Bulk user onboarding for Cliq Channels in a jiffy

Bulk user onboarding for Cliq Channels in a jiffy

As developers, we frequently switch between coding, debugging, and optimizing tasks. The last thing we want is to be burdened by manual user management. Adding users one by one to a channel is tedious and prone to errors, taking up more time than we could devote to actual development. 



Let's explore how to create a custom workflow using Cliq's platform components to streamline the process of bulk-adding users to a channel via a Zoho Sheet or CSV file. This approach facilitates a smooth onboarding experience without the need for manual effort.

Pre-requisite :

Before beginning to script the code below, we must create a connection with Zoho Cliq. Once a connection is created and connected, you can use it in Deluge integration tasks and invoke URL scripts to access data from the required service.

Create a Zoho Oauth default connection with any unique name and the scopes -  ZohoCliq.Channels.All and ZohoSheet.dataApi.ALL

Refer to the below links to learn more :

Step 1  : Creation of slash command

  • After a successful login in Cliq, hover to the top right corner and click your profile. Post clicking, navigate to Bots & Tools > Commands.
  • At your right, click the button - Create Command.
  • To know more about slash commands and their purposes, refer to Introduction to slash commands.
  • Create a slash command using your preferred name. Specify the following details: the command name, a hint (to give users an idea of what the command is for), and the access level.
  • Finally, click "Save & edit code".

  1. inputs = List();
  2. inputs.add({"name":"channels","label":"Pick a channel","placeholder":"Choose a channel where you need to add members","max_selections":"1","multiple":false,"mandatory":true,"type":"native_select","data_source":"channels"});
  3. inputs.add({"name":"headername","label":"Header name","placeholder":"Email ID","hint":"In which the Email ID is present","min_length":"0","max_length":"25","mandatory":true,"type":"text"});
  4. inputs.add({"type":"radio","label":"Import type","name":"import_Type","hint":"Choose a type that you need to import users","options":[{"label":"CSV","value":"csv"},{"label":"Zoho sheet","value":"zohosheet"}],"trigger_on_change":"true"});
  5. return {"name":"addbulkuser","type":"form","title":"Add bulk users","hint":"To add maximum of upto 1000 users in a channel.","button_label":"Add Users","inputs":inputs,"action":{"type":"invoke.function","name":"addbulkusers"};

Step 2  : Scripting form function

  • We need to create a function for the form that manages submission responses, including the Zoho Sheet link or CSV file, the name of the column containing the email addresses, and the channel details where users should be added in bulk.
  • Hover to the top right corner and click your profile. After clicking, navigate to Bots & Tools > Functions.
  • To your right, click the Create Function button.
  • Name the function "addbulkusers," provide a description as desired, and select "form" as the function type. Then, click "Save and edit code," and paste the following code.
  1. emailIdList = list();
  2. successlist = list();
  3. failedlist = list();
  4. try 
  5. {
  6. info form;
  7. formValues = form.get("values");
  8. columnName = formValues.get("headername");
  9. headerName = formValues.get("headername");
  10. if(formValues.get("import_Type").get("value") == "zohosheet")
  11. {
  12. url = formValues.get("url");
  13. spreadSheetId = url.getPrefix("?").getSuffix("open/");
  14. sheetName = url.getSuffix("?").getPrefix("&").getSuffix("=");
  15. worksheetname = sheetName.replaceAll(" ","%20");
  16. columnName = columnName.replaceAll(" ","%20");
  17. allDatas = list();
  18. params = Map();
  19. params.put("column_names",columnName);
  20. params.put("method","worksheet.records.fetch");
  21. params.put("worksheet_id",sheetName + "#");
  22. sheetDetails = invokeurl
  23. [
  24. url :"https://sheet.zoho"+environment.get("tld")+"/api/v2/" + spreadSheetId
  25. type :GET
  26. parameters:params
  27. connection:"addbulkusers"
  28. ];
  29. info sheetDetails;
  30. if(sheetDetails.get("status") == "success" && sheetDetails.get("records").size() <= 1000)
  31. {
  32. allDatas.addAll(sheetDetails.get("records"));
  33. }
  34. else if(sheetDetails.get("status") == "success" && sheetDetails.get("records").size() > 1000)
  35. {
  36. return {"type":"form_error","text":"I can only able to add 1000 user. Kindly try passing with 1000 records in the sheet!!!"};
  37. }
  38. else
  39. {
  40. return {"type":"form_error","text":"I can't find any email ids. Kindly re-check the column name and header row!!!"};
  41. }
  42. info "allData: " + allDatas.size();
  43. if(allDatas.size() > 1000)
  44. {
  45. return {"type":"form_error","text":"I can only able to add 1000 user. Kindly try passing with 1000 records in the sheet!!!"};
  46. }
  47. for each  data in allDatas
  48. {
  49. if(data.get(formValues.get("headername")) == null)
  50. {
  51. return {"type":"form_error","text":"I can't find any email ids. Kindly re-check the column name and header row!!!"};
  52. }
  53. emailIdList.add(data.get(formValues.get("headername")));
  54. if(emailIdList.size() == 100)
  55. {
  56. channelID = formValues.get("channels").get("id");
  57. params = {"email_ids":emailIdList};
  58. info "Params: " + params;
  59. addUsers = invokeurl
  60. [
  61. url :environment.get("base_url") + "/api/v2/channels/" + channelID + "/members"
  62. type :POST
  63. parameters:params.toString()
  64. detailed:true
  65. connection:"addbulkusers"
  66. ];
  67. info "Adduser: " + addUsers;
  68. if(addUsers.get("responseCode") == "204")
  69. {
  70. successlist.addAll(emailIdList);
  71. }
  72. else
  73. {
  74. failedlist.addAll(emailIdList);
  75. }
  76. info "100: " + emailIdList.size();
  77. emailIdList = list();
  78. }
  79. }
  80. if(emailIdList.size() > 0)
  81. {
  82. channelID = formValues.get("channels").get("id");
  83. params = {"email_ids":emailIdList};
  84. info "Params: " + params;
  85. addUsers = invokeurl
  86. [
  87. url :environment.get("base_url") + "/api/v2/channels/" + channelID + "/members"
  88. type :POST
  89. parameters:params.toString()
  90. detailed:true
  91. connection:"addbulkusers"
  92. ];
  93. info "Adduser: " + addUsers;
  94. if(addUsers.get("responseCode") == "204")
  95. {
  96. successlist.addAll(emailIdList);
  97. }
  98. else
  99. {
  100. failedlist.addAll(emailIdList);
  101. }
  102. info "Email id: " + emailIdList;
  103. }
  104. info "Successlist: " + successlist;
  105. info "Failedlist: " + failedlist;
  106. if(successlist.size() > 0 && failedlist.size() > 0)
  107. {
  108. postMessage = {"text":"Successfully added " + successlist.size() + " member(s) and failed for " + failedlist.size() + " Member(s)"};
  109. }
  110. else if(successlist.size() > 0 && !failedlist.size() > 0)
  111. {
  112. postMessage = {"text":"Successfully added " + successlist.size() + " member(s)"};
  113. }
  114. else if(!successlist.size() > 0 && failedlist.size() > 0)
  115. {
  116. postMessage = {"text":"Adding members in channel failed for " + failedlist.size() + " member(s)"};
  117. }
  118. info zoho.cliq.postToChat(chat.get("id"),postMessage);
  119. }
  120. else
  121. {
  122. csvFile = formValues.get("csvFile");
  123. csvFile = csvFile.getfilecontent();
  124. allDatas = csvFile.toList("\n");
  125. i = 0;
  126. indexValue = 0;
  127. indexBoolean = false;
  128. for each  data in allDatas
  129. {
  130. if(i == 0)
  131. {
  132. headers = data.toList(",");
  133. for each  header in headers
  134. {
  135. info header;
  136. if(headerName == header)
  137. {
  138. indexBoolean = true;
  139. indexValue = headers.indexOf(headerName);
  140. }
  141. }
  142. if(indexBoolean == false)
  143. {
  144. return {"type":"form_error","text":"I can't find any email ids. Kindly re-check the column name and header row!!!"};
  145. }
  146. }
  147. else 
  148.             {
  149. emailIdList.add(data.get(indexValue));
  150.             }
  151. i = i + 1;
  152. if(emailIdList.size() == 100)
  153. {
  154. channelID = formValues.get("channels").get("id");
  155. params = {"email_ids":emailIdList};
  156. info "Params: " + params;
  157. addUsers = invokeurl
  158. [
  159. url :environment.get("base_url") + "/api/v2/channels/" + channelID + "/members"
  160. type :POST
  161. parameters:params.toString()
  162. detailed:true
  163. connection:"addbulkusers"
  164. ];
  165. info "Adduser: " + addUsers;
  166. if(addUsers.get("responseCode") == "204")
  167. {
  168. successlist.addAll(emailIdList);
  169. }
  170. else
  171. {
  172. failedlist.addAll(emailIdList);
  173. }
  174. info "100: " + emailIdList.size();
  175. emailIdList = list();
  176. }
  177. }
  178. if(emailIdList.size() > 0)
  179. {
  180. channelID = formValues.get("channels").get("id");
  181. params = {"email_ids":emailIdList};
  182. info "Params: " + params;
  183. addUsers = invokeurl
  184. [
  185. url :environment.get("base_url") + "/api/v2/channels/" + channelID + "/members"
  186. type :POST
  187. parameters:params.toString()
  188. detailed:true
  189. connection:"addbulkusers"
  190. ];
  191. info "Adduser: " + addUsers;
  192. if(addUsers.get("responseCode") == "204")
  193. {
  194. successlist.addAll(emailIdList);
  195. }
  196. else
  197. {
  198. failedlist.addAll(emailIdList);
  199. }
  200. }
  201. info "Successlist: " + successlist;
  202. info "Failedlist: " + failedlist;
  203. if(successlist.size() > 0 && failedlist.size() > 0)
  204. {
  205. postMessage = {"text":"Successfully added " + successlist.size() + " member(s) and failed for " + failedlist.size() + " Member(s)"};
  206. }
  207. else if(successlist.size() > 0 && !failedlist.size() > 0)
  208. {
  209. postMessage = {"text":"Successfully added " + successlist.size() + " member(s)"};
  210. }
  211. else if(!successlist.size() > 0 && failedlist.size() > 0)
  212. {
  213. postMessage = {"text":"Adding members in channel failed for " + failedlist.size() + " member(s)"};
  214. }
  215. info zoho.cliq.postToChat(chat.get("id"),postMessage);
  216. }
  217. }
  218. catch (e)
  219. {
  220. info e;
  221. return {"type":"form_error","text":"I can't find any email ids. Kindly re-check the column name and header row!!!"};
  222. }
  223. return Map();

Step 3  : Configuring form change handler

  • After copying and pasting the code into the form submission handler, navigate to the form change handler for the created form function.
  • You can find this in the top left corner of the editor, where you will see an arrow next to the form submission handler. Clicking on this arrow will display the form change handler in a dropdown menu.
  • Click it to edit the code in the form change handler, which is necessary for real-time modifications to a form's structure or behaviour based on user input in a specific field. 
  1. targetName = target.get("name");
  2. info targetName;
  3. inputValues = form.get("values");
  4. info inputValues;
  5. actions = list();
  6. if(targetName.containsIgnoreCase("import_Type"))
  7. {
  8. fieldValue = inputValues.get("import_Type").get("value");
  9. info fieldValue;
  10. if(fieldValue == "csv")
  11. {
  12. actions.add({"type":"add_after","name":"import_Type","input":{"label":"CSV File","name":"csvFile","placeholder":"Please upload a zCSV File","mandatory":true,"type":"file"}});
  13. actions.add({"type":"remove","name":"url"});
  14. }
  15. else if(fieldValue == "zohosheet")
  16. {
  17. actions.add({"type":"add_after","name":"import_Type","input":{"name":"url","label":"Enter the sheet url","placeholder":"https://sheet.zoho.com/sheet/open/6xhgb324f142e91d845e5b4b472f7422379c9","min_length":"0","max_length":"400","mandatory":true,"type":"text","format":"url"}});
  18. actions.add({"type":"remove","name":"csvFile"});
  19. }
  20. }
  21. return {"type":"form_modification","actions":actions};

Business use cases:

  • HR onboarding: Seamlessly add new employees to internal communication channels.
  • Event management: Quickly invite attendees to event-specific channels.
  • Education platforms: Enroll students in course groups in one go.
  • Community building: Grow large communities by importing member lists effortlessly.

Bottom line

Bulk user addition in Cliq channels through Zoho Sheet or CSV files allows us to eliminate tedious tasks, reduce errors, and manage large-scale data effortlessly. Is onboarding consuming too much of your valuable development time? If so, it might be time to shake things up with a customized workflow!

We're here to help, so don't hesitate to reach out to support@zohocliq.com with any questions or if you need assistance in crafting even more tailored workflows.



      • Sticky Posts

      • Automating Employee Birthday Notifications in Zoho Cliq

        Have you ever missed a birthday and felt like the office Grinch? Fear not, the Cliq Developer Platform has got your back! With Zoho Cliq's Schedulers, you can be the office party-cipant who never forgets a single cake, balloon, or awkward rendition of

      • Customer payment alerts in Zoho Cliq

        For businesses that depend on cash flow, payment updates are essential for operational decision-making and go beyond simple accounting entries. The sales team needs to be notified when invoices are cleared so that upcoming orders can be released. In contrast,

      • Accelerate Github code reviews with Zoho Cliq Platform's link handlers

        Code reviews are critical, and they can get buried in conversations or lost when using multiple tools. With the Cliq Platform's link handlers, let's transform shared Github pull request links into interactive, real-time code reviews on channels. Share

      • App Spotlight : PagerDuty for Zoho Cliq

        App Spotlight brings you hand-picked apps to enhance the power of your Zoho apps and tools. Visit the Zoho Marketplace to explore all of our apps, integrations, and extensions. In today's fast-paced world, seizing every moment is essential for operational

      • Automate your status with Cliq Schedulers

        Imagine enjoying your favorite homemade meal during a peaceful lunch break, when suddenly there's a PING! A notification pops up and ruins your moment of zen. Even worse, you might be in a vital product development sprint, only to be derailed by a "quick

        • Recent Topics

        • "Total Hours" on Employee Attendance Report

          I'm learning that in Zoho jargon, "total hours" does not include paid breaks. Or at least not the way that my setup is working. That seems a little weird to me, since most jurisdictions in the US don't differentiate between time spent on paid break and

        • Fixed assets in Zoho One?

          Hi, We use Zoho Books and have the fixed asset option in it. I started a trial for Zoho One and I do not see that as an option. Is the books that is part of zoho one equivalent to Zoho Books Elite subscription or is it a lesser version? Thanks, Matt

        • Integration with...

          Dear Zoho Commerce team, Please could you consider the integration within Zoho Commerce / Inventory and Qapla'? (https://www.qapla.it/en/) This app is better than Aftership in many ways: - Aftership integration require PRO plan and price start from more

        • Repeat Column merge in ZOHO writer columns doesn't allow to set max columns per row

          I'm using ZOHO writer to merge data from a ZOHO CRM subform and I want it to make a table. We're using Insert Table for Column Repeat, because this is what we need. (Name of column (Teamname) and underneath that a list of names of teammembers). It works

        • Generate leads from instagram

          hello i have question. If connect instagram using zoho social, it is possible to get lead from instagram? example if someone send me direct message or comment on my post and then they generate to lead

        • Adding Markdown text using Zoho Desk API into the Knowledge Base

          Hi Zoho Community members, We currently maintain the documentation of out company in its website. This documentation is written in markdown text format and we would like to add it in Zoho Knowledge Base. Do you know if there is REST API functionality

        • Create case via email

          Good Afternoon, I have just registered and am taking a look around the system. Is it possible to create a case via email.  I.e. an employee/client/supplier emails a certain address and that auto generates the case which then prompts a member of staff

        • Need a Universal Search Option in Zohobooks

          Hello Zoho, Need a Universal Search Option in Zohobooks to search across all transactions in our books of accounts. Please do the needful Thanks

        • Locked Notebook

          Hi, I hadn't used my Notebook in some time and was refamiliarizing myself with it. I clicked a lock icon and now I can't unlock. When I hit the information or unlock icons I'm taken to a page with the notebook icon and a keyboard. When I type, nothing

        • Unable to produce monthly P&L reports for previous years

          My company just migrated to Books this year. We have 5+ years financial data and need to generate a monthly P&L for 2019 and a monthly P&L YTD for 2020. The latter is easy, but I'm VERY surprised to learn that default reports in Zoho Books cannot create

        • Hide fields only for creation

          Hello, I'd like to hide some fields only during the creation of a contact in Zoho CRM. In fact I have some fields that are automatically calculated thanks to an automation, so when my users create a contact I don't want them to fill those fields. I know

        • Issues with Zoho Sheet in Mac

          I have downloaded the Zoho App from App Store but It is failing to Save As, Open & Download Operations. App Store

        • Weekly Sales Summary

          Is it possible to generate a weekly report in Zoho Books to show -$$ amount of estimates generated -# of estimates generated by Salesperson -$$ amount of Sales Orders created -$$ amount of Invoices generated

        • Subject character limit increase

          We have an occasional user case where subject lines exceed 500 characters which is the ZeptoMail imposed limit. While I understand long subject lines are not "best practice", these are particular notification emails with specific information for client

        • Can I write a check in Zoho Books with no associated bill?

          This currently does not seem possible, and I have a client that desperately needs this function if I am able to convert them with Quickbooks. Thank you in advance for your reply. 

        • OpenAPI Specs are just plain wrong

          The provided yml files for generating the OpenAPI specs are absolutely riddled with errors and inconsistencies. From missing fields on the objects, to just incorrectly named resource objects. I'm having to go through and manually changing the spec to

        • 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

        • Custom Footer – Zoho Writer Document

          Hello everyone, I’m having an issue adding a custom footer in a Zoho Writer document. I would like to insert my company information (including a logo + address) in the footer. The problem is that when I add these elements, the main content of my pages

        • Report grouping

          I have added a grouping in a report but it is not working how i had expected. I wanted to group a summary on a field named Size but when i add the grouping the report is still showing me each record and making a summary at the bottom of the report. What

        • Social Media Simplified with Zoho Social: Preview your Instagram grid before posting

          For a platform like Instagram that relies on visual appeal, it's important that you plan your image and video content in a way that holds your audience's attention. Planning your grid ahead of time gives you the benefit of understanding how your posts

        • Spreadsheet View click & focus issue in Arabic (RTL) localization

          Hello Zoho Support Team, I am facing an issue in Zoho Creator Spreadsheet View when using Arabic localization (RTL). Scenario: My app supports English (LTR) and Arabic (RTL). I created a Spreadsheet View for a form. In English, everything works correctly.

        • VAT rates - exempt and out of scope

          Good Evening, UK based company here. I am a bit confused in respect of setting up VAT rates for exempt goods and services; at present I am simply leaving the VAT rate blank in the transactions in order to prevent any VAT appearing in the VAT return. When

        • How to loop through Multiple Upload and Display Actual File Name

          I have been reading the help on the File Upload Control and reviewed the Deluge help on files and I can not figure out how to loop through the uploaded files and do anything but get the automatically created file names. The code below will run but each

        • abou arattai

          I want to use the Arattai app for business purposes, so please convert my account to a business account.I have my own invoice app, and I want to link it with the Arattai app for direct messaging.

        • Overlapping Reports in Dashboards

          It's rare, but occasionally it would be a good feature if I were able to overlap reports, either fully or partially in the Dashboards. Also, then having the ability to move objects to the front or rear, or make them transparent/translucent would be good

        • Looking back at Zoho Calendar in 2025

          Hello Zoho Calendar Community, As we step into a brand-new year, we’d like to take a moment to thank you for being an active and valued part of the Zoho Calendar community. Your trust, feedback, and continued engagement motivate us to keep evolving and

        • There was an error while connecting to GSTN

          I am trying to file GSTR1. Everything flows smoothly until I reach the final step of filing the return. After I enter the PAN and OTP for filing it raises the error "There was an error while connecting to GSTN"

        • Zoho Books Extension: What Happens If Custom Fields Already Exist?

          When developing Zoho Books extensions, what happens if the target Zoho Books organization already has a custom field with the same API name as one defined in the extension? I’m asking because we originally created an on-Books version of this functionality,

        • Internal Server Error (500) When Attempting to View Banking Transactions

          I am experiencing an Internal Server Error (500) when attempting to view transactions across all of my banking accounts. Despite multiple attempts to resolve this, I have received little more than runaround from support, and the issue remains unresolved.

        • How do I add a blank line to the Organisation Address Format?

          I'd like to have my VAT number, for example, shown prominently by having a clear gap between it and the address block above, but any blank lines in the address format get ignored in PDF outputs.

        • Automatic Invoice Number generation for createRecord

          Hello, while testing some custom Buttons in my Zoho Books application, I noticed that I get an error that previously did not occur. After some further digging I found that the automatic transaction numbering of invoices no longer work in my organization.

        • Adding number of days to an estimate.

          I need both QTY of item and "number of days hire" in my estimates at the line item level. Any clues as to how this is done would be greatly appreciated. It needs to calculate. Thanks J

        • Books Api: listing expenses created after certain dates

          Is there any parameter I can add to the List Expenses endpoint that will let me look up expenses by when they were created?

        • Why can't we change the Account type from an Expense to an Asset?

          Like the question. Why in QuickBooks for example if I mistakenly created an account as an expenses and I already captured information in those accounts, I can just change the account type from expense to asset

        • Is it possible to do validation for the Actions added to Reports?

          We have an all-around On Validate function that checks all the possibilities before the Created/Edited form submissions. We want to have a button in the report view, so we can change records without entering. We are able to add this button, and it does

        • Ability to Edit Ticket Subject when Splitting a Ticket

          Often someone will make an additional or new request within an existing ticket that requires we split the ticket. The annoying part is that the new ticket maintains the subject of the original ticket after the split so when the new ticket email notification

        • [Free Webinar] Environments in Zoho Creator - Creator Tech Connect

          Hello Everyone, We’re delighted to kick off the 2026 edition of the Zoho Creator Tech Connect Series and are excited to continue this learning journey with you. The Creator Tech Connect series is a free monthly webinar featuring deep-dive technical sessions

        • Zoho Voice API SMS

          I made a post request in Zapier to try to send an SMS. Authentication appears to be configured correctly. I followed the documentation and I'm getting a 400 Error "Internal Server Error". Not helpful at all. Anyways, I could not find any information on

        • How do I change (error) display messages

          Hi! I would like to edit display messages like "invalid entries" and "enter a value for Nome" and so on into Italian language messages. How can I do that? Already tried on Validate on form submit. Where I am failing? Thanks in advance.

        • Record Overseas Transactions Along with CC charges

          Hi All, We receive payments via stripe in multiple currencies and stripe takes around 2.5% fees. The amount is settled in INR into our local bank. What should be the currency of the income account used for Stripe payments? Here is a sample flow that we

        • Next Page