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

    • Zoho desk desktop application

      does zoho desk has a destop applicaion?

    • ZOHO Work Drive Back Up

      I am looking for a ZOHO Work Drive backup solution. Something that is cloud based. There's lots of these kinds of options for Google Drive and other providers, but I have not seen anything for WorkDrive. Any suggestions?

    • ZOHO Reports - Filter Logic?

      Hi, I need a way to apply filter logics such as ((1 AND 2) OR 3). All I can see as of now is a way to enter different AND filters in the respective filter column. But how can I add an OR filter? Any advice would be highly appreciated. Mark

    • Scanned Doc - selecting Item overwrites Rate

      I have a Vendor Invoice which was uploaded to Documents. I select Add To > New Bill. The OCR is actually quite good, but it is reading an Item Description instead of an Item Number. I remove the description and select the correct Item Number... and it

    • Recruit API search

      Hi all, Attempting to call the search api endpoint from Postman using the word element as mentioned in api docs Search Records - APIs | Online Help - Zoho Recruit When making the call to /v2/Candidates/search?word=Saudi receive response of { "code": "MANDATORY_NOT_FOUND",

    • Saving reading position + Keep screen on

      While Zoho Notebook is excellent for saving and annotating articles, its utility is severely limited by the lack of reading progress synchronization. On the Android app, if a user exits a long note after reading 50%, the app fails to save the position.

    • Multiple Vendor SKUs

      One of the big concerns we have with ZOHO Inventory is lack of Vendor Skus like many other inventory software packages offer. Being able to have multiple vendor skus for the same product would be HUGE! It would populate the appropriate vendor Sku for

    • Zoho LandingPage is integrated with Zoho One!

      Greetings to the Zoho One users out there! We're delighted to let you know that Zoho LandingPage is available in Zoho One too! With Zoho LandingPage, you can host custom-made landing pages, and persuade the visitors to dive deeper by making further clicks,

    • Android app sync problem - multiple devices have same problem

      Hello, I am having a problem with synchronization in the Android app. When I create a drawing, the data does not sync correctly—only a blank note is created without the drawing. I tested this on multiple devices, including phones and tablets, and the

    • How can i resend a campaign to only one of the recipients on the original campaign

      How can i resend a campaign to only one of the recipients on the original campaign ? Sincererly, Mike

    • How to show branch instead of org name on invoice template?

      Not sure why invoices are showing the org name not the branch name? I can insert the branch name using the ${ORGANIZATION.BRANCHNAME} placeholder, but then it isn't bold text anymore. Any other ideas?

    • Create CRM Deal from Books Quote and Auto Update Deal Stage

      I want to set up an automation where, whenever a Quote is created in Zoho Books, a Deal is automatically created in Zoho CRM with the Quote amount, customer details, and some custom fields from Zoho Books. Additionally, when the Sales Order is converted

    • Marketing Automation Requirements Questions

      I would like to set up a multi-email drip campaign- please see the structure below and confirm if I can achieve this set up in Zoho marketing automation. Where applicable, highlight gaps and workarounds. Thanks Drip email campaign- Can I create one drip

    • Zoho CRM for Gmail Extension Not Working in Brave Browser?

      Is anyone able to get the Zoho CRM Chrome Extension working in the Brave browser? They're both built on the Chromium platform and every other Chrome Extension works with the exception of Zoho CRM for Gmail so any ideas here?

    • Sharing URLs and direct access

      Hello, I am storing my team's email signature images on Workdrive. I am creating a public image download share and adding “?directDownload=true” so that the image can be accessed without the Workdrive interface. A few questions: 1) Can we generate friendly

    • how to change the page signers see after signing a document in zoho sign

      Hello, How can I please change the page a signer sees after signing a document in Zoho Sign? I cannot seem to find it. As it is now, it shows a default landing page "return to Zoho Sign Home". Thanks!

    • Question about using custom_fields in Storefront Add-to-Cart API (error 2003 – required details)

      Hi everyone, I’m working with the Zoho Commerce Storefront API, specifically the Add to Cart endpoint: POST /storefront/api/v1/cart According to the documentation, this endpoint supports a custom_fields parameter for adding line-item custom data. I’m

    • Can a project be cloned?

      Good afternoon, greetings. I would like to ask if it's possible to clone a project in Microsoft Project. I found a way to do it using templates, but I'm not sure if there's a direct way to clone a project. Thank you in advance for your attention, and

    • Timesheet Tasks in Zoho Books: associate to service item

      How do we associate a service item to timesheet tasks in Zoho Books? For example: Joe spent 5 hours on project:task1 which is Service Item#1 (Income:Service1). When the invoice is issued thru the Project Invoice section, this is not available. When the

    • Why Sharing Rules do Not support relative date comparison???

      I am creating a Sharing Rule and simply want to share where "Last Day of Coverage" (Date field) is Greater than TODAY (Starting Tomorrow). However, sharing rules don't have the option to compare a date field to a relative date (like today), only to Static

    • Task/Activity indicator in SalesPipeline overview has disappeared

      I Just logged in my ZOHO CRM first 2026 checking my salespipeline overview , Every record card used to show an indication that there was an open task (Yellow if the expiry date was close, red if the expiry date was today and grey when it had expired).

    • Tip #56- Accessibility Controls in Zoho Assist: Hearing- 'Insider Insights'

      As we begin the new year, it’s a great time to focus on making our tools more inclusive and accessible for everyone. Remote support often involves long hours in front of screens, varying lighting conditions, and users with diverse accessibility needs.

    • Zoho Desk Android app update: Table view for All Departments view, custom button

      Hello everyone! In the latest version(v2.9.25) of the Zoho Desk Android app update, we have introduced Table view for the 'All Departments' view in the ticket module. We also have supported an option that allows tickets in the Table view to be sorted

    • What's New - December 2025 | Zoho Backstage

      In December, Backstage introduced a focused set of updates that improve how you manage registrations, communicate with attendees, and track participation. These enhancements are designed to give organizers greater flexibility and clearer control across

    • Need code format to specify default values

      Can someone please direct me to the code syntax or the proper translation per the instructions circled below. These instructions don't seem correct.

    • Problem with CRM Connection not Refreshing Token

      I've setup a connection with Zoom in the CRM. I'm using this connection to automate some registrations, so my team doesn't have to manually create them in both the CRM and Zoom. Connection works great in my function until the token expires. It does not refresh and I have to manually revoke the connection and connect it again. I've chatted with Zoho about this and after emailing me that it couldn't be done I asked for specifics on why and they responded. "The connection is CRM is not a feature to

    • Add multiple users to a task

      When I´m assigning a task it is almost always related to more than one person. Practical situation: When a client request some improvement the related department opens the task with the situation and people related to it as the client itself, the salesman

    • A Roundup of Zoho Sprints 2025

    • Sorting Custom Date in API isn't working w pagination limit

      How can we sort a custom field with DATE using pagination? Starting at page=1 then moving to page=2 with a limit of 10 each, its all messed up and even shows some of the same records as page 1? https://www.zohoapis.com/crm/v2/INVOICE_MODULE/search?criteria=(FM_Contact_ID:equals:1234)&sort_by=Invoice_Date&sort_order=desc&per_page=10&page='

    • SAP Business One(B1) integration is now live in Zoho Flow

      We’re excited to share that SAP Business One (B1) is now available in Zoho Flow! This means you can now build workflows that connect SAP B1 with other apps and automate routine processes without relying on custom code. Note: SAP Business One integration

    • Enhancement in Role and Profile mapping of agents in Sandbox

      Hello everyone! We have brought in a modification in the way users are mapped to a particular role and profile in Sandbox. What has changed? When agents are copied from production to Sandbox: If a user's current role and profile is available in Sandbox,

    • The reason I switched away from Zoho Notebook

      My main reason for switching to Zoho was driven by three core principles: moving away from US-based products, keeping my data within India as much as possible, and supporting Indian companies. With that intent, I’ve been actively de-Googling my digital

    • Decimal places settings for exchange rates

      Hello, We are facing issues while matching vendor payments with banking feeds. As we often import products/services exchange rate comes into play. Currently, ZOHO allows only six digits for decimal places. We feel that conversions like JPY to INR require

    • Zoho removed ability to see all Scheduled Reports!

      If you are not the owner of a scheduled report, Zoho recently removed the capability to see each scheduled report. As an admin who relies on seeing all scheduled reports being sent, this is a terrible update. Now I cannot see ANY scheduled reports...even the ones I am being sent!!  This should be a setting for admins to control.  This is a bad update.

    • Automate Backups

      This is a feature request. Consider adding an auto backup feature. Where when you turn it on, it will auto backup on the 15-day schedule. For additional consideration, allow for the export of module data via API calls. Thank you for your consideration.

    • GCLID and Zoho Bookings

      Is there anyway to embed a Zoho Bookings signup on a landing page and pass the GCLID information? More specifically, can this be done using auto-tagging and not manual tagging the GCLID? I know Zappier has an integration to do this but is there a better

    • Merge Items

      Is there a work around for merging items? We currently have three names for one item, all have had a transaction associated so there is no deleting (just deactivating, which doesn't really help. It still appears so people are continuing to use it). I also can't assign inventory tracking to items used in past transactions, which I don't understand, this is an important feature moving forward.. It would be nice to merge into one item and be able to track inventory. Let me know if this is possible.

    • Create PO from an invoice

      We are a hardware and software sales company which receives orders over the internet. We drop ship most of our products from a warehouse outside of our company. Our orders get sync'd into Zoho from our store via onesaas as invoices. It would be great

    • Blueprint or Validation Rules for Invoices in Zoho Books

      Can I implement Blueprint or Validation Rules for Invoices in Zoho Books? Example, use case could be, Agent confirms from client that payment is done, but bank only syncs transactions tomorrow. in this case, Agent can update invoice status to done, and

    • Resetting auto-number on new year

      Hi everyone! We have an auto-number with prefix "D{YYYY}-", it generates numbers like D2025-1, D2025-2, etc... How can we have it auto-reset at the beginning of the next year, so that it goes to D2026-1? Thanks!

    • Next Page