Cognito Forms API Authentication

How to authenticate Cognito Forms API requests: one Bearer API key plus a connectionId. MindCloud stores your API key securely — set it once, never resend it.

Every Cognito Forms API request through MindCloud needs two things: a MindCloud API Key and a connectionId for your Cognito Forms 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 Cognito Forms connection in Connections. Cognito Forms uses an API key. You generate the key in your Cognito Forms account, then paste it in when you create the connection — MindCloud stores it securely and never returns it in a response.
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 Cognito Forms account that should run the action. MindCloud stores and refreshes the Cognito Forms 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 List Forms with an Cognito Forms connection looks like this:

curl --request POST \
  --url "https://connect.mindcloud.co/v2/universal/apps/cognitoForms/actions/list-forms/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 Cognito Forms account to run the action against. Missing or invalid Authorization returns 401, and a missing or mismatched connectionId returns 400.

Create a Cognito Forms API key

The Cognito Forms API is available on Pro, Team, and Enterprise plans. Organization owners and administrators can create API keys for custom integrations.

Open organization settings in Cognito Forms
In Cognito Forms, click your organization name in the top-left corner and choose Settings.
Organization name → Settings
Create a new API key integration
Go to the Integrations section and select New API Key.
Organization name → Settings → Integrations
Choose scopes and connected forms
Enter the integration details, then choose the form scopes, entry scopes, and which forms or folders the integration can access.
Save the integration and copy the key
Save the integration, then copy and store the API key immediately. Cognito Forms cannot show the full key again later.
Paste the key into MindCloud
Return to the MindCloud Cognito Forms connection form and paste the copied key into the API key field.

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.