Kaizen #79 - OAuth2.0 - A Recap and FAQs

Kaizen #79 - OAuth2.0 - A Recap and FAQs

Hello everyone!
Welcome to another week of Kaizen!
Today, we will address a few frequently-asked questions about OAuth2.0 that include token generation, scopes, errors etc,.
If you have any other questions, let us know in the comment section. We will offer solutions and add them to this list.
Before we move on to common errors and their solutions, let us look at generating grant, access and refresh tokens for a client.

1. Creating a client

You must register your client on the API console to request access to users' resources. This client must handle authenticating itself to the authorization server and requesting an access token to access the users' resources.
Here is an example for creating a client for a server-based application.


2. Setting up an environment in Postman

  1. On the sidebar, click Environments > + icon.
  2. Enter a name for your environment.
  3. Create the following variables. We will fill in their values as we go along.
    ->client-id (obtained after registering the client)
    ->client-secret     (obtained after registering the client)
    ->redirect-uri (    given at the time of registering the client)
    ->accounts-url
    ->access-token
    ->refresh-token
    ->api-domain
    ->expiry-time
  4. Select Save to save any environment variables you have added.


3. Generating the authorization code(grant token)

The authorization code flow is often used when the client is a web application running on a server. This flow uses a server-side redirect URI to receive the authorization code and adds a layer of security, rather than relying on a client-side redirect URI.

What do you need?

  • client ID - obtained after registering the client.
  • scopes - to get consent from the users to use their data. See the available scopes here.
  • response_type - the value "code" as we are requesting for an authorization code.
  • access_type - online or offline(to get a refresh token along with an access token, later).

What will you get?

  • code - a one-time grant token that you will use to generate access and refresh tokens.
  • accounts-server - the Zoho accounts URL that you will use to generate access and refresh tokens. This is the variable accounts-url in Postman.
  • location - the API domain from which you must make API calls to access data. This is the variable api-domain in Postman.
Tip:
If you do not have an application, yet, but want to test this flow, copy-paste the following URL in your browser with valid values for the various parameters. 
You will receive the grant token as a value to the key "code" in the redirect URL you specified while registering the client.

Here is a GIF of this process.


Self-client

Use this option if your application does not have a domain and a redirect URL.
You can also use this when your application is a standalone server-side application performing a back-end job like data sync.


4. Generating access and refresh tokens from the grant token

Access tokens allow the application to access user's data from the resource server. Each access token is valid for an hour, after which, you must use the refresh token to generate a new access token. 

Note
Each access token is bound to the scope you specified while generating the grant token, i.e, if the scope while generating the grant token was ZohoCRM.modules.READ, you can only get data from all the modules but not update, create, or delete.

What do you need to generate access and refresh tokens?

  • client_id - obtained while registering the client
  • client_secret - obtained while registering the client
  • redirect_uri - specified while registering the client
  • code - the grant token you generated in the previous step
  • grant_type - the value authorization_code

What will you get?

  • access token - the token to access users' data. Valid for an hour.
  • refresh token - the token to generate new access token for the same scope. Does not expire until it is revoked or till the 21st refresh token is created.
  • scope - the scope for which these tokens are generated for.
  • API domain - the domain to which you must make API calls to access data.
  • expiry time in seconds and milliseconds - the time after which the access token expires in seconds and milliseconds. You can use this data to programmatically refresh the access token before it expires for continued access to data.
Here is how it works.


Tip:
When you use our API collection, the request to generate access and refresh tokens comes with a script that automatically updates the values of variables in your environment.


FAQs

1. Validity

  • Grant token - Two minutes; one-time use only.
  • Access token - One hour.
  • Refresh token - does not expire until it is revoked or a 21st refresh token is created.

2. Token Limit

  • Grant token - Ten grant tokens in a span of ten minutes.
  • Access token - Ten access tokens in a span of ten minutes. When you generate the 11th token, the first-created one will be deleted, automatically.
  • Refresh token - Ten refresh tokens in a span of ten minutes. You can have a maximum of 20 refresh tokens. When you create a 21st refresh token, the first-created one will be deleted.
The following are a few common errors you may face while generating tokens.

Error
Cause
Solution
invalid_oauth_token
The access token is either invalid or has expired.
Use the right access token or generate a new one from the refresh token.
invalid_scope
The scope you have used is invalid. 
Refer to Scopes for the list of available scopes.
invalid_code
The authorization code(grant token) is invalid or has expired.
Grant token is valid only for two minutes. Use a grant token to generate access and refresh tokens within this time.
Generate a new grant token if you face this error.
invalid_redirect_uri
The redirect URI you have given in the API console is invalid.
Specify a valid redirect URI to be able to receive a grant token.
invalid_client
Either the client ID or client secret is invalid.
Specify valid client ID and secret while making authorization calls. The API console has the client ID and secret.
invalid_response_type
The value of the "response_type" key is invalid.
While generating access and refresh tokens from the grant token, the value of the "response_type" key must always be "code".

Multi-DC

Zoho CRM is hosted at multiple data centers to comply with the privacy and data protection laws of various countries.
So, if your application is in the US DC but wants to use the data of users in the EU DC, you must enable multi-DC while registering your client.

The various domains and their respective accounts URLs are:

How do you ascertain the domain?

When you generate the grant token, the parameter location gives you the DC that the data is located in.
Similarly, when you generate the access and refresh tokens, the key api_domain gives you the domain-specific API URL.
For example, if you want to get the data of leads from EU, the API URL must be https://www.zohoapis.eu/crm/v4/Leads

We hope you found this post useful. We will meet you next week with another interesting topic.

Let us know your questions in the comment section or write to us at support@zohocrm.com.

Cheers!
Shylaja

    Access your files securely from anywhere

        All-in-one knowledge management and training platform for your employees and customers.








                              Zoho Developer Community



                                  Bootcamp
                                  Community
                                  Pricing
                                  Webinars
                                  What's New
                                  Integrations
                                  Contact Support
                                  Contact Sales
                                    Zoho Survey Resources
                                      Features
                                      Survey Templates
                                      Integrations
                                      Community
                                      iOS Mobile Surveys
                                      Pricing
                                      Android Mobile Surveys
                                      Insurvey Blogs
                                      Insight Blogs
                                      Tips & Tricks





                                                  Latest Feature Updates

                                                    • Desk Community Learning Series


                                                    • Digest


                                                    • Functions


                                                    • Meetups


                                                    • Kbase


                                                    • Resources


                                                    • Glossary


                                                    • Desk Marketplace


                                                    • MVP Corner


                                                    • Word of the Day


                                                    • Ask the Experts




                                                        Zoho SalesIQ Resources

                                                              • 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 this

                                                              • Kaizen #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 how

                                                              • 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 are


                                                              Manage your brands on social media
                                                              Access Zoho Social

                                                                Zoho Pagesense Resources


                                                                    Zoho TeamInbox Resources

                                                                      Zoho DataPrep 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

                                                                                        • CRM Community Learning Series

                                                                                          CRM Community Learning Series


                                                                                        • Kaizen

                                                                                          Kaizen

                                                                                        • Functions

                                                                                          Functions

                                                                                        • Meetups

                                                                                          Meetups

                                                                                        • Kbase

                                                                                          Kbase

                                                                                        • Resources

                                                                                          Resources

                                                                                        • Digest

                                                                                          Digest

                                                                                        • CRM Marketplace

                                                                                          CRM Marketplace

                                                                                        • MVP Corner

                                                                                          MVP Corner









                                                                                            Design. Discuss. Deliver.

                                                                                            Create visually engaging stories with Zoho Show.

                                                                                            Get Started Now


                                                                                              Zoho Show Resources

                                                                                                Zoho Writer

                                                                                                Get Started. Write Away!

                                                                                                Writer is a powerful online word processor, designed for collaborative work.

                                                                                                  Zoho CRM コンテンツ




                                                                                                    Nederlandse Hulpbronnen


                                                                                                        ご検討中の方




                                                                                                                • Recent Topics

                                                                                                                • Introducing Workqueue: your all-in-one view to manage daily work

                                                                                                                  Hello all, We’re excited to introduce a major productivity boost to your CRM experience: Workqueue, a dynamic, all-in-one workspace that brings every important sales activity, approval, and follow-up right to your fingertips. What is Workqueue? Sales

                                                                                                                • Default Reminder Time in New Tasks or New Event?

                                                                                                                  Any way to change this from 1:00am? Thanks, Gary Moderation Update (February 2026): With the Calendar preferences, the default reminder time for Meetings, Appointments and All-Day Meetings can be set. Read more: Calendar preferences in Zoho CRM Regarding

                                                                                                                • Dynamic Field Folders in OneDrive

                                                                                                                  Hi, With the 2 options today we have either a Dynamic Parent Folder and lots of attachments all in that one folder with only the ability to set the file name (Which is also not incremented so if I upload 5 photos to one field they are all named the same

                                                                                                                • Right Shift key not sending to Zoho Assist environments

                                                                                                                  I'm unable to use Right Shift key in Zoho environments. Zoho environments are Win10. Computer I access from is Win 11. Issue started when I changed to Win 11. Have tried: - Multiple browsers - web client AND desktop client - 3rd party mapping tools to

                                                                                                                • Unable to Filter Retail Sales Orders & Need Paid/Unpaid Filter – Zoho Books

                                                                                                                  Hi Zoho Team, Recently you introduced Retail – Standard and Retail – Premium templates for Sales Orders. However, in the Sales Order module we still cannot filter or segregate Retail Sales Orders separately from normal B2B sales orders. Because of this,

                                                                                                                • About Meetings (Events module)

                                                                                                                  I was working on an automation to cancel appointments in zoho flow , and in our case, we're using the Meetings module (which is called Events in API terms). But while working with it, I'm wondering what information I can display in the image where the

                                                                                                                • PDF Annotation is here - Mark Up PDFs Your Way!

                                                                                                                  Reviewing PDFs just got a whole lot easier. You can now annotate PDFs directly in Zoho Notebook. Highlight important sections, add text, insert images, apply watermarks, and mark up documents in detail without leaving your notes. No app switching. No

                                                                                                                • Ability to assign Invoice Ownership through Deluge in FSM

                                                                                                                  Hi, As part of our process, when a service appointment is completed, we automated the creation of the invoice based on a specific business logic using Deluge. When we do that, the "Owner" of the invoice in Zoho FSM is defaulted to the SuperAdmin. This

                                                                                                                • How do you do ticket add ons in Backstage?

                                                                                                                  Hi Everyone, If you wanted to have general admin tickets and allow for add ons, like camping, or car or Carbon offset. What would you do? Peace Robin

                                                                                                                • From Zoho CRM to Paper : Design & Print Data Directly using Canvas Print View

                                                                                                                  Hello Everyone, We are excited to announce a new addition to your Canvas in Zoho CRM - Print View. Canvas print view helps you transform your custom CRM layouts into print-ready documents, so you can bring your digital data to the physical world with

                                                                                                                • validation rules doesn't work in Blueprint when it is validated using function?

                                                                                                                  I have tried to create a validation rule in the deal module. it works if I try to create a deal manually or if I try to update the empty field inside a deal. but when I try to update the field via the blueprint mandatory field, it seems the validation

                                                                                                                • Pull cells from one sheet onto another

                                                                                                                  Hello all! I have created an ingredients database where i have pricing and information and i want to pull from that database into a recipe calculator. I want it to pull based on what ingredient I choose. The ingredients database has an idea and i want

                                                                                                                • Emails Failing with “Relaying Issues – Mail Sending Blocked” in ZeptoMail

                                                                                                                  Hello ZeptoMail Support Team, We are facing an email delivery issue in our ZeptoMail account where emails are failing with the status “Process failed” and the reason “Relaying issues – Mail sending blocked.” Issue Details Agent Name: mail_agent_iwwa From

                                                                                                                • How does Zoho handle support operations for our EU users?

                                                                                                                  Dear Zoho users, We have some news and reminders about how we handle support operations for Zoho users in the EU Data Center. This is part of our broader commitment to ensuring GDPR compliance and providing secure data handling for all users. We'd like

                                                                                                                • Layout Adjustment.

                                                                                                                  Hello Latha, Hope you are doing well. I wanted to check with you about adjusting the layout columns in the Service Report from the backend, as currently there is no capability for us to customize the layout from our end. Below is the output that I am

                                                                                                                • Anyone in Australia using Zoho Books AND has their account with NAB?

                                                                                                                  Hi I have an account with both NAB and Suncorp. Suncorp transaction come in the next day however NAB transactions take 4-5 business days to appear. eg: A deposit made today in my Suncorp will be imported into Zoho tomorrow. A deposit made today to the NAB account will be imported maybe Saturday (Friday overnight). I have contacted both Zoho and NAB but noone seems to know why. I was just wondering if anyone else in Australia uses NAB and has this issue (or doesn't) maybe we could compare notes and

                                                                                                                • Zoho Often Lag

                                                                                                                  Desk Team, We've noticed that Desk, Creator & other apps seems to lag more these days. We often refresh multiple times.

                                                                                                                • Offer already made- but I withdrew it

                                                                                                                  I made an offer letter, but made a mistake on it. I withdrew the offer but now I can't recreate the correct offer. Zoho keeps saying that "A same offer has already been made". I look in the "offers" and there are NO offers (this is the first time I've

                                                                                                                • Importing into the 'file upload' field

                                                                                                                  Can you import attachments into the file upload field. I would expect it to work the same way as attachments do, But can't seem to get it to work. Moderation Update: The option to import into File Upload and Image Upload fields has been supported. Read

                                                                                                                • Layout Rules Don't Apply To Blueprints

                                                                                                                  Hi Zoho the conditional layout rules for fields and making fields required don't work well with with Blueprints if those same fields are called DURING a Blueprint. Example. I have field A that is used in layout rule. If value of field A is "1" it is supposed to show and make required field B. If the value to field A is "2" it is supposed to show and make required field C. Now I have a Blueprint that says when last stage moves to "Closed," during the transition, the agent must fill out field A. Now

                                                                                                                • Why is the ability Customize Calls module so limited?

                                                                                                                  Why can't I add additional sections? why can't I add other field types than the very limited subset that zoho allows? Why can I only add fields to the outbound/inbound call sections and not to the Call Information section?

                                                                                                                • Zoho Desk blank screen

                                                                                                                  opened a ticket from my email, zoho desk comes up blank, nothing loads. our receptionist also gets the same thing under her login on her computer. our sales rep also gets same thing on zoho desk at his home on a different computer. I tried clearing cache/history/cookies,

                                                                                                                • Optimum CRM setup for new B2B business

                                                                                                                  Can some advise the most common way to setup Zoho CRM to handle sales for a B2B company? Specifically in how to handle inbound/outbound emails. I have spent hours researching online and can't seem to find an accepted approach, or even a tutorial. I have

                                                                                                                • filter on sheets mobile (iOS, iPadOS) does not work

                                                                                                                  I have this issue on every spreadsheet, whether imported or created natively in Zoho Sheets. I can use on desktop without issue: desktop screenshot on iOS the filter dropdowns are not there and there is no way to add them mobile iPadOS looks the same

                                                                                                                • 【Zoho CRM】商談タブへのデータインポート

                                                                                                                  Zoho使用前にエクセルで管理していた商談情報を、Zoho一括管理のため、商談タブにインポートしたいのですが、お客さまの氏名だけが紐づけられませんでした。 「Zoho CRMにインポートする項目を関連付ける」のところが画像のようになっています。 （弊社では、「姓」を「★個人データ名」という項目名に変更し、フルネームを入れて使用しています。） どのようにしたら氏名をインポートできるかご存じの方がいらっしゃいましたら、ご教示いただきたく、よろしくお願いいたします。 （投稿先が間違っていましたらご指

                                                                                                                • 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,

                                                                                                                • Can't edit Segments

                                                                                                                  Happening with 2 different Zoho One environments, in different browsers. Please fix.

                                                                                                                • Zoho Sheet for Desktop

                                                                                                                  Does Zoho plans to develop a Desktop version of Sheet that installs on the computer like was done with Writer?

                                                                                                                • Transfer ownership of files and folders in My Folders

                                                                                                                  People work together as a team to achieve organizational goals and objectives. In an organization, there may be situations when someone leaves unexpectedly or is no longer available. This can put their team in a difficult position, especially if there

                                                                                                                • Consumer Financing

                                                                                                                  Does Zoho currently have a payment gateway (such as Stripe, Square, etc) which offers financing for customers? So, let's say the estimate we give the customer is greater than what they can afford at the time, but we can sell the service now, letting them

                                                                                                                • Subform edits don't appear in parent record timeline?

                                                                                                                  Is it possible to have subform edits (like add row/delete row) appear in the Timeline for parent records? A user can edit a record, only edit the subform, and it doesn't appear in the timeline. Is there a workaround or way that we can show when a user

                                                                                                                • Zoho CRM - Option to create Follow-Up Task

                                                                                                                  When completing a Zoho CRM Task, it would be very helpful if there was an option to "Complete and Create Follow-Up Task" in the pop-up which appears. It could clone the task you are closing and then show it on the screen in edit mode, all the user would

                                                                                                                • Deluge function to copy parent record file upload field to child record file upload field

                                                                                                                  I'm stuck trying to write a deluge function that is triggered via automation in child record "Appointments," confirms if a file is in file upload "Report" field of parent "Contacts" record via Contacts lookup field "Contact_Name". If no file is in parent

                                                                                                                • Zoho Books Sandbox environment

                                                                                                                  Hello. Is there a free sandbox environment for the developers using Zoho Books API? I am working on the Zoho Books add-on and currently not ready to buy a premium service - maybe later when my add-on will start to bring money. Right now I just need a

                                                                                                                • Make panel configuration interface wider

                                                                                                                  Hi there, The same way you changed the custom function editor's interface wider, it would be nice to be able to edit panels in pages using the full width of the screen rather than the currently max-width: 1368px. Is there a reason for having the configuration panel not taking the full width? Its impossible at this width to edit panels that have a lot of elements. Please change it to 100% so we can better edit the layouts. Thanks! B.

                                                                                                                • Image Compression Options

                                                                                                                  Much better if we have level of options to compress the image [20%, 40%...] We are dealing with service reports daily that has before and after photos (image field)- the file size too large and one thing, the current limit is 10mb or 15mb for report

                                                                                                                • Cannot get code to work with v2.mergeAndStore!

                                                                                                                  Please can someone help me pass subform items into a repeating mail merge table row using v2.mergeAndStore? I have a mail merge template created in Writer and stored in Workdrive. This template is referenced by a custom CRM function which merges all of

                                                                                                                • How to hide or archive a blog post temporarily in Zoho commerce website builder?

                                                                                                                  I would like to temporarily hide or archive a blog post in zoho commerce website builder so that it doesnt appear on my website till I enable it again. I tried to look for this option but could not find it.  It only allows me to permanently delete a blog

                                                                                                                • Founders using Zoho — are you leveraging Zoho Campaigns + Zoho Social for thought leadership… or just sending emails?

                                                                                                                  I’ve noticed something interesting in the Zoho ecosystem. Many founders use Zoho Campaigns and Zoho Social for basic marketing—newsletters, scheduled posts, and announcements. But very few are using these tools strategically to: • Position themselves

                                                                                                                • How to mix different types of inputs (such as dropdown list and textbox)

                                                                                                                  Hi, I'm creating a form called "Room Reservations" for a company. I created a "table" using "Matrix Choice". I created "Room 1", "Room 2" and "Room 3" with the "Questions". I would then like to create two columns with the "Answers", one called "Department"

                                                                                                                • Next Page