Kaizen #94 - PHP SDK V4 - Configuration and Initialization

Kaizen #94 - PHP SDK V4 - Configuration and Initialization

Hello and welcome to another Kaizen week!

In previous Kaizen posts, we have covered in detail how to configure and initialize PHP SDKs for Zoho CRM v2.1 APIs. We have since released SDKs for v4 and v5 APIs. However, starting from v4, there are some changes in the configuration and initialization process.  In this post, we will discuss you how to configure and initialize PHP SDK v4 and v5.

The PHP Software Development Kit (SDK) simplifies the integration of client PHP applications with Zoho CRM. Acting as a wrapper for the REST APIs, it streamlines the usage of Zoho CRM services. 

Before proceeding with the configuration, make that your client application meets the prerequisites. This includes having PHP 7 or above installed, along with the cURL extension, which is necessary for connecting and communicating with Zoho CRM APIs.

I. Register your application with Zoho CRM

Registering your application with Zoho CRM is a mandatory step in order to authenticate and authorize API calls using the OAuth2.0 standards.
  1. Go to https://api-console.zoho.com
  2. Click on Get Started or +ADD CLIENT.
  3. Choose the Client Type as Self-Client or Server based Applications depending on your application.
  4. Fill in the necessary details and click CREATE. Once you successfully register your self-client, you will receive a Client ID and Client Secret.

II. Installing the PHP SDK 

  1. If not already installed, follow the instructions provided at the corresponding link to install Composer.

     Mac/Linux
     curl -sS https://getcomposer.org/installer | php (terminal command)
     Windows https://getcomposer.org/doc/00-intro.md#installation-windows

  2. Install PHP-SDK using Composer
    1. Navigate to the workspace of your client app.
    2. Run the following command in the workspace. Upon successful installation, the system will create a package named vendor in the workspace of your client app. 
       
      composer require zohocrm/php-sdk-4.0 (for v4 APIs)
       composer require zohocrm/php-sdk-5.0 (for v5 APIs)
  3. To use the SDK in your project, add the following line in your project PHP files. This loads and includes our PHP-SDK library in your project. If you skip this step, you will get a fatal error in response due to the missing libraries.
     require 'vendor/autoload.php';

III. Token Persistence

Token persistence refers to storing and utilizing authentication tokens provided by Zoho, enabling the SDK to refresh the access tokens without user intervention. The SDK offers three types of persistence - File, DB, and Custom - with file persistence being the default method. 
The persistence is achieved by writing an implementation of the inbuilt TokenStore interface, which has the following callback methods. 

 Methods Description
 findToken(Token $token) Invoked before firing a request to fetch the saved tokens. This method returns an implementation of Token interface object for the library to process it.
 saveToken(Token $token) Invoked after fetching access and refresh tokens from Zoho. This method saves the token details.
 deleteToken($id) This method is used to delete the given token details.
 getTokens() The method is used to retrieve all the stored tokens.
 deleteTokens()  The method to delete all the stored tokens.
 findTokenById($id)  This method is used to retrieve the user token details based on the unique ID.

Here, $token is an instance of the Token interface.

Token Persistence using a Database

In Database persistence, tokens are stored and retrieved from a database (e.g., MySQL).
Create a table in your database with the following required columns. For example, if you want to persist your tokens in a table named token in database named zoho, use this:
 
 CREATE DATABASE zoho; // use this to create database named zoho
// use this to create a table named token, with the following necessary columns
CREATE TABLE token ( 
  id varchar(10) NOT NULL,
  user_name varchar(255) NOT NULL,
  client_id varchar(255),
  client_secret varchar(255),
  refresh_token varchar(255),
  access_token varchar(255),
  grant_token varchar(255),
  expiry_time varchar(20),
  redirect_url varchar(255),
  primary key (id)
);

Note that the columns are different for API v2.1. Please refer to this post for more details. . 

File Persistence

File Persistence allows storing and retrieving the authentication tokens from the given file path. The file contains id, user_name, client_id, client_secret, refresh_token, access_token, grant_token, expiry_time and redirect_url. 

Custom Persistence

Custom Persistence refers to a technique where users can create their own method of storing and retrieving authentication tokens. To use this method, users need to implement the TokenStore interface and override its methods according to their own logic.

IV. Configuration

The configuration step involves setting up various details in the SDK, such as user authentication, token persistence, logging, API call timeout settings, and more. The following keys are defined during this process:
  1. environment (mandatory): The API environment which decides the domain and the URL to make API calls, in Domain::Environment pattern.
    Domains : USDataCenter, EUDataCenter, INDataCenter, CNDataCenter, AUDataCenter
    Environments : PRODUCTION(), DEVELOPER(), SANDBOX()
  2. Token (mandatory): This key contains the user token details. Create an instance of OAuthToken with the information that you get after registering your Zoho client.  Depending on the available tokens, you can select one of the following flows:
    Note : You need to generate the tokens (grant/access/refresh) beforehand to use them in the respective flows.
    a) grantToken flow - You should use the grant Token for configuration.
     $token = (new OAuthBuilder())
      ->clientId("clientId")
      ->clientSecret("clientSecret")
      ->userSignature($user) //optional
      ->grantToken("grantToken")
      ->redirectURL("redirectURL") //optional
      ->build();

    b) refreshToken flow - Utilize the refresh token in this flow.
    $token = (new OAuthBuilder())
      ->clientId("clientId")
      ->clientSecret("clientSecret")
    ->userSignature($user) //optional
      ->refreshToken("refreshToken")
      ->build();

    c) accessToken flow - You can use the access token to configure in this flow. Please note that the token will not be persisted in this case, and the access token will be directly used to make the API calls.
    $token = (new OAuthBuilder())
       ->userSignature($user) //optional
       ->accessToken("accessToken")
       ->build(); 

    d) id flow - You can use the id from the persisted token file/DB to make API calls. The id is a unique system generated value for each token details entry in the file/DB.
    $token = (new OAuthBuilder())
       ->id("id")
       ->build();

  3. logger (optional) : Create an instance of Logger Class to log exception and API information. You can set the level you want to log (FATAL, ERROR, WARNING, INFO, DEBUG, TRACE, ALL, OFF), and also configure the file path and file name for the log file. The default level is OFF.

    $logger = (new LogBuilder())
      ->level(Levels::INFO)
      ->filePath("/Documents/php_sdk_log.log")
      ->build();

  4. store (optional) : Configure your token persistence using this method. If this is skipped, the SDK creates the sdk_tokens.txt in the current working directory to persist the tokens by default. For more details, refer here.
  5. SDKConfig (optional) : The additional SDK configurations are taken care of with this method. 
     Configuration Key
    Description
     autoRefreshFields
     Default Value : False
    A boolean configuration key to enable or disable automatic refreshing of module fields in the background. If set to true, fields are refreshed every hour, and if set to false, fields must be manually refreshed or deleted.
     pickListValidation
     Default Value : True
    This field enables or disables pick list validation. If enabled, user input for pick list fields is validated, and if the value does not exist in the pick list, the SDK throws an error. If disabled, the input is not validated and the API call is made.
     enableSSLVerification
     Default Value : True
    A boolean field to enable or disable curl certificate verification. If set to true, the SDK verifies the authenticity of certificate. If set to false, the SDK skips the verification.
     connectionTimeout
     Default Value : 0
    The maximum time (in seconds) to wait while trying to connect. Use 0 to wait indefinitely.
     timeout
     Default Value : 0
    The maximum time (in seconds) to allow cURL functions to execute. Use 0 to wait indefinitely.

  6. requestProxy (optional) : Contains the proxy properties of the user. Configure this only if you're using a proxy server to make the API calls.
    $requestProxy = (new ProxyBuilder())
     ->host("proxyHost")
     ->port("proxyPort")
     ->user("proxyUser")
     ->password("password")
     ->build();

  7. resourcePath (optional) : Configure the absolute directory path to store user specific files containing module fields information. If skipped, the files will be stored in the project directory itself.

V. Initilization

After completing the configuration, you can proceed with initializing the SDK, and begin making API requests.

Here is a sample code to initialize the SDK, using refresh token flow and DB Persistence. 
 <?php
  use com\zoho\api\authenticator\OAuthBuilder;
  use com\zoho\api\authenticator\store\DBBuilder;
  use com\zoho\crm\api\InitializeBuilder;
  use com\zoho\crm\api\UserSignature;
  use com\zoho\crm\api\dc\USDataCenter;
  use com\zoho\api\logger\LogBuilder;
  use com\zoho\api\logger\Levels;
  use com\zoho\crm\api\SDKConfigBuilder;
  use com\zoho\crm\api\ProxyBuilder;

  require_once "vendor/autoload.php";

  class Initialize
  {
    public static function initializeSDK()
    {
      $user = new UserSignature("patricia@zoho.com");
      $environment = USDataCenter::PRODUCTION();
      $token = (new OAuthBuilder())
        ->clientId("1000.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx")
        ->clientSecret("554a9xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx")
->userSignature($user) //optional
        ->refreshToken("1000.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx") 
        ->redirectURL("www.zoho.com") //optional
        ->build();
     $logger = (new LogBuilder())
       ->level(Levels::INFO)
       ->filePath("/Documents/php_sdk_log.log")
       ->build();
     $tokenstore = (new DBBuilder())
       ->host("insert_your_hostname_here")
       ->databaseName("insert_your_database_name_here")
       ->userName("insert_your_db_username_here")
       ->password("insert_your_db_password_here")
       ->portNumber("insert_your_portnumber_here")
       ->tableName("insert_your_table_name_here")
       ->build();
     $autoRefreshFields = false;
     $pickListValidation = false;
     $connectionTimeout = 2;
     $timeout = 2;
     $enableSSLVerification = false;
     $configInstance = (new SDKConfigBuilder())
       ->autoRefreshFields($autoRefreshFields)
       ->pickListValidation($pickListValidation)
       ->sslVerification($enableSSLVerification)
       ->connectionTimeout($connectionTimeout)
       ->timeout($timeout)
       ->build();
     $resourcePath = "/Documents/phpsdk-application";
     $requestProxy = (new ProxyBuilder())
       ->host("proxyHost")
       ->port("proxyPort")
       ->user("proxyUser")
       ->password("password")
       ->build();
    (new InitializeBuilder())
      ->environment($environment)
      ->token($token)
      ->store($tokenstore) //optional
      ->SDKConfig($configInstance) //optional
      ->resourcePath($resourcePath) //optional
      ->logger($logger) //optional
      ->requestProxy($requestProxy) //optional
      ->initialize();
   }
 }

Initialize::initializeSDK();
?>

You are now set to use the PHP SDK and make API calls. 

If you have any queries, let us know the comments below, or send an email to support@zohocrm.com. We would love to hear from you!

Cheers!




    Access your files securely from anywhere







                            Zoho Developer Community




                                                  • Desk Community Learning Series


                                                  • Digest


                                                  • Functions


                                                  • Meetups


                                                  • Kbase


                                                  • Resources


                                                  • Glossary


                                                  • Desk Marketplace


                                                  • MVP Corner


                                                  • Word of the Day


                                                  • Ask the Experts



                                                            • Sticky Posts

                                                            • 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
                                                            • Kaizen #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 achieved
                                                            • Kaizen #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.


                                                            Manage your brands on social media



                                                                  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

                                                                                      • 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

                                                                                                              • 2025 Recap: A Year to Remember | Zoho Inventory

                                                                                                              • Important Update : Pipedrive deprecated fields no longer supported in Zoho Analytics

                                                                                                                Dear Pipedrive users, We would like to inform you about a recent update related to your Pipedrive integration with Zoho Analytics. The Pipedrive team has deprecated certain fields from their application. You can find more details in the official Pipedrive
                                                                                                              • Product Updates in Zoho Workplace applications | November 2025

                                                                                                                Hello Workplace Community, Let’s take a look at the new features and enhancements that went live across all Workplace applications this November. Zoho Mail Format comments easily using Slash Commands With Slash commands, you can easily format text, insert
                                                                                                              • Right-Click Pipeline to Open in New Tab

                                                                                                                Please add the ability to right-click on a pipeline to open it in a new tab
                                                                                                              • Adjusting Physical Inventory

                                                                                                                Not getting very far with support on this one, they say they are going to fix it but nothings happened since November. Please give this a thumbs up if you would like to see this feature or comment if you have some insight. Use Case: Inventory set to be
                                                                                                              • How to install Widget in inventory module

                                                                                                                Hi, I am trying to install a app into Sales Order Module related list, however there is no button allow me to do that. May I ask how to install widget to inventory module related list?
                                                                                                              • Deluge date time issue

                                                                                                                The deluge function info zoho.currentdate.toString("MMM/YYYY") returns Dec 2026 instead of 2025
                                                                                                              • Sending automated messages that appear in the ticket's conversation thread

                                                                                                                Good morning, esteemed Zoho Desk community, warm greetings Today I am here to raise the following problem, seeking a solution that I can implement: I need to implement an automation that allows me to send reminder messages to customers when I am waiting
                                                                                                              • Issue with Zoho Creator Form Full-Screen View in CRM Related List Integration

                                                                                                                Hi Team, We have created a custom application in Zoho Creator and integrated it into Zoho CRM as a related list under the Vendor module, which we have renamed as Consignors. Within the Creator application, there is a form named “Pickup Request.” Inside
                                                                                                              • sync views to sheet

                                                                                                                Im looking to sync my views aka reports in analytics to zoho sheets, when data is updated in analytics it also should be updated in sheets, till now zoho sheets only offer raw data connection and it is not enough as these reports are difficult to re-do
                                                                                                              • How to update the Status in a custom module?

                                                                                                                Hi, I have a custom module "cm_payment_registry" in Billing, I am trying to change the status which is "Draft" with: array = {"custom_status":"Approved"}; zoho.billing.update("cm_payment_registry",organization.get("organization_id"), XXXXXXXXXXXXXX, array,"connectionname");
                                                                                                              • how to add email to existing organization i w

                                                                                                                I am already registered my organization and i have an email id. I need one more email id but i can't find anywhere .i want the cheapest email id . how to add ?
                                                                                                              • is it possible to add more than one Whatsapp Phone Number to be integrated to Zoho CRM?

                                                                                                                so I have successfully added one Whatsapp number like this from this User Interface it seems I can't add a new Whatsapp Number. I need to add a new Whatsapp Number so I can control the lead assignment if a chat sent to Whatsapp Phone Number 1 then assign
                                                                                                              • Replace Zoho Invoice with QuickBooks

                                                                                                                We are implementing Zoho FSM for a cleaning business in the US with 50+ field workers. This business has been using Quickbooks for accounting for decades and will not migrate to Zoho Books. A major issue in the integration is the US sales tax calculation.
                                                                                                              • 2025 Highlights: A Year of Steady Progress and Significant Developments

                                                                                                                As we come to the end of 2025, let's take a moment to reflect on the significant progress and developments we've made to improve your travel and expense management. In the Spotlight Introducing Online Booking (US edition only - Early access) Enable online
                                                                                                              • e-mail bloqueado

                                                                                                                Estou com meu e-mail lucas@peplus.me bloqueado, preciso desbloquear para retorno de usos em minhas atividades.
                                                                                                              • ¿Cómo puedo configurar las contraseñas creadas bajo una directiva para que nunca caduquen y no aparezcan como caducadas en los informes?

                                                                                                                ¿Cómo puedo configurar las contraseñas creadas bajo una directiva para que nunca caduquen y no aparezcan como caducadas en los informes? La razón por la cual contraseña estas no deben caducar es porque su actualización depende de mi cliente y no de mí.
                                                                                                              • Function #42: Show the actual rate of items on invoices

                                                                                                                Hello everyone, and welcome back to our series! In Zoho Books, you have the ability to create Price Lists, wherein you can mark up and mark down the item rates by a specific percentage or set custom rates. Generally, when you apply a price list to an
                                                                                                              • Ability to Set Text Direction for Individual Cells in Zoho Sheet

                                                                                                                Dear Zoho Sheet Team, We hope you are doing well. We would like to request an enhancement in Zoho Sheet that allows users to set the text direction (right-to-left or left-to-right) for individual cells, similar to what is available in Google Sheets. Use
                                                                                                              • New in CRM: Dynamic filters for lookup fields

                                                                                                                Last modified on Oct 28, 2024: This feature was initially available only through Early Access upon request. It is now available to all users across all data centers, except for the IN DC. Users in the IN DC can temporarily request access using this form
                                                                                                              • Warehouse fast processing

                                                                                                                Hey guys, would anyone be interested in something like the attached image ? If there's any interest I'd be willing to develop it further for others to use, it's much faster than using Zohos native solutions, it can part pack, pack in full, part ship,
                                                                                                              • Can't change form's original name in URL

                                                                                                                Hi all, I have been duplicating + editing forms for jobs regarding the same department to maintain formatting + styling. The issue I've not run into is because I've duplicated it from an existing form, the URL doesn't seem to want to update with the new
                                                                                                              • Start/Stop Timmer in Chrome Extension

                                                                                                                The chrome extension is great and allows you to do allot however one of the most common things employees working on projects need to do is track their time. Having an easy start/stop timer to track time would be great.
                                                                                                              • Invalid collection string

                                                                                                                I haven't changed anything in one of my functions. I'm trying to run it manually and suddenly "Invalid collection string" appears. My code has 6 lines and the error says that the error is on 7th line. Why? What does this error mean? Nothing has been changed
                                                                                                              • Zoho Directory 2025: New Features | Security Enhancements | Enriched UI

                                                                                                                Hello everyone, Greetings from the Zoho Directory team! 2025 has been a highly successful year for Zoho Directory. We are delighted to introduce a fresh set of features, an enriched UI, and major product enhancements. These updates aim to deliver a smoother
                                                                                                              • Bulk Schedule for Posting TikTok

                                                                                                                Hallo, We have a client whose business is a social media agency specifically TikTok. Currently they are handling 30 TikTok accounts from. I think zoho Social can handle it with Agency License + with Add on 10 Brands. Their concern is related to posting
                                                                                                              • zoho people 5 report

                                                                                                                How do I customize my report in Zoho People Report? I understand that I can get the results of multi-table queries through SQL join statements, but I don't know the relationship between each table. I tried to create a report using Attendance User Report
                                                                                                              • Leave Report Emailed Weekly

                                                                                                                I am wondering if someone knows how to have a report generated either weekly or monthly or both for department heads and ownership of upcoming employee leave. For instance, it would be nice to get an emailed report on Friday for the upcoming week of who
                                                                                                              • Zoho Flow Decision Continuing Despite Not Meeting Conditions

                                                                                                                I have a picklist field called Lead Status in the leads module, with the following lead Statuses: New Lead Attempted Contact - 1 Attempted Contact - 2 Attempted Contact - 3 Attempted Contact - 4 Attempted Contact - 5 Attempted Contact - 6 Attempted Contact
                                                                                                              • zoho labels api not working

                                                                                                                We're using n8n to automte email reply using zoho api. I'm facing issue with label api. I added the required scopes but its not working. i followed zoho api documentation but didn't work. also, where do i find/how do i create zoho oauth token mentioneeed
                                                                                                              • 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
                                                                                                              • Tip #55- Accessibility Controls in Zoho Assist: Exploring Vision Settings- 'Insider Insights'

                                                                                                                As we approach the end of the year, it’s a good moment to reflect on how we can make our tools more inclusive and easier to use for everyone. Remote support often involves long hours in front of screens, varied lighting conditions, and users with different
                                                                                                              • Zoho Recruit Slow and Freezing on all screens

                                                                                                                We have had an issue with Zoho Recruit for weeks being extremely slow and at times freezing.  We have 100 mega internet, and I went into each computer and updated the virtual memory so there is more available.  Also restarted all computers daily.  Still having the issues.  Almost unable to work.
                                                                                                              • Credit Management: #2 Configuring Right Payment Terms for Credit Control

                                                                                                                Think about the last time you ordered something online and saw that little note at the checkout, "Pay on Delivery" or "Pay later". It's simple, but it actually sets the tone. As a business owner, you know exactly when payment is expected. Now, imagine
                                                                                                              • Dependent (Conditional) Fields in Zoho Bookings Forms

                                                                                                                Hello Zoho Bookings Team, Greetings, We would like to request the ability to create dependent (conditional) fields in Zoho Bookings registration forms. Current Limitation: There is currently no way to make one field’s available options depend on the value
                                                                                                              • Bug Report: Search fails to find existing notes after Evernote import

                                                                                                                Hello, I recently migrated from Evernote (~2600 notes across 23 notebooks), but the search functionality is currently broken. The Issue: I can manually browse to a specific note and see it exists. However, when I type the exact or partial title of that
                                                                                                              • Marketing Tip #13: Win repeat customers with post-purchase emails

                                                                                                                The relationship with your customer doesn’t end after the sale; that’s when it begins. A thoughtful post-purchase message shows customers you appreciate them, keeps your brand top of mind, and can even lead to another sale. You can thank them, ask for
                                                                                                              • Zoho Form

                                                                                                                I have problem with Zoho Form. One of form i don't received the PDF version. Others okay except this one. W904533
                                                                                                              • Create & Update Zoho Vault Passwords via Zoho Flow

                                                                                                                Hi Zoho Flow / Zoho Vault Team, We’d like to request an enhancement to the Zoho Vault integration in Zoho Flow. Current Limitation: At the moment, Zoho Flow supports only the following selected Zoho Vault actions, such as: Fetch passwords, Share passwords
                                                                                                              • Is Zoho Communityspaces now part of Zoho One?

                                                                                                                Is Zoho Communityspaces now part of Zoho One?
                                                                                                              • Next Page