Enhancements to Custom Connectors in Zoho Creator

Enhancements to Custom Connectors in Zoho Creator

Hello everyone,

At Zoho Creator, we believe in providing you with the necessary tools to achieve a well connected ecosystem of apps. Our Custom Connectors feature is a testament to this, enabling you to integrate with a wide range of external services beyond those available through built-in connectors.

While our built-in connectors already cover over 500 popular services (with new ones being added regularly), custom connectors take this a step further by allowing you to connect with virtually any third-party service.

To make this powerful feature even more robust and enterprise-ready, we've rolled out a series of enhancements designed to support advanced authentication methods, enable secure cloud integrations, and ensure seamless connectivity with external services. In this post, we'll walk you through the most recent updates:
  • OAuth 2.0 - Client authentication modes
  • AWS Signature authentication 
  • Bearer token authentication
Let's explore each in detail:

OAuth 2.0 - Client authentication modes

Different APIs have varying expectations for how client credentials should be presented during OAuth token exchange. Until now, our OAuth authentication type assumed a single client authentication method, and users faced issues when credentials had to be sent in the authorization header. To address this, we've introduced a new Client Authentication option for custom connectors using OAuth 2.0. This allows you to specify how your client credentials (Client ID and Client secret) are transmitted to the authorization server during the token request process. You can choose from two options:
  • Include in the form data (Default): This method adds your credentials to the form data submitted within the body of the request.
  • Include in the authorization header: This method places your credentials in the request's security header using HTTP basic authentication.
Why this matters
  • Improved compatibility with APIs that enforce strict authentication rules
  • Smoother integrations with enterprise-grade APIs
  • Reduced authentication errors

Example
Assume you want to integrate Zoho Creator with Reddit, a popular social media platform. The Reddit API uses OAuth 2.0 and its documentation explicitly states that client credentials must be sent in the Authorization header using basic authentication.

Now, when configuring your OAuth 2.0 custom connector in Zoho Creator, you can simply select Include in authorization header under the Client Authentication field. This ensures your authentication flow will work as expected, without any custom code or middleware.

AWS Signature authentication

The industry-standard authentication required to securely interact with AWS services is now supported in Zoho Creator. The new AWS Signature 4 authentication type within Custom Connectors enables you to integrate with AWS services without relying on any middleware or authentication workarounds. This unlocks the ability to connect to a wide range of popular AWS services (such as S3, Lambda, DynamoDB, and more) and perform the required actions.

Why this matters
  • Enterprise-grade security for applications that deal with critical workloads or sensitive data
  • Seamless automation of workflows with your existing AWS infrastructure from within Zoho Creator
  • Complies with AWS's Signature Version 4 method, which ensures robust security and maximum compatibility while authenticating requests to AWS services
Example
Consider a setup where your organization generates critical business documents using a Zoho Creator application. You may need to store these documents in their AWS S3 bucket for recordkeeping and auditing purposes.

With the introduction of the new AWS Signature authentication in Custom Connectors, you can easily connect to S3 by providing your AWS credentials and region. Then you can use the invokeURL task to transfer documents from Zoho Creator to your S3 bucket.

This enables seamless and secure integration with AWS, bringing the full power of AWS's cloud capabilities into your Creator apps.

Bearer token authentication

Zoho Creator now supports Bearer token authentication. Many third-party services, like GitHub and Slack, use this authentication type, which is a lightweight method that enables secure API calls without the need for full OAuth. Now you can seamlessly integrate these services into your applications using custom connectors.

Why this matters
  • Eliminates the need for complex setups associated with other authentication types, like OAuth, making it ideal for APIs that use token-based access
  • Enables faster, hassle-free integrations with internal tools, developer platforms, and microservices
Example
Assume your sales team relies on Slack for internal communication. With Bearer token authentication now supported in Zoho Creator, you can establish a custom connector with Slack. Then you call Slack's API using invokeURL to automatically post updates to a channel whenever a new lead is generated.

In essence, this is a simpler, more secure path to connect Creator with modern APIs from GitHub and Notion to your own internal systems.

Help documentation

We've updated our help resources to reflect the recent enhancements to Custom Connectors. For detailed information, please refer to the Understand Connectors page.

Bonus: mTLS in Zoho Creator

While we're on the topic of custom connectors, let's wrap things up with a platform-level security upgrade. For the first time in the Zoho ecosystem, Zoho Creator now supports Mutual Transport Layer Security (mTLS) across all integrations. mTLS is available for both built-in and custom connectors. 

mTLS provides an added layer of security by enabling certificate-based, two-way authentication and ensures that both the client and server verify each other's identity. 

Why this matters
  • Particularly valuable for enterprises operating in zero-trust environments
  • Helps meet compliance requirements, such as HIPAA, ISO 27001, GDPR, and other industry standards
Availability
mTLS is currently available only on demand. Please reach out to our support team if your integrations require mTLS-based authentication.

These powerful enhancements reaffirm Zoho Creator's commitment to helping you build deeply integrated, enterprise-grade business applications—and we'll continue enhancing the platform to support your evolving needs. Stay tuned for more updates coming soon!

Till then,
The Zoho Creator Team


      • Sticky Posts

      • Introducing Zoho Creator's 2025 Release Projection 2

        Hello Creators! I'm Prakash, from the Creator product management team, and today I'm delighted to unveil our next set of features as part of Release Projection 2 for 2025. With thoughtful analysis and planning, we've curated powerful new capabilities

      • Zoho Creator - 2023 Release Projection 1

        Hello everyone! A very Happy New Year to you and your family. Hope you're all good and having a great time using Zoho Creator to make your lives easier and your businesses prosper. 2022 was an action-packed year for us at Creator, and we hope to continue

      • Zoho Creator User Group meetups in a city near you! - Oct - Nov, 2023

        Greetings from the Zoho Creator team! We're hosting a series of Zoho Creator meetups in various cities across the globe, and we'd love to meet you there! Our meetups are a great opportunity to network with industry peers, exchange ideas and best practices,

      • Zoho Creator - 2023 Release Projection 2

        Hello everyone! Time truly flies when you're having an incredible journey, and today we mark the completion of an eventful and action-packed six months. It feels like just yesterday when we embarked on this adventure together with the launch of our new

      • Upcoming Updates - August 2022

        Hi all, Greetings from the Zoho Creator team! Today we've got news for you on some exciting updates. And rest assured— there’s more to come! In this post, we'll be going over the upcoming features and improvements for this month as mentioned below. A

        • Recent Topics

        • Zoho Books Finance Modules Not Accessible in Zoho CRM Mobile App

          We have integrated Zoho CRM with Zoho Books using the Zoho Finance Suite integration. In the CRM web version, we can see the Finance modules (Estimates/Quotes, Invoices, Sales Orders, Items, Payments) and are able to create invoices and quotes directly

        • [Live Webinar] New in Zoho WorkDrive: AI enhancements, Data Loss Prevention, Version Controls, and more

          Hello everyone, We're excited to bring you another round of powerful updates in Zoho WorkDrive! Join us on May 15 for an exclusive live webinar where we’ll unveil the latest features designed to enhance your team’s productivity, collaboration, and data

        • Live webinar: Streamlining legal operations: Leveraging Zoho WorkDrive for law firm success

          Hello everyone, Managing legal documents across departments and jurisdictions can be complex, but it doesn’t have to be. Join us on March 6 for an exclusive webinar where we’ll show you how Zoho WorkDrive empowers legal teams to stay compliant, organized,

        • Live Webinar: Optimizing back-office operations in the manufacturing industry to maximize profitability

          Hello everyone, We’re excited to invite you to our upcoming live webinar on February 6! Discover how Zoho WorkDrive can help manufacturing businesses optimize back-office operations, improve efficiency, and boost profitability. Our product experts will

        • Live webinar: 2024 recap of Zoho WorkDrive

          Hello everyone, We’re excited to invite you to our year-end live webinar! This session will take you through the transformative features and updates we’ve introduced in Zoho WorkDrive this year, helping you streamline document management like never before.

        • Live webinar: Explore WorkDrive's seamless integrations with key Zoho apps

          Hello everyone, We’re excited to invite you to our upcoming live webinar, where we'll delve into the seamless integration of WorkDrive with other key Zoho applications! This is a fantastic opportunity to enhance your productivity and streamline your workflows

        • Live webinar: Getting the most out of WorkDrive in Zoho Workplace

          Hello everyone, We’re excited to invite you to our upcoming live webinar, where we’ll explore how to maximize your use of WorkDrive as part of the Zoho Workplace bundle. This is a fantastic opportunity to elevate your productivity and streamline your

        • Live webinar: Mastering data migration, organization, and team collaboration

          Hello everyone, We’re excited to invite you to our upcoming live webinar! Discover how to seamlessly migrate your data, optimize file organization, and boost team collaboration using Zoho WorkDrive’s powerful features. This is a fantastic opportunity

        • BARCODE PICKLIST

          Hello! Does anyone know how the Picklist module works? I tried scanning the barcode using the UPC and EAN codes I added to the item, but it doesn’t work. Which barcode format does this module use for scanning?

        • Join our live webinar: Explore the WorkDrive TrueSync application!

          Hello everyone, We are thrilled to invite you to a live webinar focused on mastering the WorkDrive TrueSync application. Discover how to seamlessly sync your content between the cloud and your computer, ensuring smooth and efficient file management. Our

        • Bug tracking

          Hi, does anyone know how to track errors during picking or packing? This way I can keep track and see how to improve and prevent errors in this area.

        • Zoho Creator customer portal limitation | Zoho One

          I'm asking you all for any feedback as to the logic or reasoning behind drastically limiting portal users when Zoho already meters based on number of records. I'm a single-seat, Zoho One Enterprise license holder. If my portal users are going to add records, wouldn't that increase revenue for Zoho as that is how Creator is monetized? Why limit my customer portal to only THREE external users when more users would equate to more records being entered into the database?!? (See help ticket reply below.)

        • Script Editor not an option

          I am trying to apply a script to a sheet and Script Editor is not an option. I don't want to go outside Sheets to do this (like Creator) if it can be done inside Sheets.

        • Envio de mails

          Hola! No puedo enviar mails pero si recibirlos. No se como solucionarlo! Mi dominio es chidobebes.com.ar

        • ERROR CODE :554 - Your access to this mail system has been rejected due to poor reputation of a domain used in message transfer

          In my email configuration: The domain's MX Records are pointed to Zoho The domain's SPF Records have been pointed out successfully DKIM is enabled. DMARC Record is pointed for the domain. The domain name is digioorja.in. Still facing the issue of Error:

        • This Operation has been restricted. Please contact support-as@zohocorp.com for further details

          l tried to verify my domain (casalimpaeperfumada.com.br) and its shows this error: This Operation has been restricted. Please contact support-as@zohocorp.com for further details.

        • SLOW EMAILS

          Is there an issue with the Zoho server? For two days now I've been having issues with very long buffering. Please advise. Thank you.

        • POP3 authentication error - SOLVED

          Just in case others are as forgetful as me ... As Zoho has changed the POP server for personal and free organisational users, I needed to change the POP server on my email client. This failed persistently but eventually I remembered that I had chosen

        • Solution to Import PST File into Office 365.

          MailsDaddy OST to Office 365 Migration Tool is an outstanding solution to recover OST files and migrate them into Office 365 without any hassle. Using this software users can multiple OST files into Office 365 with complete data security. It offers users

        • Add Zoho One Groups/Departments to Shared Mailbox Access

          Hi, I hope you're doing well. Currently, in Zoho Mail, I can manually add specific users or the entire organization to a shared mailbox. However, there is no option to add Zoho One groups or departments. Feature Request: We would like the ability to assign

        • Allow Filters with Only Special Characters in Zoho Mail

          Hi Zoho Mail Team, I hope you're doing well. We have noticed that currently, Zoho Mail does not allow creating filter criteria using only special characters, such as = or #. However, there are scenarios where such a filter is necessary. For example: Filtering

        • How to save email as PDF?

          I saw 2 previous threads about this. One is from 14 years ago. The other was closed as "answered" a year ago but the feature was never implemented: https://help.zoho.com/portal/en/community/topic/how-to-download-save-emails-as-pdf Is the "save as PDF"

        • Flexible plans

          Hi, I have a Workplace Standard subscription. On Zoho's website, it mentions that with the annual plan it's possible to have multiple plans under the same organization—for example, Workplace Standard and Mail Lite. However, I can’t find a way to do this

        • Weekly Tips : Teamwork made easy with Multiple Assignees

          Let's say you are working on a big project where different parts of a single task need attention from several people at the same time—like reviewing a proposal that requires input from sales, legal, and finance teams. Instead of sending separate reminders

        • Cannot give public access to Html Snippet in Zoho Creator Page

          Hi, I created a form in Zoho Creator and published it. The permalink works but I want to override the css of the form. (style based URL parameters is not good enough) So I created a page and added an Html snippet. I can now override the css, which is

        • Weekly Tips : Customize your Compose for a smoother workflow

          You are someone who sends a lot of emails, but half the sections in the composer just get in your way — like fields you never use or sections that clutter the space. You find yourself always hunting for the same few formatting tools, and the layout just

        • Accounting on the Go Series-43:Enhancing Your Reporting Efficiency with Dashboard Filter State Retention

          Hello everyone! Welcome back to our series on Zoho Books mobile app features. Today, we will talk about a feature that yet again helps you focus on work that really matters-Dashboard Filter State Retention. Imagine you're working on your Zoho Books dashboard,

        • Zoho books/payroll tax payment

          I accidentally made a second payment to my taxes for $300 which is reflected in my bank account and therefore on Zoho books but I can not match it to any transactions because its not reflected in payroll as a tax payment. Is there a way to add an extra

        • I can't renew the Finance Plus subscription

          I tried to renew the Finance Plus subscription but it keeps reloading the same page over and over when ever I click on "Renew Subscription" button

        • Estimate vs Quote

          they are different. Quote is for 1 piece price + other charges. Estimate is for total quantity to be ordered. The gross total amount of the Estimate is the amount payable. Replacing Estimate as Quote is not understandable because they are different. In

        • Accounting on the Go Series-47: Effortless GSTIN Management- Auto Populate TaxPayer Details in Zoho Books Mobile App

          Hello everyone, Welcome back! Today, we're focusing on a feature specifically designed for our Indian users in the Zoho Books-Indian edition, particularly those who deal with GST compliance regularly. We understand the importance of accurate and efficient

        • Accounting on the Go Series-48: Enhance Accuracy with Custom Work Week Start Days in Zoho Books iOS app

          Hello everyone, Welcome back! We’re here with another feature spotlight that might seem small but can have a big impact on your daily routine: setting the first day of the work week in the Zoho Books iOS app. Imagine this: You’re a business owner who

        • Time to Get Paid Report in ZBooks

          Hello, One of our customers who has 25 different companies around the world gets 60 days to make payments. Unfortunately, the subject report does not report an average time to get paid (in days) or the ability to look at a custom period of time. Currently

        • How to prepare a balance sheet for a company that has no operations yet?

          .

        • Project Billing Method from Zoho People

          Normaly our customers use Zoho Projects to manage projects and timesheet that are being charge to the customer. Using the integration from Zoho Project we can have projects base on different billing method. For example most of our customer use Hourly

        • Zoho Books-Accounting on the Go Series!

          Dear users, Continuing in the spirit of our 'Function Fridays' series, where we've been sharing custom function scripts to automate your back office operations, we're thrilled to introduce our latest initiative – the 'Zoho Books-Accounting on the Go Series'.

        • Zoho Books | Product updates | July 2025

          Hello users, We’ve rolled out new features and enhancements in Zoho Books. From plan-based trials to the option to mark PDF templates as inactive, explore the updates designed to enhance your bookkeeping experience. Introducing Plan Based Trials in Zoho

        • Zoho Books | Product updates | August 2025

          Hello users, We’ve rolled out new features and enhancements in Zoho Books. From the right sidebar where you can manage all your widgets, to integrating Zoho Payments feeds in Zoho Books, explore the updates designed to enhance your bookkeeping experience.

        • Update or Upsert Records Using Unique Custom Fields

          Hello customers, We've enhanced the process of updating records via API. You can now: Update records using unique custom fields Upsert records using unique custom fields Note: Both the features are available in the Zoho Books and Zoho Inventory apps.

        • [Webinar] Understanding the New Invoice Management Systems

          Join industry expert CA Pritam Mahure as he discusses the importance of the new Invoice Management System (IMS) and its impact on taxpayers. Topics Covered: - Concept of IMS and pre-requisites - Applicability and Restrictions on Invoices/Records for IMS

        • Next Page