Kaizen #16 - Python SDK
Hello everyone!
Welcome back to another week of Kaizen!
This week, we will discuss the Python SDK.
What is the Python SDK for Zoho CRM?
Python SDK allows you to create client Python applications that you can integrate 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 the SDK acts as a middle ware between Zoho CRM and a client Python Application.
What can you do with the Python SDK?
- Exchange data between Zoho CRM and the client application where the CRM entities are modelled as classes.
- Authenticate your application easily every time you sync data between Zoho CRM and your application, as the SDK takes care of generating the access/refresh tokens automatically.
Environment Setup
- Client app must use Python 2.7 or above. You can download Python through https://www.python.org/downloads/
- Client app must have python requests installed. Refer to Installation of Python Requests or use the command pip install requests to install them.
How to Start using the Python SDK?
Follow the below steps:
- Step-1: Register your application (Self Client or Web-based client)
- Step-2: Install the SDK
- Step-3: Import the SDK in your project
- Step-4: Initialize the SDK
4.a. Choose the token persistence method
4.b. Setup the configuration dictionary
4.c. Generate the tokens - Step-5: Connect to Zoho CRM through the available methods
Let us now discuss these steps in detail.
Step-1: Register your application
All the Zoho CRM APIs are authenticated by the OAuth2.0 standards. It is mandatory to authenticate your application with Zoho.
You can register your application either as a Self Client (single user app) or a web-based app (multiple users app).
1.a. Self Client
- Go to https://api-console.zoho.com.
- Click ADD CLIENT.
- Choose the Client Type as Self Client, and click CREATE.
- You will receive a client ID and a client secret upon successful registration.
1.b. Web-based Client
- Go to https://api-console.zoho.com.
- Click ADD CLIENT.
- Choose the client as Web based and click CREATE NOW.
- Specify the client name, homepage URL of your application's UI, and a redirect URI to which you want to redirect the users after they grant consent to your application.
- Click CREATE.
- Your client ID and client secret will be displayed.
Step-2: Install the SDK
You can install the Python SDK through pip. Pip is a tool for dependency management in Python.
Refer to https://pip.pypa.io/en/stable/installing/ to install pip.
To install the SDK, run the below command in your Python IDE.
pip install zcrmsdk |
This command installs the Python and creates a package named zcrmsdk in the installation directory of python (Example: '/Library/Python/2.7/site-packages').
Note
You must also have the Python requests installed. Run the command pip install requests to install them.
Step-3: Import the SDK in your project
Use the below statement in your IDE to import the downloaded SDK in your code.
import zcrmsdk |
You can also set an alias for the imported SDK module. Run the below command to import the SDK in a custom name.
import zcrmsdk as your_custom_name |
Note that you must use this name while referencing to any class in the SDK.
Example:
import zcrmsdk as my_zoho_sdk my_zoho_sdk.ZCRMRestClient.initialize(config) |
Step-4: Initialize the SDK
Initializing the SDK involves the following steps.
- Step 4.a - Choosing the token persistence method
- Step 4.b - Setting up the configuration dictionary
- Step 4.c - Generating the tokens
4.a. Token Persistence
Your application should retain tokens (grant, access, and refresh tokens) to automate the process of data sync between your python application and Zoho CRM.
You can persist (store) the tokens in three ways.
- MySQL Persistence (default)
- File Persistence
- Custom DB Persistence
4.a.1. MySQL Persistence
When you want to store the tokens in the MySQL DB, run the below command to install the necessary package.
pip install mysql-connector |
In this case, you must include the following keys in the configuration dictionary (discussed in the next section), along with other mandatory keys.
"mysql_username": "root",
"mysql_password": "*****",
"mysql_port":" port_number"
Note
When you use MySQL persistence, ensure that
- MySQL runs in the same machine serving at the mentioned port (The default port is 3306.)
- There is a database named zohooauth.
- There is a table name oauthtokens with the columns useridentifier (varchar(100)), accesstoken (varchar(100)), refreshtoken (varchar(100)) and expirytime (bigint).
4.a.2. File Persistence
If you want to store the tokens in a file, you can create a file named zcrm_oauthtokens.pkl and provide the absolute path of the directory containing this file in the below key of the configuration array.
"token_persistence_path": "path_to_the_folder_containing_the pkl_file"
If you do not create this file, the SDK itself creates this file in the path you have specified, and persists the tokens there.
Note: This method is recommended only for self client apps.
4.a.3. Custom DB Persistence
To use custom DB persistence, you must
- Implement AbstractBaseClass (AbstractZohoOAuthPersistence from OAuthClient.py), and write a custom implementation of the following functions:
get_oauthtokens(user_email)
save_oauthtokens(oauthtokens)
delete_oauthtokens(user_email)
Include the following keys in the configuration dictionary, along with other mandatory keys.
"persistence_handler_class": "ClassName of the custom implementation",
"persistence_handler_path": "Absolute path of the module (.py file)"
4.b. Configuration dictionary
The below table contains the list of keys you must include in the configuration dictionary based on the type of persistence.
Mandatory keys
File Persistence | MySQL Persistence | Custom DB Persistence |
client_id | client_id | client_id |
client_secret | client_secret | client_secret |
redirect_uri | redirect_uri | redirect_uri |
token_persistence_path | mysql_username | persistence_handler_class |
-- | mysql_password | persistence_handler_path |
-- | mysql_port | -- |
currentUserEmail | currentUserEmail | currentUserEmail |
Optional keys
File Persistence | MySQL Persistence | Custom DB Persistence |
applicationLogFilePath | applicationLogFilePath | applicationLogFilePath |
sandbox | sandbox | sandbox |
access_type | access_type | access_type |
accounts_url | accounts_url | accounts_url |
apiBaseUrl | apiBaseUrl | apiBaseUrl |
apiVersion | apiVersion | apiVersion |
Where,
- client_id, client_secret, and redirect_uri - Client details you received after registering your application. For self client apps, you can pass a dummy value for the redirect uri.
- token_persistence_path - The path to store the OAuth tokens in the file. This key is mandatory if you want to use file persistence. If you include this key, this method takes precedence over other persistence methods.
- mysql_username, mysql_password, mysql_port - The MySQL username, password, and the port, respectively.
- persistence_handler_class - Name of the class of the custom implementation for persistence. This key is mandatory if you want to use custom persistence.
- persistence_handler_path - Absolute path of the module (.py file). This key is mandatory if you want to use custom persistence.
- applicationLogFilePath - The absolute path to log the exceptions during the usage of the SDK.
- sandbox - Boolean key to make API calls to the sandbox environment. The value true makes API calls to the sandbox. Default value is false.
- access_type - Must be set to offline as the SDK does not support online OAuth client, now.
- accounts_url - The domain-specific accounts URL from which you generate the tokens.For US: https://accounts.zoho.com
For EU: https://accounts.zoho.eu
For CN: https://accounts.zoho.com.cn
For IN: https://accounts.zoho.in - apiBaseUrl - The domain-specific API URL from which you make API calls. For users from domains other than the US, this key is mandatory.For US: https://www.zohoapis.com
For EU: https://www.zohoapis.eu
For CN: https://www.zohoapis.com.cn
For IN: https://www.zohoapis.in - apiVersion - Represents the version of the CRM APIs. The value is v2.
- currentUserEmail - The email ID of the current user. When you do not specify this value, the SDK throws an exception. This key is mandatory in the configuration dictionary for self-client apps.
For web-based apps, set the user Email ID in the current thread as an attribute.
threading.current_thread().setattr('current_user_email','user@email.com') |
Below is a configuration dictionary with all the keys.
config = { "apiBaseUrl":"https://www.zohoapis.com", "apiVersion":"v2", "currentUserEmail":"email@gmail.com" "sandbox":"False" "applicationLogFilePath":"", "client_id":"1000.3xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX0YW", "client_secret":"29xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx7e32", "redirect_uri":"https://www.abc.com", "accounts_url":"https://accounts.zoho.com", "token_persistence_path":"/Users/Zoho/Desktop/PycharmProjects",//For File Persistence "access_type":"offline", //Use the below keys for MySQL DB persistence "mysql_username":"", "mysql_password":"", "mysql_port":"3306", //Use the below keys for custom DB persistence "persistence_handler_class" : "Custom", "persistence_handler_path": "/Users/Zoho/Desktop/PythonSDK/CustomPersistance.py" } |
Now that you have created and registered your app with Zoho, you must authenticate it.
Pass the configuration dictionary in the method ZCRMRestClient.initialize(config) and authenticate your app.
4.c. Generating the tokens
As the V2 Zoho CRM APIs follow the OAuth2.0 protocol, it is mandatory to authorize the OAuth2.0 app before using the SDK functions with an access token.
You can generate an access token from a grant token.
You can generate the grant token in two ways based on the type of client.
For Self Client Applications
- Log in to Zoho and go to Zoho Developer Console.
- Select your Self Client.
- Provide the necessary scopes separated by commas, along with the scope aaaserver.profile.READ.
- Select the Time Duration from the drop-down. This is the time the grant token is valid for.
- Provide a description for the scopes. Click GENERATE.
- Copy the grant token.
For Web-based Applications
It is the responsibility of your client app to generate the grant token for the users trying to login.
Your Application's UI must have the Login with Zoho option to open the grant token URL of Zoho, which would prompt for the user's OAuth2.0 authorization.
Upon the successful login of the user, the grant token will be sent as a parameter to your registered redirect URL.
Generating an access token from the grant token
Use the below code snippet in your main class.
zcrmsdk.ZCRMRestClient.initialize(config) oauth_client = zcrmsdk.ZohoOAuth.get_client_instance() grant_token = "paste_grant_token_here" oauth_tokens = oauth_client.generate_access_token(grant_token) |
Note
- The code snippet to generate the access token from the grant token is valid only once per grant token. If the grant token expires before you generate the access token, you must generate a new grant token only.
- Generating access and refresh tokens is a one-time process. After the tokens are generated the first time, the SDK persists them based on the keys defined in the configuration dictionary, and refreshes the access token as and when required.
Step-5: Connect to Zoho CRM through the available methods
The below image shows the sample code to get the current user details. You can find the code for this sample in the attachment.
The below image contains the response to the above code.
We hope you found this post useful. Stay tuned for more!
Cheers!
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
Shylaja S
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
Add the ability to Hide Pages in Page Rules
Hi, We have Field Rules to show and hide fields and we have page Rules, but we can't hide a page in Page Rules so it isn't completed before the previous page (And then have the Deny Rules to prevent submitting without both pages completed), we can onlyColumn letter from number
Hello, I am trying to select a cell and i have the column number. How do i do this or is there a way of getting the letter from the number? Thank youZoho One Spaces UI
Zoho One も UI が新しくなっていくようです。 Switch Space Overview https://help.zoho.com/portal/en/kb/one/spaces/spaces-ui/articles/swi#Overview Your new space for personalized business productivity https://www.zoho.com/blog/one/your-new-space-for-personalized-business-productivity.htmlZoho CRM NextGen UI
Zoho CRM の Everyone 画面の UI がまた変わるのですね。NextGen UI 更新日時が1ヶ月前で、Zoho Japan でもアナウンスされていたようですが、気が付きませんでした。 【Zoho CRM】Zoho CRM for EveryoneのUIアップデートのお知らせ https://support.zoho.co.jp/portal/ja/kb/articles/zoho-crm-zoho-crm-for-everyone-s-nextgen-ui-gets-an-upgradeView Answer Bot conversations?
We are trialing Zia and are experimenting with Answer Bot on our knowledge base. So far so good! Management asks me if it is possible to view Answer Bot conversations, the purpose being to look over its shoulder and confirm that it is working as desTrain Zia answer bot on only part of Knowledge Base?
We are trialing Zia answer bot and hope to use it on the knowledge base to help our users find the information they are looking for. I have found how to train Zia on the entirety of our knowledge base. But is there a way to train it on only certain categoriesSmarter holiday planning with yearly-specific Holiday Lists
Hello everyone! Managing holidays and business hours is now easier and more efficient. Holiday Lists now support holidays that fall on different dates every year, while business hours now supports more than one holiday list. This helps businesses manageTemporary Outage in Zoho Cliq Affecting US Users – July 23, 2025
We experienced a service disruption in Zoho Cliq that impacted core functionality for users in the US region. The issue occurred between Jul 23, 2025, 06:54:00 PM IST and 07:13:13 PM IST, lasting approximately 19 minutes. To restore service stability,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 wouldWie veröffentliche ich ein PDF Datei?
Hallo! Wie veröffentliche ich PDF Datein ich habe ein PDF Datei und den sieht ihr im Upload ich möchte ihn veröffentlichen wie? Mit Freundlichen Grüßen, Herr Bahaa Addin ChkiridZoho NOTEBOOK: What are file size restrictions?
I understand that Zoho NOTEBOOK is a free product, and what it offers is great. But I'm wondering what the file size restrictions are. When I record an audio note in Zoho Notebook, what is the maximum length of recording time/audio file size? When I wish to upload MP4 video, what is the maximum video size I can upload per Zoho Notebook restriction? Moreover, does Zoho Notebook use its own storage structure, or can I upgrade my storage for Zoho Notebook to add larger file attachments, videos and audioZoho Campaigns: An Outstanding Email Marketing Tool
Introducing Zoho Campaigns! A product designed by Zoho, the Zoho Campaigns is made to create, deliver, and manage integrated email campaigns that can help in boosting the sales of a company and its customer base. Zoho Campaigns is actually an email marketingZoho Creator Developer Console | Improved Distribution and Lifecycle Management for apps
Hello everyone, We're excited to introduce new enhancements now in the Zoho Creator Developer Console. These updates strengthen private app distribution through licensing controls and extend environment support across all installed apps, helping teamsSync images with Shopify/Cart
Hello, sync images with shopify or other cart, it cuts out the double work of having to upload to shopify/cart and zoho. ThanksExternal User onboarding for zoho connect is not really intuitive.
So the external user is sent an invite, which has a button that directs them to login to zoho to view the invite, but if they don't have a zoho account, they cannot access that invite, which seems kinda silly, as there is not real way on for them to createHaving trouble fetching contents of Zoho Connect Feeds using the API, requesting alternative API documentation.
I'm trying to retrieve feed/post data from Zoho Connect using the API but facing challenges with the current documentation. What I've tried: OAuth authentication is working correctly (getting 200 OK responses) Tested multiple endpoints: /pulse/nativeapi/v2/feeds,How to upload file to Connect using API?
Hi there. I looked at the API documentation and nowhere did it mention how to use the API method to upload a file even though it is mentioned that it is possible to be done so. Please help.Select the task view on the board in the Zoho Connect iPhone app
Hello. How do I select the task view on the board in the Zoho Connect iPhone app? The Android app has this functionality.Auto tagging
Some of the articles I enter into Notebook get there when I enter them in Raindrop.io and IFTTT copies the articles in Notebook. When this happens the notes are tagged but instead of useful one word tags with topic the tag pertains to the specific articleWebDAV support
I need WebDAV support so that I can upload/download (and modify) documents from my local file system. Is anything planned in his direction?Constant refresh required in lots of Zoho tabs
"Hey Zoho, if you can sync my notification bell across 15 tabs using a BroadcastChannel, why can't you send a 'Data Refresh' signal the same way? We don't need a browser reload—we just need the data to sync without us clicking F5 like it's 1999." "PS:What's New in Zoho Billing | January 2026
Excited about the latest enhancements in Zoho Billing? Our January updates bring an intelligent AI assistant, smarter subscription management, and improved tax compliance, saving you time and reducing manual work. Dive into the details below to see howInserting images into Articles or Knowledgebase
Hi, Are there any plans in improving the Knowledgebase text editor so it would allow inserting images through Windows clipboard via copy-paste? Say for example I took a screenshot using the snipping tool in Windows and I'd like to insert that image toLinks not functioning in Zoho mail
Links that are included in emails I receive are not activating. Nothing at all happens when I click on them. I have researched FAQs and this forum to no avail. Any suggestions?Zoho Mail iOS app update: Manage folders and tags
Hello everyone! In the most recent version of the Zoho Mail iOS app, we have brought in support to manage(create, edit and delete) the folders and tags. Create folders Create Tags Edit/ Delete folder In addition to this, we have also brought in support[Important announcement] Zoho Writer will mandate DKIM configuration for automation users
Hi all, Effective Dec. 31, 2024, configuring DKIM for From addresses will be mandatory to send emails via Zoho Writer. DKIM configuration allows recipient email servers to identify your emails as valid and not spam. Emails sent from domains without DKIMShowing the map along with mileage expense
When you use the GPS to track mileage, it shows you the map of the actual path travelled. It would be very useful and practical to save that map with the mileage expense, so that when the report is created, it provides a map of each mileage expense associatedLink Purchase Order to Deal
Zoho Books directly syncs with contacts, vendors and products in Zoho CRM including field mapping. Is there any way to associate vendor purchase orders with deals, so that we can calculate our profit margin for each deal with connected sales invoicesExtend the Image Choice Field
Hi, The New Yes/No field is great for what it does, and the Image Choice Field is good but could be better with some functions from the Yes/No field. Take an example, rather than just Yes/No you want Yes/No/Maybe (Or more than 3 choices), but unlike theZoho Desk: Macro to assign Ticket to self
Hello, We are using macros in Zoho Desk to set some fields and send a response. I would also like to assign the ticket to myself (or whoever applies the macro). I can only set a fixed agent in the macro, so I would have to create one for every agent.Turn off Knowlege Base Follow options and Follower lists
Is there a way to hide or turn off the option in the Knowledge Base for users to follow specific departments/categories/sections/articles? If not, is there a way to turn off the public list of followers for each of those things? Otherwise, customer namesNew Feature: Audit Log in Zoho Bookings
Greetings from the Zoho Bookings team! We’re excited to introduce Audit Log, a new feature designed to help you track all key actions related to your appointments. With Audit Log, you can maintain transparency, strengthen security, and ensure accountability.Automated Task reminder
First question: If a task does not have a reminder set, will it still send an email notification that the task is due today? If not, how can I set up an automated reminder to send the task owner an email that it is due on a certain date?Zoho Support - contract notifications
Hi, I have a few questions about using Zoho support. Is there a way to add custom contract notifications like (90 days before expiry send notification e-mail to agent and customer, then another 60 days before expiry and another 30 days.). And is it possibleKaizen #230 - Smart Discount-Based Quote Approvals Using CRM Functions and Approval Process
Hello everyone! Welcome back to the Kaizen series! Discount approvals are a standard part of sales governance. Most organizations need something like this: Discount % Required Action < 10% Auto-approve 10–19.99% Sales Manager approval ≥ 20% VP Sales approvalOAuth2 Scope Error - Incorrectly defaulting to CRM instead of Analytics.
Hello Zoho Team, I am trying to connect n8n to Zoho Analytics API V2 for a simple automation project. Despite using the correct Analytics-specific scopes, my OAuth handshake is failing with a CRM-related error. The Problem: The authorization screen shows:Is it possible to create a meeting in Zoho Crm which automatically creates a Google Meet link?
We are using Google's own "Zoho CRM for Google" integration and also Zoho's "Google Apps Sync" tools, but none of them provide us with the ability to create a meeting in Zoho CRM that then adds a Google Meet link into the meeting. Is this something thatTrigger a Workflow Function if an Attachment (Related List) has been added
Hello, I have a Case Module with a related list which is Attachment. I want to trigger a workflow if I added an attachment. I've seen some topics about this in zoho community that was posted few months ago and based on the answers, there is no triggerEmail Field Validation Incorrectly Rejects RFC-Compliant Addresses (Forward Slashes)
I've encountered a validation issue with Zoho Creator's Email field that rejects RFC-compliant email addresses containing forward slashes, and I'm hoping the Zoho team can address this in a future update. The Issue When entering an email address containingCall result pop up on call when call ends
I’d like to be able to create a pop up that appears after a call has finished that allows me to select the Call Result. I'm using RingCentral. I have seen from a previous, now locked, thread on Zoho Cares that this capability has been implemented, butNext Page