Grist API Authentication

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

Every Grist API request through MindCloud needs two things: a MindCloud API Key and a connectionId for your Grist 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 Grist connection in Connections. Grist uses an API key. You generate the key in your Grist 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 Grist account that should run the action. MindCloud stores and refreshes the Grist 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 Get Document with an Grist connection looks like this:

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

Create a Grist API key

You need access to the Grist account or organization that owns the docs you want MindCloud to use.

Open your Grist profile settings
In Grist, open the account menu in the top-right corner and select Profile Settings.
Profile Settings
Create an API key
In the API section, click Create to generate a new API key for your account.
Copy the API key
Copy the new API key and store it somewhere secure because you will use it in MindCloud.
Paste the key into MindCloud
Return to MindCloud and paste the copied value into the API Key field for this Grist connection.

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.