sign for Zoho CRM and Bigin by Zoho CRM
Hello, Paperwork shouldn’t slow you down. Whether you’re growing a small business or running a large enterprise, manual approvals and slow document turnaround can cost you time and revenue. With Zoho Sign for Zoho CRM and Bigin by Zoho CRM, you can takeCan Zoho Marketing Automation send OTP codes via WhatsApp during user registration?
The flow I would like to implement is: A user signs up in the mobile app and enters their phone number. The system generates a one-time verification code (OTP). The OTP is sent to the user via WhatsApp message. The user enters the code in the app to confirmHow to install Widget in inventory module
Hi， I am trying to install a app into Sales Order Module related list, however there is no button allow me to do that. May I ask how to install widget to inventory module related list?Add Lookup Field in Tasks Module
Hello, I have a need to add a Lookup field in addition to the ones that are already there in the Tasks module. I've seen this thread and so understand that the reason lookup fields may not be part of it is that there are already links to the tables (CRM x WorkDrive: File storage for new CRM signups is now powered by WorkDrive
Availability Editions: All DCs: All Release plan: Released for new signups in all DCs. It will be enabled for existing users in a phased manner in the upcoming months. Help documentation: Documents in Zoho CRM Manage folders in Documents tab Manage filesUnable to integrate Zoho Projects and Zoho Workdrive
I'm a Zoho One subscriber. When I go to Zoho Projects > Settings > Marketplace > Zoho Apps I do not see an option for Zoho Workdrive but I do see one for Zoho Docs that does nothing. How do I get the option to integrate Zoho WorkDrive and Zoho ProjeUpload own Background Image and set Camera to 16:9
Hi, in all known online meeting tools, I can set up a background image reflecting our corporate design. This doesn't work in Cliq. Additionally, Cliq detects our cameras as 4:3, showing black bars on the right and left sides during the meeting. Where【まだ間に合う！】Zoho ユーザー交流会 | AI活用・CRM・Analytics の事例を聞いて、ユーザー同士で交流しよう！
ユーザーの皆さま、こんにちは。コミュニティチームの藤澤です。 3月27日(金)に東京、新橋で開催する「東京 Zoho ユーザー交流会 NEXUS」へのお申し込みがまだの方は、この機会にぜひお申し込みください！（参加無料） ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー イベントの詳細はこちらから▷▷ https://www.zohomeetups.com/tokyo2026vol1#/?affl=communityforumpost3 ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーZeptoMail API
Hello Since today, we experience issues with the ZeptoMail API. When trying to send e-mails using: https://api.zeptomail.eu/v1.1/email we receive the error: (503) Site unavailable due to a traffic surge. Please try again shortly. I kindly ask you to identifySender Email Configuration Error.
Hello Team, Hope you are all doing well. We are in the process of creating the Zoho FSM environment in the UAE. When we try to add the sender email address “techsupportuae@stryker.com”, we receive the error message: “Error occurred while sending mailManaging user mailbox actions
An organization often has users with different roles and responsibilities, such as leadership, operations, or support teams. While some users may require full access to email features, others may only need limited functionality. For example, enablingSuper Admin Logging in as another User
How can a Super Admin login as another user. For example, I have a sales rep that is having issues with their Accounts and I want to view their Zoho Account with out having to do a GTM and sharing screens. Moderation Update (8th Aug 2025): We are workingCustom function return type
Hi, How do I create a custom deluge function in Zoho CRM that returns a string? e.g. Setup->Workflow->Custom Functions->Configure->Write own During create or edit of the function I don't see a way to change the default 'void' to anything else. AddingUpdate P_Leave: code: 7052 "Employee_ID": "Enter Employee ID"
Hi, Zoho People - Update Leaves Can someone assist? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ col = Collection(); col.insert("recordid":id); col.insert("Date_Check_Approval":zoho.currentdate); info zoho.people.update("P_Leave",col.toMap());Prevent tracking users from specific countries
Currently, I’m receiving many bot visits from the United States and Malaysia. I would like these visits not to be recorded in SalesIQ. I already enabled the option to exclude traffic from cloud service providers, but I’m still receiving bot visits. Ideally,Print a document from Zoho Writer via Zoho Creator
If i use the code below i can get writer to create a new document or email it to me but i want to be able to print it directly from the browser and not have to send it via email and then print. Below is the code im using. Attached options form zoho writerEs posible cambiar el lenguaje de los modulos del ASAP?
Es posible cambiar el lenguaje de estos textos? Tengo Zoho configurado en español pero aun así me muestra estos textos en ingles:Next Page