Kaizen #20 - Node JS SDK
Hello everyone!
Welcome to another week of Kaizen!
In today's post, we will discuss the Node JS SDK.
What is the Node JS SDK for Zoho CRM?
Node JS SDK allows you to create client Node JS 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.
What can you do with the Node JS SDK?
- Exchange data between Zoho CRM and the client application where the CRM entities are modelled as functions.
- 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.
How to start using the Node JS 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 method4.b. Setup the configuration files or dictionary4.c. Generate the tokens - Step-5: Connect to Zoho CRM through the available functions
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 Node JS SDK through npm package manager. Run the below command.
npm install zcrmsdk |
Run the below command to update your SDK to the latest version.
npm install --upgrade zcrmsdk |
After the installation, a package named 'zcrmsdk' will be created in the node modules folder in your machine.
Step-3: Import the SDK in your project
Use the below statement in your code to import the downloaded SDK.
var ZCRMRestClient = require('zcrmsdk') |
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 oauth and configuration properties files
- 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 Node JS application and Zoho CRM.
You can choose to persist (store) the tokens in two ways.
a. MySQL Persistence (default)
b. Custom DB Persistence
a. MySQL Persistence
When you want to store the tokens in the MySQL DB, include the following keys in the configuration.properties file (discussed in the next section) or the configuration JSON array, along with other mandatory keys.
username=mysql_username
password=mysql_password
Note
When you use MySQL persistence, ensure that
- MySQL runs in the same machine serving at the mentioned port (by default 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).
b. Custom DB Persistence
To use custom DB persistence, you must write a custom implementation of the following functions:
- getOAuthTokens() - This method returns the user identifier, access and refresh tokens, and their respective expiry time.
- saveOAuthTokens(token_obj) - This method saves the access and refresh tokens, their respective expiry time. This method is called when you generate the access token through the grant token or the refresh token.
- updateOAuthTokens(token_obj) - This method updates the access token and the expiry time every time an access token is refreshed. This method is called when the access token expires.
Include the absolute path of the file that contains the above methods in the following key of the configuration.properties file.
api.tokenmanagement=absolute_path_to _the_custom_implementation
The below images contain a sample of the custom implementation of the above three methods. You can find the code for the same as an attachment to this post.
This implementation of custom persistence creates a token file named zcrm_oauthtokens.txt and this file will contain the below keys with their values.
{"tokens": [{"access_token":"1000.xxxxx","expires_in":1582804396157,"user_identifier":"Patricia.boyle@abc.com","refresh_token":"xxx"}]} |
getOAuthTokens()
updateOAuthTokens()
saveOAuthTokens()
Note
- While updating the tokens, the next execution happens irrespective of the response. So, you must exercise care to handle this in your module.
- All methods must return a Promise.
4.b. Configuration
You can set the configuration details in property files (oauth_configuration.properties and configuration.properties) or pass the details during run time as JSON key-value pairs.
oauth_configuration.properties
This file must contain the below client details.
[zoho] crm.iamurl=accounts.zoho.com crm.clientid=1000.xxxxxxx.6WJ crm.clientsecret=99xxxxx0e16 crm.redirecturl=https://www.zoho.com |
Where,
- crm.iamurl - The domain-specific accounts URL from which you generate the grant token (authorization code). Possible domains are accounts.zoho.com (US), accounts.zoho.eu (EU), accounts.zoho.in (India), accounts.zoho.com.cn(China), accounts.zoho.com.au (Australia). The default value is accounts.zoho.com.
- crm.clientid, crm.clientsecret - The client ID and client secret, respectively, you received while registering your application.
- crm.redirecturl - The redirect URI you specified while registering your client. For self client apps, you can specify a dummy value for this key.
configuration.properties
This file must contain the below details.
[crm] api.url=www.zohoapis.com api.user_identifier=p.boyle@abc.com [customDB]//If you want to use custom DB persistence api.tokenmanagement= [mysql]//If you want to use MySQL DB persistence username=***** password=***** |
Where,
- api.url - The domain-specific URL from which your app must make API calls to Zoho CRM. Possible URLs are www.zohoapis.com (US), www.zohoapis.eu (EU), www.zohoapis.in (India), www.zohoapis.com.cn(China), www.zohoapis.com.au (Australia). The default value is www.zohoapis.com.
- api.user_identifier - The email ID of the current user.
- api.tokenmanagement - The absolute or relative path to the file that contains the token storage mechanism. This key is mandatory for custom DB persistence.
- username, password - The MySQL username and password, respectively. These keys are mandatory for MySQL DB persistence.
Note
Both these files must be placed under the resources folder of your project.
Config JSON Array
Instead of specifying the configuration details in properties files, you can choose to pass the details to the SDK during run time as JSON key-value pairs, as shown below.
var ZCRMRestClient = require('zcrmsdk'); var configJson={ "client_id":"{client_id}",//mandatory "client_secret":"{client_secret}",//mandatory "redirect_uri":"{redirect_url}",//mandatory "user_identifier":"{user_identifier}", "mysql_username":"{mysql_username}",//optional ,"root" is default value "mysql_password":"{mysql_password}",//optional ,"" is default value "base_url":"{api_base_url}",//optional ,"www.zohoapis.com" is default value "iamurl":"{accounts_url}",//optional ,"accounts.zoho.com" is default value "version":"{api_version}",//optional ,"v2" is default value "tokenmanagement":"{token_management_module}"//optional ,mysql module is default } ZCRMRestClient.initialize(configJson).then(function() { //do whatever required after initialize }) |
Now that you have created and registered your app with Zoho, you must authenticate it.
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.
ZCRMRestClient.generateAuthTokens(user_identifier,grant_token).then(function(auth_response){ console.log("access token :"+auth_response.access_token); console.log("refresh token :"+auth_response.refresh_token); console.log("expires in :"+auth_response.expires_in); }); |
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 or the properties file, and refreshes the access token as and when required.
Step-5: Connect to Zoho CRM through the available methods
Here is a sample to insert a lead. You can find the code for this sample in the attachment.
The isTokenGenerated Method
You need to add this method to check 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.
For more sample codes, refer to REST API samples.
We hope you found this post useful. Stay tuned for more!
Cheers!
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
Shylaja S
Jeremy Nagel - www.smooth.tel
Praveen Sankar
Matt
Đạt
Sticky Posts
Kaizen #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 areKaizen #152 - Client Script Support for the new Canvas Record Forms
Hello everyone! Have you ever wanted to trigger actions on click of a canvas button, icon, or text mandatory forms in Create/Edit and Clone Pages? Have you ever wanted to control how elements behave on the new Canvas Record Forms? This can be achievedKaizen #142: How to Navigate to Another Page in Zoho CRM using Client Script
Hello everyone! Welcome back to another exciting Kaizen post. In this post, let us see how you can you navigate to different Pages using Client Script. In this Kaizen post, Need to Navigate to different Pages Client Script ZDKs related to navigation A.Kaizen #210 - Answering your Questions | Event Management System using ZDK CLI
Hello Everyone, Welcome back to yet another post in the Kaizen Series! As you already may know, for the Kaizen #200 milestone, we asked for your feedback and many of you suggested topics for us to discuss. We have been writing on these topics over the
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
issue with deluge script
i used chat gpt to build this script and I am getting 2 errors which I cannot figure out how to fix: void monthly_sales_order_generation() { try { // ---------------- CONFIG ------------------- analytics_url_1 = "https://analytics.zoho.com/api/<workspaceID>/report/<reportID1>/data";Introducing LinkedIn Apply Connect for Zoho Recruit
Attract up to 3x more qualified candidates and hire more efficiently with LinkedIn Apply Connect. Let candidates fill-in job applications without any redirections, gain deeper insights with applicant highlights within Zoho Recruit, and keep candidatesRecruit paid support?
Hi all, Could anyone who has paid support package advise if it provides value for money with regards to support response times? Exploring the idea as unfortunately when we have faced issues with Recruit it has been a 7+ day timescale from reporting toIntroducing Dedicated Modules for Plans, Addons, and Coupons in Zoho Billing
We’ve enhanced the way you manage Plans, Addons, and Coupons in Zoho Billing. Previously, all three grouped together under Subscription Items. Now, each one has its own dedicated module, giving you a cleaner and more intuitive experience. This updateTicket Status email
Good day, This was discussed in the past, but it would be helpful if we could have the system assign a custom response to a status. We have various statuses for tickets, e.g. "closed due to no response", or "Pending Status", it would be helpful for theCustomer ticket creation via Microsoft Teams
Hi all, I'm looking to see if someone could point me in the right direction. I'd love to make it so my customers/ end users can make tickets, see responses and respond within microsoft teams. As Admin and an Agent i've installed the zoho assist app withinHolidays
Hi; For defining Holidays, you need to add logic to handle the year as well as the month & day. We need to be able to enter Holidays for the next year. I need to add a holiday for January 2, 2017, but I can't until January 1st, which is a Sunday and weCan I use a Standalone CRM Function as the Callback URL For Async Export Data API?
I am creating an export job using this API https://www.zoho.com/analytics/api/v2/bulk-api/export-data-async/create-export/view-id.html There is a "callbackUrl" key in the CONFIG object. I tried copying the URL for a standalone function in CRM which canFuture Orders - Due Date
Hi In my role, I can receive tickets where the work required is requested months in advance. Using a Future Orders option, which I believe was setup under the On Hold status type, hides the Due Date, in all views/ticket etc. Whilst I understand the reasoningIntroducing Withdrawal Reasons for Offers
We’re excited to introduce a new enhancement to the Offer module that brings more clarity and accountability to every withdrawn offer. The Withdrawal Reason update ensures that each withdrawal — manual or automatic — is backed by a clear explanation,Zoho Creator customer portal users
Hi, I'm in a Zoho One subscription with our company. I'm running a project now that involves creating a Zoho Creater application and using the Zoho Creator Customer Portal. At most we need 25 customer portal users. In our Zoho One plan we only get 3GPS tracking only or Check out facility
Dear Team, Zoho CRM is quite robust CRM but till date i was waiting for the feature of having GPS tracking of Sales employees which is a common demand by all customers for thier field sales executives. We cover them by saying that CRM provides CheckinHTML Tags added to Reports with Notes
Recently Zoho added the ability to markup text within notes. That way, users can change font size, colors, etc. It's a great change. However, since the change, reports that include a column for "Note Content" are printing HTML tags within the report.In App Auto Refresh/Update Features
Hi, I am trying to use Zoho Creator for Restaurant management. While using the android apps, I reliased the apps would not auto refresh if there is new entries i.e new kitchen order ticket (KOT) from other users. The apps does received notification but would not auto refresh, users required to refresh the apps manually in order to see the new KOT in the apps. I am wondering why this features is not implemented? Or is this feature being considered to be implemented in the future? With theAppraisals on Employee Information Profile
Is it possible to show completed appraisals on each employee's "Employee Information" page? I would presume at the bottom - similar to the "Related Lists" concept in Zoho CRM. Obviously view access would be limited to employee and appropriate other rolesAI Interview Insights: Turn Recorded Interviews into Quick Transcripts & Summaries
Evaluating interviews shouldn’t require replaying long recordings or taking manual notes. With AI Interview Insights, you can now review complete transcripts and AI-generated summaries of your One-way (Recorded) interviews right inside Zoho Recruit. ThisKaizen #220: Actions API - Webhooks APIs - Part 2
Hello all!! Welcome back to the follow-up Kaizen post of Kaizen #219: Actions API - Webhooks APIs - Part 1. In the previous week, we covered how to configure a basic Webhook and how to include Headers, Body, and URL Parameters using both the POST WebhookStandard Payment Term is not pulled from account to quotation
Hey Team There seems to be something off. I do have "Net 30" as my default payment term in Zoho Books for my customers. If, from the customer overview or quote section, I create a new Quotation, the payment terms field stays blank and doesn't get theRequest for Auto PO - Min–Max based Automated Purchase Feature
Dear Zoho POS Team, I’m writing to request a feature enhancement that would significantly streamline inventory management for businesses using Zoho POS — particularly supermarkets, FMCG retail, and multi-store operations like ours. Feature Requested:Canva Integration
Hello! As many marketing departments are streamlining their teams, many have begun utilizing Canva for all design mockups and approvals prior to its integration into Marketing automation software. While Zoho Social has this integration already accomplished,Manage your invoices from Bigin's mobile app (iOS)
Hello everyone! We're happy to announce that users can now integrate Zoho Books with the latest version of Bigin's iOS app. Zoho Books can be integrated with Bigin only via the web application. Users can view the Zoho Books tab in the detail pages ofHubSpot CRM to Zoho Creator Integration
I'm trying to create an integration between HubSpot CRM and Zoho Creator with HubSpot being the push source (if a contact is created or updated in HubSpot, it pushes the information to Zoho Creator). I have two questions: 1- Is it best to use Zoho FlowSystematic SPF alignment issues with Zoho subdomains
Analysis Period: August 19 - September 1, 2025 PROBLEM SUMMARY Multiple Zoho services are causing systematic SPF authentication failures in DMARC reports from major email providers (Google, Microsoft, Zoho). While emails are successfully delivered dueAccessibility controls and multilingual captcha authorization for Help Center users
Hello everyone, As part of our ongoing effort to improve user experience, we are excited about the accessibility controls and predefined accessibility personas added in the Help Center, similar to what is already available in Zoho Desk. Help Center usersGain control over record sharing with portal users through our new enhancement: criteria-based data exposure
Dear Customers, We hope you're well! Portals is a self-service avenue through which your clients can access and manage their direct and related data in Zoho CRM. This empowers them to be more independent and enables them to experience a sense of transparencyZoho Sign + Zoho CRM : la solution pour simplifier vos accords de vente
La conclusion d’un contrat de vente nécessite de nombreuses étapes : préparation de documents, validations successives et collecte des signatures. Les équipes commerciales passent souvent par plusieurs cycles de collaboration et de révision, tout en assurantZoho Desk Limitations
Good day, all, I would like to know whether others share my frustration with some of Zoho's limitations. Don't get me wrong, I like Desk (and I also have a subscription for Analytics), I have been with them for close to 10 years, and unfortunately, IItem/service subtotal
Just discovered & really pleased that we can drag to re-order the line items in Sales orders & Invoices, a very nice feature which doesn't seem to be documented? It would be nice to be able to insert a subtotal as a line item to complete this great featureConverting Sales Order to Purchase Order
Hi All, Firstly, this code works to convert a sales order(SO) to a purchase order (PO) via a button, however I am running into an issue when I convert the SO where the values from the line items are not pulled across from the SO to the PO. The ones inhow to Solve Conflict Invoices in Zoho POS
Hello Team, I am facing a repeated issue in Zoho POS while saving a sale that contains service-based items. My products are intentionally created as Service (Non-Inventory) items because I do not want to track stock for them. However, every time I tryAll new Address Field in Zoho CRM: maintain structured and accurate address inputs
The address field will be available exclusively for IN DC users. We'll keep you updated on the DC-specific rollout soon. It's currently available for all new sign-ups and for existing Zoho CRM orgs which are in the Professional edition. Latest updateCopy, Paste, Highlighted text
when i copy paste text it gets highlighted. Fix this. WTF is with this black highlight ? Fix copy pasting. Some people pay for using this mail service.Pricing Strategies: #6 Common Mistakes while Configuring Pricing
"Why does this month's billing feel messy again?" That was the exact line Priya muttered while staring at the spreadsheet full of edited pricing, one-off discounts and mismatched subscription details. Her business was growing, but the pricing machinePublish to LinkedIn via API
Hi, Is it possible to publish a job opening to LinkedIn (paid job slots) if creating a job opening via api / deluge function? Or is the user required to manually publish via the job boards process? Many Thanks AdrianFSM - Associating and selecting Contacts based on Service Addresses
Hi FSM team, I've come across an FSM limitation I wanted to share for improvement. I'm currently configuring FSM for a client who provides heating system install and maintenance services. The are often sub contracted by building management companies to日本語フォントの選択肢拡充についての要望
日本語フォントの選択肢がとても少ないと感じたことはありませんか？ 多くのアプリ（たとえば Invoice）ではフォントが1種類しかなく、正直あまり使いやすい・見た目が良いとも言えません。 そろそろ、もっと多くの日本語フォントを追加してほしい、そしてすべてのアプリで同じフォント選択肢を使えるようにしてほしいと、私たちユーザーが声を上げる時期だと思います。 ご存じのとおり、現状ではアプリごとにフォント周りの仕様にほとんど一貫性がありません。 みなさん、一緒に要望を出していきましょう！Do Unpublished Products in Shopify Sync to Zoho POS?
Will an unpublished product in Shopify sync to Zoho POS? I would like to know how Zoho POS handles products that are in draft/unpublished status in Shopify.Problem in Zoho POS frontend ERP.
We are facing some difficulties in our billing and inventory processes and require your support to resolve them at the earliest. Customer Advance Payments We receive advance payments from customers for upcoming sales. Please guide us on how to recordHow to create estimates/Invoices with sub-totals
Every other accounting package can create estimates and invoices with Sub-totals. How can I do that in ZohoBooks?Categorize Items with Item Headers
Hello customers, Did you ever want to classify items based on specific categories to help your customers understand your invoice better? With the new Item Header feature, you can easily categorize items in your invoices and estimates and give them a common title. Item Headers are available in the Invoices, the Recurring Invoices and the Estimates module. It can be carried forward from estimates to invoices at the time of converting the estimates. To add an item header: Go to the Estimates, InvoicesNext Page