What is invokeAPI?

Key benefits

• URL requirements: You no longer need to specify the full URL; simply provide the API path.
• Domain detection: The domain is automatically determined based on the Zoho service you’re interacting with (e.g., Zoho CRM, Zoho Books) and its corresponding data center. This ensures accurate routing of API calls regardless of the hosting data center. Further, it reduces the risk of errors associated with incorrect URLs or misconfigured endpoints.
• Enhanced response handling: The response object includes the header and status attributes by default. This enables you to branch logic based on the status code and utilize header values effectively. For example, when the status code is 301, the redirection URL is included in the header. Further, we’re working on supporting the redirection attribute by default in future updates.

• Support for body parameters in GET and DELETE methods: Unlike the invokeURL task, which only supports query strings for DELETE requests, the invokeAPI task allows you to pass values in the request body for GET and DELETE operations.
  
• This task also provides the flexibility to customize each parameter in your API request. For instance, you can set parameters such as the name, content type, and encoding type to tailor the requests to your specific needs. 
  

How it works

response = invokeapi
[
  service: <service_name>
  path: <path_value>
  type: <type_value>
  parameters: <parameters_value>
  body: <body_value>
  headers: <headers_value>
  connection: <connection_name>
  response-format: <response_format_value>
  response-decoding: <encoding_format_value>
];

data = {"data": [{"Last_Name": "Doe", "First_Name": "John", "Email": "john.doe@example.com", "Company": "ABC Corp"}]};

response = invokeapi

[

  service: zohocrm

  path: "/crm/v7/Leads"

  type: POST

  body: data.tostring()

  headers: {"Content-Type": "application/json"}

  response-format: COLLECTION

  response-decoding: "UTF-8"

  connection: "<connection_name>"

];

info response;

• service: We specify the Zoho CRM service (zohocrm).
  
• path: This is the API endpoint path for creating leads (/crm/v7/Leads).
  
• type: The HTTP method is POST because we're creating a new lead.
  
• body: This is the data sent in the request body (the lead information).
  
• headers: We specify that the request body is in JSON format.
  
• response-format: We expect the response to be in COLLECTION format.
  
• response-decoding: The response will be decoded using UTF-8 encoding.
  
• connection: This is the TEXT that represents the name of the connection.

Use cases for invokeAPI

• Sync leads between Zoho CRM and Zoho Projects: Automatically create a new project in Zoho Projects when a new lead is added to Zoho CRM.
  
• Automate invoices in Zoho Books: When a deal is closed in Zoho CRM, automatically generate an invoice in Zoho Books.
  
• Customer support automation: When a new support ticket is created in Zoho Desk, use invokeAPI to create corresponding tasks or issues in Zoho Projects or Zoho CRM.
  
• Cross-app data synchronization: Easily synchronize customer data between Zoho CRM, Zoho Books, Zoho Desk, and Zoho Projects to ensure consistency across your applications.
  

Documentation