Get Zoho Mail API working (including DRE Connector, Oauth Token, ZUID, ZOID & ACCOUNT_ID)

Get Zoho Mail API working (including DRE Connector, Oauth Token, ZUID, ZOID & ACCOUNT_ID)

Disclaimer: I’m not a professional coder!



Do you need to use Zoho Mail API?


Me too. It lets you do all sorts of things — like reading the complete header of an email, or forwarding an email with its attachments — which is what I wanted to do.


But setting up the API (application programming interface) took me hours.


It didn’t need to, but advice on this forum sent me in circles and, while the Knowledgebase probably has all the information, it’s not easy to determine which are the relevant bits. So…


Maybe this little guide will help you.

       To use Zoho Mail API you need:

a) A working OAuth Token (Open Authorization token)

b) Up to three Zoho IDs — User, Organization, Account

c) Depending on what you want to do, additional IDs for emails, folders, etc


OAUTH TOKEN


The token validates you when you make an API call. There are various ways to create it.

The hard way: it’s possible to create an OAuth token via Developer Space but this requires lots of options to be chosen and the OAuth token needs to be frequently refreshed. This route is intended for developers who are using external apps to link with Zoho.


The easy way, at least for me, was via a custom function in filters — because it’s simple to do, refreshing the OAuth token is handled by Zoho, and creating a custom function is what I was trying to do anyway


If you already have an OAuth token, great. If not, but have already created a custom function, jump to 4 below. Alternatively:


      1)    In Zoho Mail, go to settings/filters

      2)    Create a new filter and, under Actions, select ‘Custom Function’. Zoho help file here.

      3)    Click ‘Select Function’ and create a new function or use an existing one

      4)    Once the custom function is on screen, select ‘DRE Connectors’ (Deluge Runtime Environment) at the top right

      5)    Click ‘Create Connection’ and under ‘Default Services’ choose ‘Zoho OAuth’

      6)    ‘Connection Name’ can be anything you like. It’s the ‘Connection Link Name’ that you will use in your Deluge scripts.

      7)    Chose the ‘Scopes’ of your token. There are zillions of them and they determine what your script can and can’t do. The most basic might be ‘ZohoMail.messages.READ’. The API Guide Index lists every API command and, for each, details what scope you need (e.g. the send an email page shows you’ll need the scope  ZohoMail.messages.ALL or ZohoMail.messages.CREATE). It's good security practice to only use the minimum scope you need.

      8)    After you click ‘Create and Connect’ you should have a working OAuth token with a lowercase ‘link name’ that you can paste into your Deluge scripts.


NB: The OAuth token only applies to the Zoho area where you have your account (Zoho.eu in my case). So, for example, if I cut and paste a snippet into my script from the send an email page: https://mail.zoho.com/api/accounts/{accountId}/messages it will NOT work with my Europe OAuth token. I would need to change the snippet to: https://mail.zoho.eu/api/accounts/{accountId}/messages


GETTING YOUR IDS


Without API

You’ll see from the snippet above that this particular API needs your ‘accountId’ to work. Zoho advises getting your IDs via an API call, but you don't need to:


1)   Zoho User ID (ZUID).  Just log into Zoho and click the ‘My Profile’ icon (top right). Your user ID is right there under your name and email address.

2)  Zoho Organisation ID (ZOID). Open your Zoho Mail Dashboard (remember, this link is for zoho.eu, you’ll need to use your area). Then select ‘Organization’ on the left menu bar to display ‘Organization Info’, including your Zoho Organization ID.

3) Zoho Account ID (ZAID). Select any of your emails in Zoho Mail. Right click and pick 'Open in New Window'. Your Zoho Accound ID is the number following "accId=". (See Zoho's help page to get the message ID of emails — it also shows the accountId.)

With API
Alternatively, you can get all three IDs with one API call: https://mail.zoho.eu/api/accounts (remember to adjust for your area). Help page here for what scope you need for this API call. The call returns a mass of information but buried in it are your Zoho User ID (ZUID), Zoho Organisation ID (ZOID) and Zoho Account ID (ZAID).


So how do I make the API call?

There are various ways but I use a bit of deluge script:

apiUrl = "https://mail.zoho.eu/api/accounts";
response = invokeurl
[
    url :apiUrl
    type :GET
    connection:"your_oauth_token" // the OAuth token you created, in quotes
];
info response;

1) Create a new Zoho Mail custom function and paste in the above script.
2 ) In the function window, click 'Test Run' (top right). You'll be asked for a Message ID.
3) For this script, any message will do. Select any message in your Zoho Mail inbox. Right click and choose 'Open in New Window'. You'll see the Message ID after 'msgId=' in the URL displayed by your browser. See here for visual.
4) Paste the Message ID into the function window and press 'Proceed'. You'll be presented with the heading 'Console' and the result of your API call beneath it, where you'll find the IDs you need after 'zuid=', 'zoid=' and 'accountId='.

FOLDER & EMAIL IDs


      1)    You may be able to use the name of a folder (e.g. “Trash”) in your Deluge script but if you need the folder ID number, either use this API or, even easier, select an email in the folder your interested in, right click and pick 'Open in New Window'. The folder ID comes after 'folId=' in the browser URL.

      2)    All my scripts are triggered by an email by arriving in my inbox. The ID for that current email is held in the variable ‘mail_messageId’.

      3)    For everything else refer to the API Guide Index


Finally, there might be a better way to do any of the above — I did warn you I’m not a pro! — please feel free to add improvements.

    • Sticky Posts

    • Pocket from Mozilla is closing shop. Don’t lose your favorites . Move them to Zoho Mail Bookmarks now! 📥🔖

      The end of Pocket shouldn't mean the end of your important links and content. Easily import them into Zoho Mail's Bookmarks and continue right where you left off. You can bring over your entire Saves, Collections, and tags just the way they are. Bookmarks

    • Zoho Mail POP & IMAP Server Details

      Hello all! We have been receiving a number of requests regarding the errors while configuring or using Zoho Mail account in POP/ IMAP clients. The server details vary based on your account type and the Datacenter in which your account is setup. Ensure

    • Workplace - Zoholics Europe Customer Awards

      Dear Zoho Mail Community! 📣 We're excited to announce that at this year's Zoholics events across Europe, we're holding customer awards for the first time ever! Workplace - Zoholics Europe Customer Awards This is your chance to shout about the amazing

    • Important update on Group Management | Zoho Mail

      Dear Zoho Mail Community, This post is to inform you all of the following updates on the Group Management in Zoho Mail. Group Member Addition: If a group member is added to an organization group in a Zoho Application, the member will be automatically

    • Mastering email etiquette and best practices to follow in Zoho Mail

      Hello Zoho Mail Community, We’re thrilled to invite you all to our upcoming webinar: Mastering email etiquette and best practices to follow in Zoho Mail. Join our live webinar for expert etiquette tips to enhance your professionalism and elevate your

    • Recent Topics

    • Access to Specific Zoho Desk layout for external parties

      Hi, We have a partner who handles for us sales requests from specific markets. He is not a Zoho Desk user. But we want him to b part of a specific Zoho Desk layout to handle inquiries.  How to achieve it in the easiest way possible?

    • Deposit on a Sales Order

      Good day, 100% of my business is preorders, no inventory. I am trying to run away from QB for one of my businesses, but I require two options that I don't seem to find with Zoho Books. 1 - If there is a way to apply a deposit on a sales order, as with

    • How Does Knowledge Base Search and Article Recommendation Work?

      Hello, I would like to understand how the Knowledge Base search engine works. Specifically, does it search based on: The article title only? The full article content? Both, the article and the content? Keywords? Tags? Also, how does the system determine

    • Bulk Delete Attachments

      Is there a way to bulk delete attachments on the form entries? our storage is full and deleting files one by one is pain taking process.

    • 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

    • Ability to Disable System Banner Messages in Chat Flow Control

      Dear Zoho SalesIQ Team, Greetings, We would like to request an enhancement related to the system banner messages in Zoho SalesIQ chat flow control. Current Behavior: SalesIQ allows configuring various automatic banner/system messages such as: Waiting

    • Idle Chat Reminders for Agent-Handled Conversations

      Dear Zoho SalesIQ Team, Greetings, We would like to request an enhancement to the Idle Chat Handling functionality in Zoho SalesIQ—specifically for chats that are handled by human agents after a bot-to-agent transfer. Current Behavior: In Zobot settings,

    • Snapchat

      Are there any plans to add Snapchat to Zoho Social or is there any API that we can use to integrate into Zoho.

    • Zoho Sign "An unexpected error occured" when clients trying to sign documents

      We are unable to have clients sign our documents. When attempting to complete the process an error appears saying "an unexpected error occured" and in the document history just shows "signing failure." We are at a complete standstill with no response

    • ¡Vuelven los Workshops Certificados de Zoho a España!

      ¡Hola usuarios de Español Zoho Community! Hace ya unos días que hemos dado la bienvenida al 2026, y promete ser un año de lo más emocionante. Y es que nos gustaría haceros nuestro particular regalo de Reyes, aunque lleguemos un poco tarde. 🎁 ¡Nos gustaría

    • How to list services on quote instead of products

      I need to create a customer facing estimate that displays our services. The default quote layout only allows products to be listed. Is there a way to correct this?

    • Syncing calendar with Google Calendar doesn't work when events are sent to auto repeat

      Hi... The ZOHO CRM -- GOOGLE CALENDAR sync is broken. If I create a single event on either side, sync works, but if I create an event with auto repeat on either side it doesn't work. Furthermore, events created before the sync don't show up in the calendar.

    • Invoice status on write-off is "Paid" - how do I change this to "Written off"

      HI guys, I want to write off a couple of outstanding invoices, but when I do this, the status of the invoices shows as "Paid". Clearly this is not the case and I need to be able to see that they are written off in the customer's history. Is there a way

    • Zoho Books - France

      L’équipe de Zoho France reçoit régulièrement des questions sur la conformité de ses applications de finances (Zoho Books/ Zoho Invoice) pour le marché français. Voici quelques points pour clarifier la question : Zoho Books est un logiciel de comptabilité

    • Creating meetings from an email

      Hi. Similar to Outlook, it would be helpful if a meeting can be scheduled from an email so that the attendees need not be manually entered every time it's created.

    • Please, make writer into a content creation tool

      I'm tired of relying on Google Docs. I'm actually considering moving to ClickUp, but if Writer were a good content creation tool instead of just a word processor, I would finally be able to move all my development within the Zoho ecosystem, rather than

    • ZohoSalesIQ.Chat cannot send messages

      Chat cannot send messages. Our app implements the customer service chat window functionality by integrating the Mobilisten SDK. Recently, we encountered an issue: after successful SDK initialization and visitor registration, when the `startWithQuestion`

    • Missed chats on WhatsApp closing after one minute

      Hi, we have added WhatsApp as a channel. However, if a chat is not picked up within 2mins, the chat is marked as missed and is closed within a minute. Why are they not staying in our "missed" queue for 24 hours as per our WhatsApp preference settings?

    • Feature Request: Add Tax ID Display on Event Tickets

      Hello Backstage Team, I’ve had several clients bring up an issue regarding tax compliance when creating events. For tax purposes, they are required to show their Tax ID on the event tickets. Currently, this isn’t an option, so they have to manually generate

    • Release Notes | January 2026

      We have rolled out a set of powerful new enhancements across Zoho Vertical Studio that bring several long-awaited capabilities to your applications. These updates focus on deeper customization, smarter automation, better reporting, and improved usability

    • Email Alias: To keep emails flowing without disruption

      Email Alias acts like a nickname for a user’s primary email address, allowing multiple email addresses to deliver messages into the same mailbox. Consider the scenario where an employee manages multiple responsibilities, such as responding to sales inquiries,

    • Archive Option in Conversation View

      Hello, I have a suggestion\request to add an "Archive Thread" button in conversation view of Zoho Mail. The best suggestion I have is to put an "Archive Thread" button next to the "Label Entire Thread" button in conversation view. Most users don't just

    • Inventory "Bulk Actions" button - add more fields to "Bulk Update > Select a field"

      Can we not get a lot more actions that are commonly used by customers into the "More Actions" button on the Inventory list? More fields listed in the Bulk Update > Select A Field? Possible Bulk update Fields Preferred Supplier ( to quickly move items

    • Bulk upload image option in Zoho Commerce

      I dont know if I am not looking into it properly but is there no option to bulk upload images along with the products? Like after you upload the products, I will have to upload images one by one again? Can someone help me out here? And what should I enter

    • Function #11: Apply unused credits automatically to invoices

      Today, we bring you a custom function that automatically applies unused credits from excess payments, credit notes, and retainer payments to an invoice when it is created. Prerequisites: Create a Connection named "zbooks" to successfully execute the function.

    • Tip #60- Exploring Technician Console: Screen Resolution- 'Insider Insights'

      Hello Zoho Assist Community! Have you ever started a remote session and felt the screen quality wasn’t sharp enough for detailed work? A new user recently explored Zoho Assist after installing the trial version and running a few initial tests. While the

    • Right Moment, Right Message, Right Operator: Never Miss a High-Intent Lead

      Ever been on a website or app, thinking “Should I buy this or not?” and suddenly a friendly message “Hi! How can I help you?” pops up at the perfect moment? That’s not luck. That’s timing done right. Engaging right visitors at the right moment, with the

    • CRM x WorkDrive: We're rolling out the WorkDrive-powered file storage experience for existing users

      Release plan: Gradual rollout to customers without file storage add-ons, in this order: 1. Standalone CRM 2. CRM Plus and Zoho One DCs: All | Editions: All Available now for: - Standalone CRM accounts in Free and Standard editions without file storage

    • Zoho CRM Workflow Automation: Activate & Deactivate Workflows Using API

      Zoho has now enabled: ✅ Activate / Deactivate workflows using API ✅ Schedule workflow activation & deactivation This is extremely useful for real-world automation use cases 💡 🧩 My Use Case I created a scheduled automation that: ☀️ Activates workflows

    • {Action Required} Re-authenticate your Google Accounts to Continue Data Sync

      Hello Users! To align with Google’s latest updates on how apps access files in Google Drive, we’ve enhanced our integration to comply with the updated security and privacy standards, ensuring safer and more reliable access to your data. With this update,

    • Function #53: Transaction Level Profitability for Invoices

      Hello everyone, and welcome back to our series! We have previously provided custom functions for calculating the profitability of a quote and a sales order. There may be instances where the invoice may differ from its corresponding quote or sales order.

    • Project-Based Inventory Consumption and Proforma Invoice in Zoho ERP

      While working with customers across different industries, we have identified a few functional questions and gaps that commonly arise—especially for project-based and service-oriented businesses. Many organizations, such as those in shipping, construction,

    • [Free Webinar] Zoho RPA - OCR, PDF Automation, & More

      Hello Everyone! Greetings from the Zoho RPA Training Team! We’re excited to invite you to our upcoming webinar on the latest release updates for Zoho RPA, where we’ll unveil powerful new capabilities designed to make your automation journey smarter, faster,

    • Zobot Execution Logs & Run History (Similar to Zoho Flow)

      Dear Zoho SalesIQ Team, We would like to request an enhancement for Zoho SalesIQ Zobot: adding an execution log / run history, similar to what already exists in Zoho Flow. Reference: Zoho Flow In Zoho Flow, every execution is recorded in the History tab,

    • Global Search Settings

      I'd love a way to remove some modules from being included in the global search. This would allow use to provide a better user experience, limiting the global search to only those modules that are regularly used removing any models used for background

    • Card Location in Zobot

      Hello, when using the “Location” card in a codeless builder Zobot, the behavior in WhatsApp is inconsistent. When asking the user to share their location, they can type a message, which will return the message “Sorry, the entered location is invalid.

    • Automation Series: Auto-create Dependent Task on Status Change

      In Zoho Projects, you can automatically create and assign a dependent task when a task’s status is updated. This helps teams stay aligned, ensures reviews happen on time, and reduces manual effort. In this post, we’ll walk through an easy setup using

    • Languages in Zobot

      Hello, I have found a list of supported languages for the Zobot. The information specifies the languages are supported in the following 3 features: SalesIQ supports 34 different languages in the following features. Resources (Articles, FAQs, Small Talks)

    • Composite items inside of composite items; bill of materials needed

      Hi Zoho and Everyone, I am evaluating whether Zoho Inventory will work for my small business. I grow and harvest herbs and spices but also get from wholesalers. I use all these items to make herbal teas, but also sell them as individual items on my Shopify store and Etsy. I discovered the composite item bundling and am wondering if I could get some assistance since there is no bill of materials: Our herbal company's best selling tea is a sleepytime tea. Sleepytime Tea can be purchased in three weights

    • Action required: Reauthorizing your Google account in Zoho Sign for automatic cloud backup to Google Drive

      This is applicable to users who have already configured automatic cloud backup to Google Drive. Hi there! Google has mandated reauthorization of all preconfigured third-party integrations to ensure only the necessary scopes are shared as an improved security

    • Next Page