Kaizen 213 - Workflow APIs - Part 1
If you have ever managed complex business processes, you know that Workflows are the quiet backbone of any well-run business process. They keep things moving; assigning owners, sending alerts, keeping deals on track, and much more. But until now, you could not manage them via APIs. That changes with the release of Workflow APIs.
In this series, we will work through a real-world scenario together, showing you how to transition from manually managing workflows to governing them using APIs. We’ll look at Zylker Cloud Services, an IT solutions provider trying to bring order to its growing CRM automations.
The use case: Scaling the sales process at Zylker Cloud Services
Zylker’s sales process touches multiple teams and modules like Leads, Deals, Calls, Appointments, etc. Over time, different team members created their own workflows. The result is familiar to anyone who has scaled fast:
Multiple versions of what should be the same process
Old, unused workflows still running.
Now, Zylker wants to bring structure and visibility to this automation sprawl. Their system administrators are building a custom admin dashboard to monitor and manage CRM workflows, without needing deep CRM expertise.
They want to:
Display a real-time list of all workflows with their status
Gain insights into workflow distribution across modules
Identify inactive or outdated workflows that may need cleanup.
However, the CRM UI only allows viewing one workflow at a time. There is no consolidated view to see all workflows, their triggers, and their status across modules. That makes auditing and governance tedious and error-prone, especially at scale.
This is exactly what the Workflow APIs solve. With this, they can:
Audit all existing workflows.
Review how and when they trigger.
Identify which modules and actions are supported before creating new rules or updating existing ones.
Update existing rules and create new rules.
Delete the rules that are no longer needed.
You can not build a dynamic admin dashboard or an automated audit system for Workflows through just clicks. But you can do this now, with Workflow APIs.
STEP 1: Discover and audit existing workflows
Before changing anything, we need to understand what we are working with. How many workflows do we have? What do they do? How many more can we create?
To get a complete inventory of Workflow rules, we can use the GET Workflow Rules API. This API returns a list of all the Workflow Rules configured for the CRM account.
Sample Request:
GET {api-domain}/crm/v8/settings/automation/workflow_rules
This initial audit acts like a master list, giving us an overall picture. It helps understand the scope of the automation landscape and identify obvious redundancies, like multiple workflows with similar names or purposes.
Sample Response:
{ "workflow_rules": [ { "created_time": "2024-01-15T14:20:30+05:30", "execute_when": { "details": { "trigger_module": { "api_name": "Deals", "id": "4876876000000002181" }, "repeat": false }, "type": "create_or_edit" }, "editable": true, "module": { "api_name": "Deals", "id": "4876876000000002181" }, "deprecated": false, "deletable": true, "description": "Alert VP of Sales for high-value opportunities", "source": "crm", "created_by": { "name": "Matthew Mayers", "id": "4876876000001360001" }, "last_executed_time": null, "modified_time": "2024-01-23T12:23:12+05:30", "name": "VP Alert - High Value Deal", "modified_by": { "name": "Matthew Mayers", "id": "4876876000001360001" }, "lock": { "locked_by": null, "message": null, "status": false }, "id": "4876876000016390024", "category": "default", "conditions": [ { "sequence_number": 1, "instant_actions": { "actions": [ { "related_details": null, "name": "VP notified", "details": { "module": { "api_name": "Deals", "id": "4876876000000002181" } }, "id": "4876876000016390063", "type": "field_updates" }, { "related_details": { "best_time": true }, "name": "High value deal alert", "id": "4876876000016390015", "type": "email_notifications" } ] }, "scheduled_actions": [ { "execute_after": { "period": "business_days", "unit": 1 }, "id": "4876876000016390074", "actions": [ { "related_details": null, "name": "Confirm VP follow-up", "id": "4876876000016390067", "type": "tasks" } ] } ], "criteria_details": { "relational_criteria": { "module_selection": null, "criteria": null, "module": null }, "criteria": { "group_operator": "AND", "group": [ { "comparator": "equal", "field": { "api_name": "Amount", "id": "4876876000000002557" }, "type": "value", "value": "50000" }, { "comparator": "equal", "field": { "api_name": "Stage", "id": "4876876000000002565" }, "type": "value", "value": "Negotiation/Review" } ] } }, "id": "4876876000016390025" } ], "status": { "active": true } }, { "id": "4876876000012015001", "name": "Lead Assignment - North Region", "module": {"api_name": "Leads"}, "status": {"active": true}, "execute_when": {"type": "create"}, "last_executed_time": "2025-10-14T11:56:20+05:30" // ... other keys omitted for brevity }, { "id": "4876876000012020001", "name": "Lead Assignment - South Region", "module": {"api_name": "Leads"}, "status": {"active": true}, "execute_when": {"type": "create"}, "last_executed_time": "2025-10-14T10:30:15+05:30" // ... other keys omitted for brevity } // ... additional workflows ], "info": { "per_page": 200, "count": 71, "page": 1, "more_records": false } } |
The response gives us a comprehensive overview of all configured workflows. For each rule, we get the metadata including its unique ID, name, description, the module it operates on, its activation status, and details about when it triggers. We also get audit information like creation timestamps and which user made changes.
Working with large results
When you have hundreds of workflows, pagination helps. The response includes an info object with pagination details:
count: The number of workflows on the current page
per_page: The maximum number of records per page (default and max is 200)
page: The current page number
more_records: Indicates if there are additional records to fetch.
If the more_records key is true, we can retrieve the next page by using the page parameter in the request.
While getting all workflows gives you the big picture, we may often want to focus on specific areas. This API offers several parameters to narrow down our search:
Parameter type | Description |
module | Filters workflows by the primary module they operate on. |
trigger_module | Filters by related modules that can trigger workflows. Use this when you want workflows that are triggered by changes in related records. |
execute_on | Filters by the specific action that triggers the workflow. |
status_active | Filters by activation status to see only active or inactive workflows. Useful for audits and cleanup operations. |
filter | Searches workflows by name using a JSON filter. |
page | Specifies which page of results to return. Use this for pagination when you have a large number of workflows. |
per_page | Limits the number of workflows returned per page. The default and maximum value is 200. |
sort_by | Sorts the workflows based on a specific field. The only supported value is modified_time. |
sort_order | Sorts the workflows in ascending (asc) or descending (desc) order. |
include_inner_details | Includes the inner details like conditions and actions of the workflows in the response. |
For example, to find all active lead workflows containing "Assignment" in their name, use:
Here is the API-call-ready version of the same, after URL encoding the filter value:
Now, if you inspect the response closely, you can see that we have two similar workflows: "Lead Assignment - North Region" and "Lead Assignment - South Region." And there is also an older workflow named "VP Alert - High Value Deal."
This workflow was created almost a year ago by a former team member, and it has not been modified for a long time. Is it still relevant? What exactly does it do? What criteria define a "high-value deal," and who exactly gets notified?
To answer these questions and understand the workflow's complete logic, we must examine it closely using the Get a Workflow API. This API returns the full configuration including all conditions, criteria thresholds, and specific actions for an individual workflow.
STEP 2: Inspect a single workflow using Get a Workflow API
Sample Request:
GET {api-domain}/crm/v8/settings/automation/workflow_rules/4876876000016390024
Here, 4876876000016390024 is the unique ID of the Workflow rule whose details we want to fetch, obtained from the response of Get all Workflows API.
Sample Response:
{ "workflow_rules": [ { "created_time": "2024-01-15T14:20:30+05:30", "execute_when": { "details": { "trigger_module": { "api_name": "Deals", "id": "4876876000000002181" }, "repeat": false }, "type": "create_or_edit" }, "editable": true, "module": { "api_name": "Deals", "id": "4876876000000002181" }, "deprecated": false, "deletable": true, "description": "Alert VP of Sales for high-value opportunities", "source": "crm", "created_by": { "name": "Matthew Mayers", "id": "4876876000001360001" }, "last_executed_time": null, "modified_time": "2024-01-23T12:23:12+05:30", "name": "VP Alert - High Value Deal", "modified_by": { "name": "Matthew Mayers", "id": "4876876000001360001" }, "lock": { "locked_by": null, "message": null, "status": false }, "id": "4876876000016390024", "category": "default", "conditions": [ { "sequence_number": 1, "instant_actions": { "actions": [ { "related_details": null, "name": "VP notified", "details": { "module": { "api_name": "Deals", "id": "4876876000000002181" } }, "id": "4876876000016390063", "type": "field_updates" }, { "related_details": { "best_time": true }, "name": "High value deal alert", "id": "4876876000016390015", "type": "email_notifications" } ] }, "scheduled_actions": [ { "execute_after": { "period": "business_days", "unit": 1 }, "id": "4876876000016390074", "actions": [ { "related_details": null, "name": "Confirm VP follow-up", "id": "4876876000016390067", "type": "tasks" } ] } ], "criteria_details": { "relational_criteria": { "module_selection": null, "criteria": null, "module": null }, "criteria": { "group_operator": "AND", "group": [ { "comparator": "equal", "field": { "api_name": "Amount", "id": "4876876000000002557" }, "type": "value", "value": "50000" }, { "comparator": "equal", "field": { "api_name": "Stage", "id": "4876876000000002565" }, "type": "value", "value": "Negotiation/Review" } ] } }, "id": "4876876000016390025" } ], "status": { "active": true } }, { "id": "4876876000012015001", "name": "Lead Assignment - North Region", "module": {"api_name": "Leads"}, "status": {"active": true}, "execute_when": {"type": "create"}, "last_executed_time": "2025-10-14T11:56:20+05:30" // ... other keys omitted for brevity }, { "id": "4876876000012020001", "name": "Lead Assignment - South Region", "module": {"api_name": "Leads"}, "status": {"active": true}, "execute_when": {"type": "create"}, "last_executed_time": "2025-10-14T10:30:15+05:30" // ... other keys omitted for brevity } // ... additional workflows ... ], "info": { "per_page": 200, "count": 71, "page": 1, "more_records": false } } |
The detailed response gives us a complete blueprint of the workflow. We can now see the exact business logic: the workflow triggers when deals are edited and meet two specific conditions; when the amount equals exactly $50,000 AND the stage is Negotiation/Review.
More importantly, we can see all the actions that execute: an immediate field update to mark deals as "VP notified," an email notification sent at the optimal time, and a follow-up task scheduled for one business day later. Here's what is really interesting about this detail; this workflow has never actually executed, despite being active for nearly a year, because the last_executed_time is null in the response.
Now we are left with some important questions. Is that $50,000 threshold too narrow? What if a $49,000 deal is just as important? And is the VP still the right person to alert? Are there additional stakeholders who should be notified beyond just the VP? These are the type of questions you can start answering once you inspect your workflows closely.
STEP 3: Check limits and distribution
Before making any changes, we must understand our automation capacity and how workflows are distributed across the organization. The Workflow APIs provide two key endpoints for this:
1. Get Workflow limits API
This API provides a comprehensive view of your organization's workflow capacity across multiple dimensions.
Sample Request:
GET {api-domain}/crm/v8/settings/automation/workflow_rules/actions/rules_count
Sample Response:
{ "rules_count": { "scheduled_actions_per_rule_limit": 5, "total_rules_limit": 2500, "active_rules_configured": 71, "rules_per_process_limit": 10, "total_actions_per_rule_limit": 50, "total_rules_limit_per_module": 125, "active_rules_limit": 2000, "total_rules_configured": 82, "active_rules_limit_per_module": 75 } } |
This response gives the following information:
Total Capacity: Zylker has a generous limit of 2,500 total workflows, with only 82 currently configured. This means that they are using just 3 percent of their total capacity.
Active Workflows: There are 71 active workflows, well below their 2,000 active workflow limit
Module-level Limits: Each module can support up to 125 total workflows, with 75 of those allowed to be active simultaneously.
Action Limits: Each condition in the Workflow can contain up to 50 total actions, with a maximum of five scheduled actions.
For Zylker, this is excellent news. Only 71 active workflows out of a 2,000 limit. This means we have substantial room for growth and can confidently create new workflows without worrying about capacity constraints.
2. Get module-wise counts API
This API tells you exactly how many workflow rules you have in each module. It shows both the total number of rules and how many are currently active. This helps you see where your automations are concentrated and where you might be missing opportunities.
Sample request:
GET {api-domain}/crm/v8/settings/automation/workflow_rules/actions/module_specific_count
Sample Response:
{ "module_specific_count": [ { "active_rules_configured": 2, "module": { "api_name": "Products", "id": "4876876000000002213" }, "total_rules_configured": 2 }, { "active_rules_configured": 2, "module": { "api_name": "Deals", "id": "4876876000000002181" }, "total_rules_configured": 2 }, { "active_rules_configured": 4, "module": { "api_name": "Contacts", "id": "4876876000000002179" }, "total_rules_configured": 5 }, { "active_rules_configured": 2, "module": { "api_name": "Appointments__s", "id": "4876876000002362026" }, "total_rules_configured": 3 }, { "active_rules_configured": 4, "module": { "api_name": "Calls", "id": "4876876000000033015" }, "total_rules_configured": 5 }, { "active_rules_configured": 43, "module": { "api_name": "Leads", "id": "4876876000000002175" }, "total_rules_configured": 51 }, { "active_rules_configured": 14, "module": { "api_name": "Emails", "id": "4876876000000014163" }, "total_rules_configured": 15 } ] } |
Looking at this response, we can see 43 active workflows in Leads but only two in Deals. This tells us that Zylker is heavily focused on lead management but might be missing opportunities to automate their sales process later in the pipeline.
Together, these two APIs give a complete picture of the automation capacity and distribution.
What's next: From understanding to action
Now that we have our foundation, we are ready to start building and refining.
In the next part of this Kaizen series, we will move from discovery to design. We’ll use the Workflow Configuration, Create, and Update APIs to standardize Zylker’s automation management, create new workflow rules, and update existing ones for consistency and efficiency.
We hope that you find this post on Workflow APIs useful. If you have any feedback, or if there are any pain-points that you would like us to address in our Kaizen series, please let us know in the comments, or reach out to us via support@zohocrm.com. We will be happy to help!
Until we meet again next Friday, Happy coding!
Topic Participants
Anu Abraham
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 thisKaizen #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 howKaizen #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
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. ForText Message
When trying to sent a text message, it says its an error i should contact a zoho agentZoho 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 ZohoPayroll In Canada
Hi, When can we expect to have payroll in Canada with booksMass 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 tasksClosing 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 postingIn-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 discoverZoho 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 ProductsSending 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. ThanksDownload 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 haveZoho / 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':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 replyAllow 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 toTip#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 TimesheetMoving 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 anLost 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?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 !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 recordZoho 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 theWhich 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?Inserting the current date / time
I'd like to use Zoho Notebook as a log - so it would be great to be able to insert the current date and time at the beginning (or end) of each my log/journal entries - or wherever I want. Something simple, like pressing a button/icon to insert it wherever my text cursor is. It could be formatted like "Mon Dec 11, 2017 - 11:43p".Campaign editor overrides href value
I've been trying to insert a deep link in an email campaign so recipients can directly open a native app on their device. My deep link looks something like "myapp://". The options to insert links in the campaign editor are limited to strict urls, emails,Bug Report and Suggestions for Improvement in Zoho Applications
Hi Zoho Team, I’d like to report a few bugs and improvement suggestions I’ve noticed while using Zoho products: Zoho Cliq Video Call: The camera sometimes turns off automatically during video calls. This seems to be a bug — please check and fix it. ZohoCanvas Flex Box containers should not require a width/height.
Flexbox containers are often used as organizational concepts, to ease re-flow on mobile etc. - I cannot use % for flexbox W or H - I cannot omit W or H This means that the content cannot dictate, and a Flexbox container cannot be used merely as an organizationalZoho Desk Android app update: Filter enhancement, Save Filters
Hello everyone! We have now enhanced the filter section on the ticket listing screen of Zoho Desk Android app as it is on the web(desk.zoho.com). Also, we have introduced an option to save filters for tickets on the mobile app. You can easily apply, rename,Very long loading times | bad performance [ZOHO DC: EU]
Hello there, we have recently noticed that the loading times have become extremely long when retrieving tickets and ticket details. For example, I open any ticket and get the following view. The subject and standard information (ticket owner, status etc.)Zia Profile Summary now supports six languages and responds faster
After numerous customer requests, we’ve expanded Zia Profile Summary to do more than just summarize resumes quickly. It can now summarize them in six different languages and deliver results even faster. What’s New 1. Extended language support Zia canIntroducing Zoho Show Android 3.0
Good ideas need the right space to grow. They deserve tools that move as fast as your thoughts and make creating feel effortless. And that is why we are bringing you Zoho Show Android 3.0! From a brand-new look and smoother navigation to improved collaborationProperly Capture Dropdowns & Hover Elements When Recording a Window/Tab
Hi Zoho WorkDrive Team, Hope you are doing great. We encountered a limitation when recording a selected window or browser tab: Certain UI elements, such as dropdown lists, hover menus, and overlays, are not captured unless we record the entire screen.Peppol integration zoho invoicefu
Hi, Belgium will require Peppol invoicing as of 2026. I found that this is being prepared for Zoho books, to be released in Sep 2025. Will Zoho Invoice get this functionality too? I like the Invoice app for my part-time side business as bike mechanicAllow Recording Only a Selected Portion of the Screen
Hi Zoho WorkDrive Team, Hope you are doing well. We would like to request a more flexible recording option in Zoho WorkDrive. At the moment, we can record either the entire screen or a specific window/tab — but not a custom selected portion of the screenRestricting Calendar View to Working Hours
Hi: I'm trying to implement a calendar which displays all of my customer appointments. Currently, the calendar shows all 24 hours of the day. Is there a way to restrict the hours to simply the times my business is open? Thanks!Add Camera Background Blur During Recording
Hi Zoho WorkDrive Team, Hope everything is well. We would like to request an enhancement to the video recording feature in Zoho WorkDrive. Currently, the camera preview displayed during a recording does not support background blur. This is an essentialAmazon FBA integration - Handle invoice reconciliation under different GSTINs,
Dear Zoho Community, Thank you for the clarification regarding the Amazon FBA integration, default warehouse, and GSTIN mapping in Zoho Inventory. I understand that Zoho currently supports only one warehouse for Amazon FBA, and that all FBA orders areWhatsapp Integration questions
Hi Questions: 1. Whatsapp messages are not reaching our CRM, is there a delay? 2. Is there any way to create a whatsapp catalog on a number that is integrated with ZOHO? 3. How do I configure my profile picture on a number that is integrated with ZOAllow Font Size 11 in Editors...
That is basic functionality...link mail.zoho.com/UnblockMe to unblock
Could you please unblock my account heloisa.bomfim@expansaodenegocios.comUnblocked me
Please can you help unblocked my account thanks materiauxjcbrunet2000@zohomail.comNext Page