Kaizen #200 - Answering Your Questions | Authentication using Zoho CRM Python SDK

Kaizen #200 - Answering Your Questions | Authentication using Zoho CRM Python SDK



We’re incredibly excited to bring you the 200th post in our Kaizen series!

Idea
This journey has been as much about listening as it has been about sharing. And today, we’re making both count. Over the past few weeks, we’ve collected your feedback through the Kaizen feedback form added in our earlier posts. Thank you for the time and thought you’ve put into it.

Starting today, we’ll be actively addressing your most requested topics. 

Overview – OAuth 2.0 and Zoho CRM SDKs

In this Kaizen, we’ll walk you through how OAuth 2.0 authentication is handled using the Zoho CRM Python SDK, and how the SDK simplifies token refresh, storage, and management for multiple users and organizations across multiple data centers.

Introduction:


OAuth2.0 Recap:



Token Management using Zoho CRM SDKs:


Sample Project Overview

We’ve used a fully working sample project to demonstrate the OAuth flow in action.

Frontend

A static interface built using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
Files include:
  • index.html – login and data input page
  • script.js – client-side login and record handling
  • redirect.html – used to capture the grant token from Zoho

Backend

A Python server using Zoho CRM SDK to:
  • Authenticate users using OAuth 2.0
  • Store and manage tokens
  • Fetch and manipulate CRM records

Note:

Before running the project, you’ll need to register your client in the Zoho API Console. Once registered, use the generated Client ID and Client Secret in your server code.
If you're planning to support users across multiple Zoho Data Centers (DCs):
  • Be sure to enable Multi-DC for your client.
  • Use the same client credentials (Client ID and Secret) for all the DCs during authentication.

Implementation Demo:

How the SDK Maps Tokens to Users

One of the key challenges in multi-user apps is ensuring that each user's tokens are stored and retrieved correctly. The Zoho CRM Python SDK handles this automatically.
As part of the OAuth flow, the SDK retrieves the user's email and organization info in the background using the scopes ZohoCRM.users.READ and ZohoCRM.org.READ. It then uses this unique user–org combination to:
  • Store access and refresh tokens separately for each user
  • Automatically update tokens when a user logs in again
  • Ensure that all API calls are authorized with the correct tokens
If you're implementing Login with Zoho using the standard OAuth redirect flow, all of this is handled internally by the SDK using the user and org information retrieved during login. There’s no need to manually pass a UserSignature in the token object.
 
If you're not implementing Login with Zoho, or if you’d prefer to explicitly associate a token with a known user, you can pass a UserSignature object during initialization:
  1. from zohocrmsdk.src.com.zoho.api.authenticator import UserSignature

    user = UserSignature(email)
    token = OAuthToken(..., user_signature=user)
    Initializer.initialize(..., user=user)
This ensures the SDK can correctly identify the token's owner and separate tokens for different users or orgs in a multi-user application.

Multi-User & Multi-DC Token Management


Authentication can often be one of the trickiest parts of any integration, especially when you're dealing with multiple users, environments, and token refresh cycles. With the Zoho CRM SDKs, much of that complexity is handled for you, from generating and persisting tokens, to refreshing them silently when they expire, and managing user-org mappings behind the scenes.

We hope this Kaizen gave you a clearer picture of how to use our SDKs confidently in your apps. Try out the project, play around, and see how it all works in real time. 

If you have any queries, let us know the comments below, or send an email to support@zohocrm.com. We'd love to hear from you.


    • Sticky Posts

    • 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

    • Kaizen #152 - Client Script Support for the new Canvas Record Forms

      Hello everyone! Have you ever wanted to trigger actions on click of a canvas button, icon, or text mandatory forms in Create/Edit and Clone Pages? Have you ever wanted to control how elements behave on the new Canvas Record Forms? This can be achieved

    • Kaizen #142: How to Navigate to Another Page in Zoho CRM using Client Script

      Hello everyone! Welcome back to another exciting Kaizen post. In this post, let us see how you can you navigate to different Pages using Client Script. In this Kaizen post, Need to Navigate to different Pages Client Script ZDKs related to navigation A.

    • Kaizen #210 - Answering your Questions | Event Management System using ZDK CLI

      Hello Everyone, Welcome back to yet another post in the Kaizen Series! As you already may know, for the Kaizen #200 milestone, we asked for your feedback and many of you suggested topics for us to discuss. We have been writing on these topics over the

    • Recent Topics

    • Recalculate every row in the subform

      Hello, Can anyone help me with a script, please? I have an issue. Sometimes it happens, that in a multi row subform one of the rows show an incorrect row total value. Not really understand how it can happen, if I have a 20 row subform, 19 rows show correct

    • Creating Repeat Forms that remove redundancies

      I wanted to understand if you can make multi-layer forms that reduce the need for users to input information in again and again. We want a form that our suppliers fill out per ingredient they sell, and the end result should have the Ingredient (Section

    • What is the difference between the free plan and the mail lite plan?

      What is the difference between the free plan and the mail lite plan? How many emails can I send per day?

    • Unblock email

      Hi The outgoing mail from a client of me is blocked. I already made tickets and tickets are send to the EU desk but nobody is responding. The problem is already 4 days! There is absolutely no help from the support. I am really not satisfied at all! Can

    • Domain verification failure

      Hello Zoho Support, I purchased my domain directly through Zoho Mail, but the domain verification keeps failing with the message “TXT verification failed.” I’ve already waited and retried several times, but it still won’t verify. Could you please manually

    • Unable to send message;Reason:554 5.1.8 Email Outgoing Blocked.

      My email account is unable to send emails, and I urgently need to use it. How can I resolve this?If there is anything we have done wrong, please let us know in advance so we can actively cooperate to improve. User ID: 850482493

    • URGENT: Email stopped workin - can't access admin panel

      For some reason email sending stopped working. When I try to send an email it fails with "Unable to send message;Reason:451 4.7.1 Temporary system error" I can receive email just fine I see in my notifications some errors about the MX records, however

    • Can I associate an invoice to a Project after the fact?

      We have generated an invoice but would like to assoicate it to a Zoho Project after the fact.  Is there any way to accomplish that? Thanks, Scott

    • Emails I send as a cc or bcc NEVER GO THROUGH TO THA RECEIVER !!

      every time i send a cc or bcc copy of an email to anyone when I’m using my zohomail.com email - no one ever gets the cc of bcc copy if the email: why???? And i triple check that the email addresses are correct; then i get back an email message (EVERYTIME)

    • Cannot see correct DNS config for mail after moving domain to another provider

      I have moved my domain from one provider to another and after that zoho mail stopped working (expected). Problem is, zoho mail admin panel still shows (10 hours after move) that all records are correct while I haven't changed anything in my domain DNS

    • Add Support for Authenticator App MFA in Zoho Desk Help Center

      Hello Zoho Desk Team, We hope you are doing well. We would like to request an enhancement related to security for the Zoho Desk Help Center (customer portal). Currently, the Help Center supports MFA for portal users via SAML, JWT, SMS authentication,

    • How to unlink a SAML user from the existing Zoho Desk user (domain change case)

      Hi everyone, I’m trying to understand how to handle a situation where a customer changes their company domain. In our setup, users authenticate via SAML, so when the domain changes, the SAML system treats them as a new user. However, in Zoho Desk, I’d

    • Price Managment

      I have been in discussions with Zoho for some time and not getting what I need. Maybe someone can help explain the logic behind this for me as I fail to understand. When creating an item, you input a sales rate and purchase rate. These rates are just

    • Related to zoho survey

      Hi team. I want to know something regarding zoho survey question builder. I have two questions each of dropdown (One answer) - question type. In the first question, there are 16 answer choices and in the second question, there are 3 answer choices. For

    • 60 Days Into Zoho - Tiktok Branding Startup -7 Questions?!

      Wsp Everybody I co-own a TikTok Branding / Consulting Startup & have been using Zoho for the past 60 days - Am now looking to make our overall operations & processes more Efficient & Effective! Curious to know how others are using the platform & what's

    • Text Message

      When trying to sent a text message, it says its an error i should contact a zoho agent

    • Zoho POS is now available for Canadian retailers

      Hey everyone, We're excited to introduce the all-new Canadian edition of Zoho POS, which helps retail businesses simplify and manage their end-to-end business operations. Start by signing up and exploring the 15-day free trial. Sign up now How does Zoho

    • Payroll In Canada

      Hi, When can we expect to have payroll in Canada with books 

    • Mass update to change or shift all project dates and keep project structure + shift all sub-tasks dates with main tasks

      Most users would expect that if they change the start date of their project then that will be reflected inside the actual project and any project structure would be retained.  Additionally if a task list with associated sub-tasks is moved, most users would expect that those sub-tasks would also be moved along with their parent task.  This is not the case. For a total Project shift of dates: * the start and end date from > "Edit Project" page can have a radio button added to "shift all project tasks

    • Closing Accounting Periods - Invoice/Posting dates

      Hi, I have seen in another thread but I'm unsure on how the 'transaction locking' works with regards to new and old transactions. When producing monthly accounts if I close December 24 accounts on 8th Jan 25 will transaction locking prevent me from posting

    • In-person ZUG Meetups for Real Estate Professionals - US Q1 2026

      The Real Estate Zoho User Group is going on a multi-city, in-person meetup tour across the US, and we’d love to see you there! These meetups are a great opportunity to: Connect with fellow real estate professionals using Zoho Share challenges and discover

    • Zoho CRM custom fields not showing in zoho creator

      Hi Team, I have created a Products form with Zoho CRM integration and connected it to Products module of CRM. But when I see the reports of Products in Zoho creator then I am not able to see custom fields of Products module. Only standard fields of Products

    • Sending email notifications based on language

      Hello. I would like to know how we can bypass the default notifications (which are just in English) for when a ticket is created/replied to/closed, to be in other languages, based on the language field in the ticket? I can create other email templates,

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

      Hello There, l tried to verify my domain (florindagoreti.com.br) and its shows this error: This Operation has been restricted. Please contact support-as@zohocorp.com for further details. Screenshot Given Below -  please check what went wrong. Thanks

    • Download a file from within a zoho creator widget

      I have a widget running in Zoho Creator , it displays uploaded documents in a table file, and I have added a download link in the view. ( The widget is created with html, css and javascript). I do not succeed in getting the download working. Do I have

    • Correlated subqueries not supported in Zoho Analytics. This creates huge limitations

      Running into a major limitation in Zoho Analytics: correlated subqueries simply don’t work, even in completely standard SQL patterns inside a JOIN. Example: LEFT JOIN "Bills" b ON d."Id" = b."Deal ID" AND EXISTS ( SELECT 1 FROM "Bill

    • Zoho / Outlook Calendar sync

      The current Marketplace -> Microsoft -> Meetings integration needs 2 changes. 1. The current language for the Two-Way sync option should be changed. It currently states, "Sync both your Zoho CRM Calendar and Office 365 Calendar meetings with each other."

    • Email content just contain 'OK' ,not what we expect

      create campaign API URL: https://campaigns.zoho.com/api/v1.1/createCampaign req params: {'campaignname': 'General_Outreach_d0cfc415-43aa-4b96-bb09-558e76a3dda3_50_20251117_214806_660', 'from_email': 'admin@allinmedia.ai', 'subject': 'ALL IN MEDIA', 'list_details':

    • Possible to connect Zoho CRM's Sandbox with Zoho Creator's Sandbox?

      We are making some big changes on our CRM so we are testing it out in CRM's Sandbox. We also have a Zoho Creator app that we need to test. Is it possible to connect Zoho CRM's Sandbox to Zoho Creator's Sandbox so that I can perform those tests?

    • Reopen ticket

      Hello! Can I reopen a ticket just using the API ticket/sendReply ? What's the rules to do it? I'm trying but it doesn't reopen the ticket, it just send the reply

    • Allow Admins to Transfer Ownership of Their Own Files & Folders

      Hi Zoho WorkDrive Team, Hope you are doing well. We would like to request an important enhancement to the ownership-transfer functionality in Zoho WorkDrive, specifically regarding administrator capabilities. As administrators, we have the ability to

    • Tip#46: Capture accurate log hours

      Hello everyone, Use the newly introduced timer settings that will streamline the usage of timers and help admins or workspace owners to manage the time entries of the workspace users better. Check out the below mentioned timer settings added to the Timesheet

    • Moving to app-specific authentication for Google integrations

      Hello everyone, We’re making an important change to how Google integrations work in our platform. Until now, we used a common Google project across Zoho to enable integrations like Google Drive, Calendar, and more. Going forward, we’ll be moving to an

    • Lost the ability to sort by ticket owner

      Hi all, in the last week or so, we have lost the ability to sort tickets by Ticket Owner. Unlike the other columns which we can hover over and click on to sort, Ticket Owner is no longer clickable. Is it just us, or are other customers seeing this too?

    • Using a CRM Client Script Button to create a Books Invoice

      Hello, I need help handling error messages returned to my client script from a function. The scenario I have setup a client script button which is available from each Deal. This CS executes a crm function, which in turn creates an invoice based on the

    • How Can i put a form in Zobot

      Hi,how can i integrate a form which has a multiple options to choose from.the form should be opened or displayed by zobot after it meets a requirement in the conversation. Thanks in advance !

    • Has Anyone successfully integrated Zoho and Sage Intact?

      Hey all, We’re evaluating Zoho One + Sage Intacct and I’m trying to connect with anyone who has actually implemented the two together.Specifically, I’d love to know: -- Which functions you kept in Zoho vs. Intacct (e.g., Product Catalog, AR/AP, invoicing,

    • Playback and Management Enhancements for Zoho Quartz Recordings

      Hello Zoho Team, We hope you're all doing well. We would like to submit a feature request related to Zoho Quartz, the tool used to record and share browser sessions with Zoho Support. 🎯 Current Functionality As of now, Zoho Quartz allows users to record

    • Zoho Analytics - Feature Request For Time Based Data Source Fetch

      Hi Analytics Team, I have a client using Zoho CRM and they want a weekly report at 4:30pm every Friday, emailed to the sales team showing a pie chart of Closed Won Deals for that week. This is easy to achieve in Analytics but not so easy to ensure the

    • Which user's capacity is used for Shared Mailbox storage?

      We use shared mailboxes at our company, and their size is increasing daily. Which user(s)'s total mailbox limit is being used up by this space?

    • Next Page