Bigin by Zoho CRM API Authentication
How to authenticate Bigin by Zoho CRM API requests: one Bearer API key plus a connectionId. MindCloud runs the OAuth flow and refreshes tokens for you.
Every Bigin by Zoho CRM API request through MindCloud needs two things: a MindCloud API Key and a connectionId for your Bigin by Zoho CRM account. This page covers both, plus exactly how to send them, so you do not need to visit any other page to get authenticated.
Steps to authenticate
- Create a MindCloud account at app.mindcloud.co if you do not already have one.
- Generate a MindCloud API Key in API Keys. This is the Bearer token you send on every request. Keep it on your server.
- Create a Bigin by Zoho CRM connection in Connections. Bigin by Zoho CRM uses OAuth. When you create the connection, you are redirected to sign in to Bigin by Zoho CRM and approve access — MindCloud stores the resulting tokens and refreshes them automatically, so your integration never has to.
- Copy the connection’s
connectionId— you will send it on every request alongside your MindCloud API Key.
How requests are authenticated
Authentication has two layers. Your MindCloud API Key authenticates the request to MindCloud, sent as a Bearer token in the Authorization header. The connectionId selects the connected Bigin by Zoho CRM account that should run the action. MindCloud stores and refreshes the Bigin by Zoho CRM credentials behind that connection, so you never send provider tokens with your requests.
Pass connectionId in the query string for GET and DELETE actions, and in the JSON body for POST, PUT, and PATCH actions.
For example, calling Count Records with an Bigin by Zoho CRM connection looks like this:
curl --request POST \
--url "https://connect.mindcloud.co/v2/universal/apps/biginByZohoCRM/actions/count-records/run" \
--header "Authorization: Bearer $MINDCLOUD_API_KEY" \
--header "Content-Type: application/json" \
--data '{
"connectionId": "$CONNECTION_ID",
"arguments": {}
}'The Authorization: Bearer <your MindCloud API Key> header authenticates you to MindCloud; the connectionId tells MindCloud which Bigin by Zoho CRM account to run the action against. Missing or invalid Authorization returns 401, and a missing or mismatched connectionId returns 400.
Connect Bigin by Zoho CRM
You need access to a Zoho API Console client for Bigin.
- Open your Zoho API Console client
Sign in to the Zoho API Console and open your Server-based application for Bigin. If you do not have one yet, create a new Server-based application and choose Bigin by Zoho CRM as the service.
Zoho API Console - Set the MindCloud redirect URI
Add this redirect URI to the client's Authorized Redirect URIs list: https://api.mindcloud.co/v1/oauth/biginByZohoCRM/callback
- Enter your Zoho client credentials in MindCloud
Paste the Client ID and Client Secret from the Zoho API Console into the Bigin by Zoho CRM connection form.
- Sign in with Zoho
Click Authenticate in MindCloud. Zoho will redirect you to the correct accounts server during the OAuth flow, and MindCloud will use the returned accounts-server value for token exchange.
Keep your key safe
Keep your MindCloud API Key on your server; do not ship it in browser code, mobile apps, public repositories, or logs. Anyone with the key can call the Universal API as your MindCloud account, across every connection you have created.