Kaizen 200 - OAuth and Token Management using Zoho CRM Python SDK
We’re incredibly excited to bring you the 200th post in our Kaizen series!
This journey has been as much about listening as it has been about sharing. And today, we’re making both count. Over the past few weeks, we’ve collected your feedback through the Kaizen feedback form added in our earlier posts. Thank you for the time and thought you’ve put into it.
Starting today, we’ll be actively addressing your most requested topics.
Overview – OAuth 2.0 and Zoho CRM SDKs
In this Kaizen, we’ll walk you through how OAuth 2.0 authentication is handled using the Zoho CRM Python SDK, and how the SDK simplifies token refresh, storage, and management for multiple users and organizations across multiple data centers.
Introduction:
OAuth2.0 Recap:
Token Management using Zoho CRM SDKs:
Token Management using Zoho CRM SDKs:
Sample Project Overview
We’ve used a fully working sample project to demonstrate the OAuth flow in action.
Frontend
A static interface built using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
Files include:
- index.html – login and data input page
- script.js – client-side login and record handling
- redirect.html – used to capture the grant token from Zoho
Backend
A Python server using Zoho CRM SDK to:
- Authenticate users using OAuth 2.0
- Store and manage tokens
- Fetch and manipulate CRM records
Note:
Before running the project, you’ll need to register your client in the Zoho API Console. Once registered, use the generated Client ID and Client Secret in your server code.
If you're planning to support users across multiple Zoho Data Centers (DCs):
- Be sure to enable Multi-DC for your client.
- Use the same client credentials (Client ID and Secret) for all the DCs during authentication.
Implementation Demo:
How the SDK Maps Tokens to Users
One of the key challenges in multi-user apps is ensuring that each user's tokens are stored and retrieved correctly. The Zoho CRM Python SDK handles this automatically.
As part of the OAuth flow, the SDK retrieves the user's email and organization info in the background using the scopes ZohoCRM.users.READ and ZohoCRM.org.READ. It then uses this unique user–org combination to:
- Store access and refresh tokens separately for each user
- Automatically update tokens when a user logs in again
- Ensure that all API calls are authorized with the correct tokens
If you're implementing Login with Zoho using the standard OAuth redirect flow, all of this is handled internally by the SDK using the user and org information retrieved during login. There’s no need to manually pass a UserSignature in the token object.
If you're not implementing Login with Zoho, or if you’d prefer to explicitly associate a token with a known user, you can pass a UserSignature object during initialization:
- from zohocrmsdk.src.com.zoho.api.authenticator import UserSignatureuser = UserSignature(email)token = OAuthToken(..., user_signature=user)Initializer.initialize(..., user=user)
This ensures the SDK can correctly identify the token's owner and separate tokens for different users or orgs in a multi-user application.
Multi-User & Multi-DC Token Management
Authentication can often be one of the trickiest parts of any integration, especially when you're dealing with multiple users, environments, and token refresh cycles. With the Zoho CRM SDKs, much of that complexity is handled for you, from generating and persisting tokens, to refreshing them silently when they expire, and managing user-org mappings behind the scenes.
We hope this Kaizen gave you a clearer picture of how to use our SDKs confidently in your apps. Try out the project, play around, and see how it all works in real time.
If you have any queries, let us know the comments below, or send an email to support@zohocrm.com. We'd love to hear from you.
Download Links:
Further Reading:
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
Anu Abraham
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
Two factor authentication for helpdesk users
The company i work for wants use the helpdesk site in Zoho desk, as a place for their distribution partners to ask question and look for information about our product. The things there is suppose to go up there is somewhat confidential between my companyRemove "Invalid entries found. Rectify and submit again" modal
Following up on a post from a few years back, but can the Zoho team consider either removing the 'Invalid entries found. Rectify and submit again' modal that displays for empty mandatory fields OR allow an admin to change it? I've built a custom errorInsurance Agencies
I am reaching out to see if anyone has any experience in the Insurance Agency world with using Zoho exclusively for the CRM and commissions side of things. Lots of strong features like drip campaigns, meeting, calendars, emails, can all be found in here.Problem with Egyptian internet ISP
Dears, We have problem with our ADSL internet SP, That your site not working with. So, we contact them and they asking us to contact you to solve this problem. The problem that when we are connecting to Tedata ADSL your website not working (Business Email). BR,, Mohamed OmarEmails not being received from a particular domain
Cannot receive any emails sent from atco.com Domain is in the spam whitelist so should be no reason for it not to be coming through. Have filed a ticket and besides a generic response of we are looking at it - it seems there is no actual support workersMail Not Showing In Inbox or Sent Box
Hi, there are mails that are not displaying in both my inbox and sent box. I just tried the iPad app and it is the same but there is a blank field where a mail should be and it refers to a server error. Please fix this.Possible to bold or indent text in the description field?
As part of one item, I often have a detailed description that would be much easier to read if there was the ability to have a bulleted list or bold text and the like. Is this possible? My last invoicing software allowed markup in the field so, for example, an asterisk meant a bullet. I haven't been able to find any documentation related to this. Any information would be appreciated. Thank you.Marketing Automation List Entry Criteria is no longer an option
For a couple of years now we have used the "List Entry Criteria" option to filter our Journey recipient list. All of a suddent the option no longer exists for New Lists and I can only delete the option from existing lists but can no longer edit it. AnyoneGCLID arrives not in CRM with iframe integrated ZOHO Form
Hello amazing community, I enabled Adwords integration in ZOHO CRM. I have a ZOHO Form integrated in a wordpress. I tested iframe and Javascript. I enabled the "handover" GCLID in the ZOHO Form. When I add a GLID with http://www.example.com/?gclid=TeSter-123.How to overcome Zoho Deluge's time limit?
I have built a function according to the following scheme: pages = {1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10}; for each page in pages { entriesPerPage = zoho.crm.getRecords("Accounts",page,200); for each entry in entriesPerPage { … } } Unfortunately, we have too many entriesAdd Webhook Response Module to Zoho Flow
Hi Zoho Flow Team, We’d like to request a Webhook Response capability for Zoho Flow that can return a dynamic, computed reply to the original webhook caller after / during the flow runs. What exists today Zoho Flow’s webhook trigger can send custom acknowledgementsTriggering Zoho Flow on Workdrive File Label
Right now Im trying to have a zoho flow trigger on the labeling/classification of a file in a folder. Looking at the trigger options they arent great for something like this. File event occurred is probably the most applicable, but the events it has arentBidirectional sync between Zoho Bookings and Zoho CRM - Part 1
Hey, community members! The default integration between Zoho CRM and Zoho Bookings is unidirectional, which means that any appointments booked, rescheduled, or deleted in Zoho Bookings will be reflected in Zoho CRM. However, any modifications made toIs it possible to edit placeholder text?
In the master slides I want to make sure my templates have more meaning for the users and want to replace the standard placeholder text with something more instructional. Instead of "Click to edit Mast subtitle styles" I want to have "Click to enter reportingDelay function execute
I've got a workflow which uses a webhook to send information to Flow, which in return updates a record in Creator. Problem is, by the time this has executed, the rest of my script has run and can't find the (yet to be) updated info in the record. Is thereRefunds do not export from Shopify, Amazon and Esty to Zoho. And then do not go from Zoho inventory to Quickbooks.
I have a huge hole in my accounts from refunds and the lack of synchronisation between shopify , Amazon and Etsy to Zoho ( i.e when I process a refund on shopify/ Amazon or Etsy it does not come through to Zoho) and then if I process a manual credit note/How to allow download of a file AFTER information is collected?
I can't find this anywhere. Can someone help with what seems to be a pretty basic web function today? - File is stored in Workdrive - Prospect goes to a URL where the file is located - System requests prospect to enter "Name" and "Email" - An email isEmail Reminders on Shared Calendars
How do we turn off the setting that emails reminders to everyone who has accepted or declined a calendar invite? If 8 of us have been invited to the same meeting, we receive 8 notifications for every step of the process, from invitation to decision.Bulk Fill In & Edit PO/Bill/SO/Invoice
Hello, I am adding stock in bulk on a PO, the system is automatically populating the Rate (price) and Tax from the item data. Problem is that the bill rate is different from the rate on the item data, so I have to manually erase each and enter the price.Fixed Assets beg balance
Hello, I trust you are well I'm a new zoho books user and I find it difficult to plug in the fixed assets balance and here's what I have done: 1- I imported the fixed assets data into the fixed assets module as per the instructions 2- the import processSyncing with Google calendar, Tasks and Events
Is it possible to sync Zoho CRM calendar, task and events with Google Calendar's tasks and events. With the increasing adoption by many major tool suppliers to sync seamlessly with Google's offerings (for instance I use the excellent Any.do task planningCRM Deluge how can link attach file with workdrive file.
Hi, We have create file at workdrive and would like to link to attachment at crm module by deluge. Right now can only upload it to attachment but can not link the file from workdrive. Thank youFeature announcement: AI-powered document generator in Zoho Sign
Hi there! We recently announced manual document creation by offering an editor within Zoho Sign. Today, we are excited to announce AI-powered document generation to help you draft agreements, purchase orders, and other important business documents inPermanently deleted files
Is there a way to get back permanently deleted files from your account if they were accidentally deleted and no longer recoverable from the recycling bin? I know I am probably screwed but I just figured I would ask.Reports: Custom Search Function Fields
Hi Zoho, Hope you'll add this into your roadmap. Issue: For the past 2yrs our global team been complaining and was brought to our attention recently that it's a time consuming process looking/scrolling down. Use-case: This form is a service report withShared Mailbox in iOS app
Hi, On the desktop I am using a Shared mailbox for our company's general mailbox that somebody else should be able to view. In the iOS app however I can't find it? Old sources on the internet says this isn't possible but that can't be right? SomebodyTip #41- Simplify Compliance and Efficiency with Zoho Assist’s Data Cleanup Feature- 'Insider Insights'
Managing device data efficiently is just as important as securing remote access. With Zoho Assist’s Data Cleanup feature, admins can easily remove outdated or unnecessary device records, keeping the console organized and secure. This action is carriedRevenue Management: #6 Revenue Recognition in Professional Services Industry
If you run a consulting firm, agency, or any service-based business, you have a situation where you have signed the contract, maybe even sent the invoice, and have received some initial payments. So, can you consider this as revenue? What if the projectThis domain is not allowed to add. Please contact support-as@zohocorp.com for further details
I am trying to setup the free version of Zoho Mail. When I tried to add my domain, theselfreunion.com I got the error message that is the subject of this Topic. I've read your other community forum topics, and this is NOT a free domain. So what is theZoho fsm scheduled maintenance dispatch
Hi, I'm reaching out regarding an issue I'm encountering with the Scheduled Maintenance feature in Zoho FSM. I’m trying to configure it so that it automatically dispatches all maintenance jobs scheduled within the next 150 days, starting from today. However,Template modifiactions
Hello, I am struggling with the templates in ZOHO Books. Especially with the placement of some items, like company address, ship to, bill to etc. For example: One item I like from template X (placement of ship to and bill to next to each other in thezoho.inventory.getRecords returns no records
I running a custom function (Deluge) in Zoho Flow with a connection to Zoho Inventory. To debug the problem, I created the test function below. It returns "Number of contacts fetched: 0". This confirms that there's no issue with the org ID or connectionHow do I get Status History data of my Projects?
I want to build a table in Zoho Analytics that Groups by Date, when Projects entered a certain status. I cannot find Status History or any such useful data available in the Setup of my Data Source sync. Please advise how I can achieve this?Zoho Campaigns Event timestamps do not propagate to Zoho CRM
We have integrated Zoho CRM and Zoho Campaigns. But when looking at Contact records, the Campaign event data is missing the actual timestamps: especially when a particular email was sent. They're not in the Campaigns related list, and the cannot be foundFeature announcement - Simplifying document creation with Zoho Sign
Hi there, We are pleased to announce the release of our document creation feature, enabling you to create, edit, and finalize documents like agreements, purchase orders, and contracts without relying on external tools or applications. <br> ThisIntegrating File Attachments in Zoho Flow Email Notifications
Hi, I would like to be able to send an email once an entry is made in a form, and in this email, I would like to attach a file that has been added to the form using the ImageUpload (or FileUpload) widget. So, I started by creating a flow that will triggerzurl URL shortener Not working in Zoho social
zurl URL shortener Not working in while creating a post in Zoho socialCRM->INVENTORY, sync products as composite items
We have a product team working in the CRM, as it’s more convenient than using Books or Inventory—especially with features like Blueprints being available. Once a product reaches a certain stage, it needs to become visible in Inventory. To achieve this,Zoho Mail SMTP IP addresses
We are using Zoho Mail and needs to whitelist IP for some redirections from your service to another e-mails. You can provide IP address list for Zohomail SMTP servers?Zoho project purchases
Hi Folks, I think having a purchase module in projects will help in putting together a project p and L. Project wise purchases and expenses. Do let me know your thoughts.Next Page