Custom Connections
Usually, when developing an extension, you use the pre-defined connection for the app you are building the extension for. However, if you want to publish an extension for multiple products, you must create a custom connection to connect with the apps for which you are developing the extension. This is because you can only connect with one app using a pre-defined connection.
To create a custom connection, you should:
- Register an OAuth client
- Create a custom connection with the required scopes
Register an OAuth Client
- Go to Zoho API Console and register your client.
- On the home page of Zoho API Console, click Get Started to continue.
- On the Choose a Client Type page, select Server-based Applications as the client type.
- Click Create Now next to Server-based Applications.
- Enter the following details:
- Client Name: Name of the extension.
- Homepage URL: URL of the product for which you are developing the extension. For example, https://www.zoho.com/books.
- Authorized Redirect URLs: If your connection will be used across multiple DCs, you must mention the redirect URL for the DCs to which the connection should be redirected. The following are the redirect URLs for the available Zoho DCs.
Note: Click the + button next to the Authorized Redirect URLs field to add more redirect URLs.
- Click Create after you enter the above details.
- The Client Secret and Settings tabs will appear. Switch to the Settings tab.
- Check the Use the same OAuth credentials for all data centers option.
- Slide the toggle next to the required DCs.
After registering your client, use the Client ID and Client Secret from the Client Secret tab to create a custom connection.
Create a Custom Connection
Once you register your client in Zoho API Console, you can start creating a custom connection. Here’s how:
- Log in to Zoho Sigma.
- Select the workspace in which you created the extension.
- In the Extensions tab of your workspace, hover over the extension that you published and click the Edit button.
- Switch to the Build tab.
- Select Connections on the left sidebar.
- Click New Connection at the top right corner of the page.
- On the Connection page, go to Custom Service under Pick Your Service.
- Click + Create New Service.
- Enter the details mentioned in the table below:
| Fields | Description |
|---|---|
| Service Name | Name of the service to which you wish to connect. For example, Zoho Finance Suite. |
| Authentication Type | The protocol used for authentication. Select OAuth2 as the authentication type. |
| Parameter Type | The authentication parameter that is added during API calls while making a connection. Select Header as the parameter type |
| Grant Type | Select Authorization Code as the grant type. |
| Client ID | The unique identification of the client. This can be obtained when registering the client in Zoho API Console. |
| Client Secret | It is a secret used by the OAuth client to authenticate to the authorization Server. This can be obtained when registering the client in Zoho API Console. |
| Authorize URL | The URL of the page that lists the scopes you have selected. This page prompts the user to grant permission to delegate the access to the user. Paste the following URL: https://accounts.zoho.com/oauth/v2/auth?access_type=offline&prompt=consent |
| Access token URL | The URL used to generate access tokens from refresh token. Paste the following URL: https://accounts.zoho.com/oauth/v2/token |
| Refresh token URL | The URL used to generate refresh token. Paste the following URL: https://accounts.zoho.com/oauth/v2/token |
| Scope | The permissions requested to the third-party service. You will have to provide a comma separated list of OAuth scopes of the third-party app. It’s the list of actions you wish to access. For example, if you want to use the create a connection that can read the information in your Zoho Books, Zoho Inventory, and Zoho Subscriptions organizations, the scope can be: * ZohoBooks.contacts.READ * ZohoInventory.contacts.READ * ZohoSubscriptions.contacts.READ |
| Scope Delimiter | Select Comma as the scope delimiter. |
- After filling in the above details, click Create Service to create the service.
- On the page that appears, enter the name of the connection in the Connection Name field.
- Click Create and Connect.
- On the following page, click Connect.
The connection has been authenticated and is ready for use.
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