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Zoho CRM API Authentication

How to authenticate Zoho CRM API requests: one Bearer API key plus a connectionId. MindCloud runs the OAuth flow and refreshes Zoho CRM tokens for you.

Every Zoho CRM API request through MindCloud needs two things: a MindCloud API Key and a connectionId for your 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

  1. Create a MindCloud account at app.mindcloud.co if you do not already have one.
  2. Generate a MindCloud API Key in API Keys. This is the Bearer token you send on every request. Keep it on your server.
  3. Create a Zoho CRM connection in Connections. Zoho CRM uses OAuth. When you create the connection, you are redirected to sign in to Zoho CRM and approve access — MindCloud stores the resulting tokens and refreshes them automatically, so your integration never has to.
  4. 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 Zoho CRM account that should run the action. MindCloud stores and refreshes the 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 Get Account with an Zoho CRM connection looks like this:

curl --request GET \
  --url "https://connect.mindcloud.co/v1/universal/zohoCRM/latest/actions/get-account" \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer $MINDCLOUD_API_KEY" \
  --get \
  --data-urlencode "connectionId=$CONNECTION_ID"

The Authorization: Bearer <your MindCloud API Key> header authenticates you to MindCloud; the connectionId tells MindCloud which Zoho CRM account to run the action against. Missing or invalid Authorization returns 401, and a missing or mismatched connectionId returns 400.

Connect Zoho CRM

You need access to a Zoho API Console client for Zoho CRM.

  1. Open your Zoho API Console client

    Sign in to the Zoho API Console and open your Server-based application. If you do not have one yet, create a new Server-based application for Zoho CRM.

    Zoho API Console
  2. Set the MindCloud redirect URI

    Add this redirect URI to the client: https://api.mindcloud.co/v1/oauth/zohoCRM/callback

  3. Enter your Zoho client credentials in MindCloud

    Paste the Client ID and Client Secret from the Zoho API Console into the Zoho CRM connection form.

  4. 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.