Kaizen #168 - Incremental Authorization

Kaizen #168 - Incremental Authorization


Welcome to this week's post in the Kaizen series. In this post, we will discuss Incremental Authorization. 

What is Incremental Authorization?

Incremental Authorization is an OAuth strategy that allows a client to request specific authorization scopes as and when needed. This means that the client does not have to request every possible scope that might be needed upfront, which might result in a bad user experience. Incremental Authorization is considered a best practice in Oauth Authorization Request as:
  • Users are not overloaded with scopes in the initial stage
  • Users can control the amount of data they share

Who can use Incremental Authorization?

Server-based applications can make use of incremental authorization 

Incremental Authorization Flow

Incremental Authorization Flow

When a user first signs into the application, the application requests only the essential permissions needed. The user may trigger features that require additional permissions as they engage with the application. When the application identifies this, it follows the below steps:

Initiation Request (Step 1: Get Scope Enhancement Token )

The application makes a POST request to the endpoint /oauth/v2/token/scopeenhance, including the existing refresh token as a parameter. This request is aimed at obtaining a scope enhancement token, which is necessary for requesting additional permissions.

Scope Enhancement Request (Step 2)

After receiving the scope enhancement token, the app then makes a request to the endpoint /oauth/v2/token/addextrascope. In this request, it specifies which additional scopes are needed.

User Consent

The user is presented with a consent screen that details the new permissions being requested. This screen will only show the new permissions required and not those already granted.
If the user approves these new permissions, the refresh token (used in Step 1) and its associated access tokens will be updated to include the newly granted scopes.

Success Response

Upon successful approval by the user, a success response is returned, confirming that the additional scopes have been appended to the existing refresh token.

When is Incremental Authorization Useful?

Let us take a look at two scenarios where incremental authorization is particularly useful.

Scenario 1 

Zylker Marketing, a marketing agency, utilizes a custom in-house marketing tool that integrates with Zoho CRM.  Initially, the tool has permission to read Leads in Zoho CRM. However, as the marketing team expands their operations, they realize that they require to create new Contacts based on sign-ups and retrieve existing deals data for analysis. The tool is then revamped to create Contacts and view Deals data. 
When a marketer who uses the tool tries to create a Contact for the first time, the incremental authorization method is called in the backend. The marketer is redirected to the Zoho login page. Once logged in, the marketer is prompted to give access to the new resources. This enhances the refresh token, and the tool can continue using the same refresh token. 

Scenario 2

Consider that you want to use a new Zoho CRM API that just got released as part of the version release. Your refresh token does not have the required scope to access the new API.  You can make use of incremental authorization to append the required scope to the same refresh token in these cases.

How can you use Incremental Authorization?

Step 1: Initiation Request 

First, you need to send a request to get the scope enhancement token along with the refresh token for which the extra access is required.

Request format

POST 
{accounts-url}/oauth/v2/token/scopeenhance
?grant_type=update_scopes_token
&client_id={client_id}
&client_secret={client_secret}
&refresh_token={refresh_token}


The accounts-url is specific to the location (i.e., datacenter) where the client is registered. See all the server-specific URLs.
Request Parameters 
You should send the initiation request with the below parameters. All parameters are mandatory
  • grant_type: Specify the value as "update_scopes_token".
  • client_id: Specify the client-id obtained from the API console.
  • client_secret: Specify client-secret obtained from the API console.
  • refresh_token: Specify the refresh token to which the additional scopes should be appended.
You will receive a response in the below format
{
"access_token": "{scope_enhancement_token}",
"token_type": "update_scope",
"expires_in": 600
}

The scope_enhancement_token received in this response should be passed as a parameter in the next step - scope enhancement request.

Step 2: Scope enhancement request

This request appends the refresh token with additional scopes.
Request format
GET
{accounts-url}/oauth/v2/token/addextrascope
?response_type=update_scopes
&client_id={client_id}
&redirect_uri={redirect_uri}
&scope={required_scopes}
&enhance_token={scope_enhancement_token}
&logout=true

Parameters
  • response_type: Specify the value as "update_scopes".
  • client_id: Specify the client-id obtained from the API console.
  • redirect_uri : Specify the URI to which the authorization server will redirect the browser back with success or failure response. It has to be the same URI which is provided when registering the app in the API console.
  • scope: Specify the scopes of the additional resources for which access is required.
  • enhance_token: Scope enhancement token received in the response of the previous initiation request. 
  • logout: Specify as true if the user's session should be terminated after the permission is granted or rejected.
When this request is called, the application redirects the user to the Zoho Login page, and the user enters the Zoho credentials. Then, the permissions required are displayed once the user is authenticated.
The refresh token will be appended with the additional scopes, and a success response will be returned when the user grants permission. The user will be redirected to the redirect_uri with params status as success and scope_enhanced as true. The user can continue using the same refresh token can be used. If the user rejects the authentication, the system returns a failure response.  The user will be redirected to the redirect_uri with params error as access_denied.

You will receive a response in the below formats:

Success Response
{redirect_uri}?status=success&scope_enhanced=true

Failure Response
{redirect_uri}?error=access_denied

We hope you found this post useful. We will meet you next week with another interesting topic!
If you have any questions, let us know in the comment section.
Cheers!




      • 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

        • Recent Topics

        • Empty folders are now appearing in the sidebar...

          ...and the folder list is now auto-collapsed by default with no way to change. Neither of these recent updates are useful or user-friendly. ==================== Powered by Haiku https://www.haiku.co.uk ====================

        • Client Script | Update - Client Script Support For Custom Buttons

          Hello everyone! We are excited to announce one of the most requested features - Client Script support for Custom Buttons. This enhancement lets you run custom logic on button actions, giving you greater flexibility and control over your user interactions.

        • Zoho CRM for Everyone's NextGen UI Gets an Upgrade

          Hello Everyone We've made improvements to Zoho CRM for Everyone's Nextgen UI. These changes are the result of valuable feedback from you where we’ve focused on improving usability, providing wider screen space, and making navigation smoother so everything

        • Create custom rollup summary fields in Zoho CRM

          Hello everyone, In Zoho CRM, rollup summary fields have been essential tools for summarizing data across related records and enabling users to gain quick insights without having to jump across modules. Previously, only predefined summary functions were

        • Monthly Webinar - Getting Started with Zoho LandingPage

          Are you building your first landing page and want a little guidance? Join our monthly Getting Started with Zoho LandingPage webinar and learn how landing pages fit into your marketing strategy, drive lead generation, and improve conversions. Here’s what

        • View all email threads directly from record's History and Interactions

          Greetings all, We've introduced the ability to view complete email thread conversations directly from records' History and Interactions sections, along with email delivery status and sentiment insights on the Interactions page—which makes it easier for

        • Marketing Tip #22: Check website and navigation for broken links

          Do you inspect your online store frequently? If not, here's your reminder to do it now. Broken links frustrate customers and make your store feel unreliable. Whether it’s a missing product page, an outdated menu item, social media accounts, or a broken

        • Online Payment Fees

          We don't take many online credit card payments so the merchant service provider (PayPal) charges us the 2.9% fee for processing the amount. I would like the ability for the fee to be automatically added to the total amount for "ease of payment". We'd

        • push notification to Cliq when user is @mentioned in CRM notes

          push notification to Cliq when user is @mentioned in CRM notes. Currently users that is @mentioned gets an email to be notified. User/s that is @mentioned should get a Cliq notification.

        • How to make entries for restaurant sales in Zoho Books?

          Hello, I'm new to Zoho Books. I need to understand how to record our restaurant sales in Zoho Books. We can't raise invoices for each bill from the daily sales report generated by our POS (duplicated effort). We need a means of entering cumulative sales

        • Integrate with WooCommerce using Wordpress Plugin

          We’re thrilled to announce a powerful update to the Zoho Marketing Automation WordPress plugin with WooCommerce integration! This enhancement enables new possibilities for businesses running online stores using WooCommerce, empowering them to merge seamless

        • How do I sync multiple Google calendars?

          I'm brand new to Zoho and I figured out how to sync my business Google calendar but I would also like to sync my personal Google calendar. How can I do this so that, at the very least, when I have personal engagements like doctor's appointments, I can

        • Domain already exists

          Hi, I tried to add my domain creativecolumnist.com but its showing as Domain already exist. Please release if it has already been associated with Zoho, I am the real owner of that domain.

        • Select forwarding

          For Zoho mail online on PC in web browser: I had forwarding enabled in section "Mail accounts / Forwards", and I also have some filters that send emails from some unwanted senders to Archive. But it doesn't work as intended, it forwards everything (obviously

        • system not picking my default custom service report template

          Can you tell me why when we create a service report always pick the (standard old) template? Even when I have a custom service report selected as Default.

        • Restrict Appointment Booking to Approved Clients

          Dear Zoho Bookings Support Team, We'd like to propose a feature enhancement for managing appointments within Zoho Bookings. This feature would ensure only pre-approved clients can schedule meetings. Desired Functionality: We propose the introduction of

        • Automate Credit Card Surcharge

          Is there a way to create an automation that will add a 3.0% credit card surcharge to a subscription whenever a customer pays via credit card?

        • I have the item field and Quantity field in the sub form , on the submit of the form if the quantity is grater than inventory means show alert on submit validation only for item type goods ,

          I have the item field and Quantity field in the sub form , on the submit of the form if the quantity is grater than inventory means show alert on submit validation . Stock Check Validation only for item type goods , not for item type service . For the

        • Disappearance of all articles in the knowledge base

          Hi there! It seems like all of our articles have disappeared from the knowledge base: However, the names still appear in the "sort articles" section:

        • Logic for sending to a non-primary email address

          Hi, I have a scenario where contacts are able to sign up for emails with 2 different email addresses (example: work, personal). I've mapped both to Campaigns from Zoho CRM, but when I go to target an email only the primary email addresses are pulling in. How can I update this to look at both of the email addresses - or specifically the secondary email address in Campaigns? Thanks, Jenny

        • Add "Reset MFA" Option for Zoho Creator Client Portal Users

          Hello Zoho Creator Team, We hope you are doing well. We would like to request an important enhancement related to Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for client portal users in Zoho Creator. Currently, Creator allows us to enforce MFA for portal users,

        • Tables for Europe Datacenter customers?

          It's been over a year now for the launch of Zoho Tables - and still not available für EU DC customers. When will it be available?

        • NOTAS INVISIBLES

          Siempre que abro mis notas salen invisibles, muchas no resaltan las *negritas* en la vista previa hasta que te metes en ellas y modificas algo. Pero omg con el equipo de Zoho. Les dije que las usaba mucho precisamente por la VISTA PREVIA y encontrar las

        • Does Zoho has chatroom/chatbot url feature?

          Hi Zoho community! I’m looking for a quick "Yes/No" answer for my dev team regarding Zoho’s capabilities. We currently use Zoho Desk for our Service Team and Zoho CRM for our Marketing Team to bring both functions under one platform. Our question: Does

        • One Support Email Managed By Multiple Departments

          Hello, We use one support email (support@company.com). Incoming emails come to the "Support Department" and based on what the customer is asking, we route that ticket to different departments (billing, technical support, etc.). When users in these different

        • Is it Possible to Modify Standard Report Urls

          Is there a way to permanently modify standard report Urls? Use case: Suppose I have a Products report. Showing list as timeline, calendar, or kanban doesn't make sense. Want to hide that from users by adding #Report:Products?zc_ShowAs=false&zc_Print=false

        • Updated font library: New font styles and custom font options in Zoho Sheet

          Zoho Sheet's font library now supports 500+ font styles in 60+ languages! The updated font library is stacked with new font styles, and some of the previously available font styles have been replaced with equivalent options. There are two ways you can

        • scope for phonebridge in CRM and phonebridge API documentation

          Hi I cannot find the scope to be used for phonebridge in CRM API V2 calls. I am getting OAUTH_SCOPE_MISMATCH for scope group ZohoCRM.modules.ALL,ZohoCRM.setttings.ALL Also I am not able to locate the documentation for the same, All I have is phonebridge

        • Job Alerts for Candidates

          hi All, I have 2 questions relating to sharing job details with candidates. 1. is there a way to notify candidates that meet certain criteria of current jobs available? eg. I run a candidate search, and identify 50 candidates that might be suitable. Can

        • Zoho Wiki or new Zoho Learn

          We are currently evaluating if we should move off confluence. At present in Confluence we have multiple levels within our documentation but with learn it looks like you can only have Space       - Manual             - Chapter Is it possible to have levels below Chapter? Also the same question for the existing wiki, can I have more sub-levels?

        • Fix image at bottom of a page fot automatic proposal creation

          I'm working on a proposal document to automate our proposal creation process. So far it works fine, but I experience some problems with an image I want to have fixed at the bottom of the page AND above the footer. This section of the document consists

        • Can't scroll the page down unless I refresh the page

          Hello, This issue has been going on with me and a lot of other users in my organization, we can't scroll down! the scrolling side bar doesn't appear and scrolling down through mouse or keyboard keys doesn't work, it seems that the page just ends in the

        • Price List

          II want to restrict the items to display in sales, quote, etc for which custom rates are added in price list. How I can do the same in Zoho books

        • Let’s Talk Recruit: Still switching tabs to source?

          Welcome back to the Let’s Talk Recruit series. Let’s talk about how you actually source talent. Do you open multiple job boards every single time a role opens? Run the same keyword searches you ran yesterday? Download, upload, rename, and then do it again

        • Kaizen #231 - Embedding Zoho Desk Tickets in Zoho CRM

          Hello, CRM Wizards! This week, let us enhance cross-team visibility between Zoho CRM and Zoho Desk. We will use the Zoho Request Client inside a Related List widget to display open Zoho Desk tickets directly within the Contact record in Zoho CRM. This

        • Introducing Job Alerts

          Keeping candidates engaged beyond their first application is one of the most consistent hiring challenges. Many interested candidates simply do not revisit career sites regularly, which can result in missed opportunities and reduced re-applications. To

        • Task status - completed - other options

          I have a dumb question I know i can make custom statuses for the tasks - but is there anyway to make additional "completed" statuses like for instance if i have a task "call back customer" and i leave a vm for them to call back marking it "completed -

        • Bank feed integration First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) to Zoho? (UAE)

          Hello everyone, Is First Abu Dhabi Bank in the list of banks available for bank feed integration with Zoho Books? Thank you.

        • How to Export Filtered List of Contacts?

          This seems like it should be simple, but I'm stymied. I'm trying to export a filtered list of my Contacts for analysis in a spreadsheet. The use case is that I'm an ecom business based in the US. The bulk of our customers are individuals stored as Contacts.

        • Quick Create needs Client Script support

          As per the title. We need client scripts to apply at a Quick Create level. We enforce logic on the form to ensure data quality, automate field values, etc. However, all this is lost when a user attempts a "Quick Create". It is disappointing because, from

        • Next Page