User Access Token

How to authenticate with a User Access Token

Retrieving and Using a User Access Token

The Workflow API uses OAuth 2.0 authentication with the authorization code grant type. At the end of the Oauth authentication code flow, you’ll get a User Access Token that you’ll pass in a header with each API request.

1. Configure a redirect URI

   You can configure one (or multiple) redirect URIs in the Zapier Developer Platform under Embed → Settings → Redirect URIs

   

   You will only be able to configure redirect URIs after you’ve published your app as a public integration in Zapier’s App Directory.

2. Get your Client ID and Client Secret

   You can find your Client ID and Client Secret in the Zapier Developer Platform under Embed → Settings → Credentials

   

   Your application’s Client ID and Client Secret are only available after you’ve published your app as a public integration in Zapier’s App Directory.

   Regenerating your client secret will invalidate any previous secret.

3. Determine which OAuth scopes are required for your use case

   The various endpoints of the Zapier Workflow API require different OAuth scopes. Review the OAuth scopes reference for the complete list of available scopes. Information on specific scopes required is included within the API reference for each endpoint.

   
4. Initiate the OAuth flow and get the user's permission.

   Construct a URL like the one below (with your own redirect url, client id, OAuth scopes, etc.) and open a browser to that URL.

   https://api.zapier.com/v2/authorize
       ?response_type=code
       &client_id={YOUR_CLIENT_ID}
       &redirect_uri={YOUR_REDIRECT_URI}
       &scope={YOUR_OAUTH_SCOPES}
       &response_mode=query
       &state={RANDOM_STRING}
   

   Here’s an explaination for each query parameter:

   Parameter	Meaning
   response_type=code	This tells the authorization server that the application is initiating the authorization code flow.
   client_id	The public identifier for your application. This will be the same client id that you retrieved in step #2.
   redirect_uri	Tells Zapier’s authorization server where to send the user back to after they approve the request. This should be the redirect URI that you configured in step #1.
   scope	One or more space-separated strings indicating which permissions your application is requesting. Information on specific scopes required is included within the API reference for each endpoint.
   state	Your application generates a random string and includes it in the request. It should then check that the same value is returned after the user authorizes the app. This is used to prevent CSRF attacks.

   A full example would be:

   https://api.zapier.com/v2/authorize
     ?response_type=code
     &client_id=5672067294567789354752
     &redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fyour-app.com%2Fcallback
     &scope=zap%20zap:write%20authentication
     &response_mode=query
     &state=tney4952
   

   When the user visits this URL, Zapier’s authorization server will present them with a prompt asking if they would like to authorize your application’s request.

   
5. Receive a Redirect at your Redirect URI

   If the user approves the above request, then Zapier’s authorization server will redirect the browser back to the redirect_uri that you specified and configured earlier. Two query string parameters, code and state will also be included.

   For example, the browser would be redirected to:

   https://your-app.com/redirect
   ?code=dfJ2KuL0vKLRCwQIOL5NDGKQ&H9mlc
   &state=tney4952
   

   Parameter	Meaning
   code	This value is the authorization code generated by Zapier’s authorization server. In the next step, you’ll exchange this code for an access token. Keep in mind that authorization codes are only valid for 2 minutes, and you’ll need to do the exchange within that window of time to avoid errors.
   state	This value should match the state query parameter that you used in step 2. Your application should verify that these values match.

6. Exchange authorization code for an access token

   The final step is to exchange the authorization code that you just recieved for an access token that can be used to make authorized requests to the Zapier Workflow API. You make the exchange with a POST request to Zapier’s token endpoint https://zapier.com/oauth/token/.

   Below is an example of a request that can be used to do the exchange.

   cURL

   curl -v -u {CLIENT_ID}:{CLIENT_SECRET} \
   -H "Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded" \
   -d "grant_type=authorization_code&code={AUTHORIZATION_CODE}&redirect_uri={REDIRECT_URI}" \
   https://zapier.com/oauth/token/
   

   import requests
   
   data = 'grant_type=authorization_code&code={AUTHORIZATION_CODE}&redirect_uri={REDIRECT_URI}'
   
   response = requests.post('https://zapier.com/oauth/token/', headers=headers, data=data, auth=('{CLIENT_ID}', '{CLIENT_SECRET}'))
   

   fetch('https://zapier.com/oauth/token/', {
     method: 'POST',
     headers: {
       'Content-Type': 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded',
       'Authorization': 'Basic ' + btoa('{CLIENT_ID}:{CLIENT_SECRET}')
     },
     body: 'grant_type=authorization_code&code={AUTHORIZATION_CODE}&redirect_uri={REDIRECT_URI}'
   });
   

   <?php
   $ch = curl_init();
   curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_URL, 'https://zapier.com/oauth/token/');
   curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
   curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_CUSTOMREQUEST, 'POST');
   curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, [
       'Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded',
   ]);
   curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HTTPAUTH, CURLAUTH_BASIC);
   curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_USERPWD, '{CLIENT_ID}:{CLIENT_SECRET}');
   curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, 'grant_type=authorization_code&code={AUTHORIZATION_CODE}&redirect_uri={REDIRECT_URI}');
   
   $response = curl_exec($ch);
   
   curl_close($ch);
   

   Parameter	Meaning
   CLIENT_ID	This will be the same client id that you retrieved in step #2.
   CLIENT_SECRET	This is a secret known only to your application and the authorization server. It will be the same client secret that you retrieved in step #2.
   AUTHORIZATION_CODE	This is the authorization code you received in the above step #5.
   REDIRECT_URI	This should be the redirect URI that you configured in step #1.

   Note that, in addition to client id and secret being passed as a Basic Authentication header as above, they can be passed as part of the body, using the keys client_id and client_secret.

   You’ll recieve a response that looks like this:

   HTTP/1.1 200 OK
   Content-Type: application/json
   Cache-Control: no-store
   Pragma: no-cache
   
   {
     "access_token": "jk8s9dGJK39JKD93jkd03JD",
     "expires_in": 36000,
     "token_type": "Bearer",
     "scope": "zap zap:write authentication",
     "refresh_token": "9D9oz2ZzaouT12LpvklQwNBf6s4vva"
   }
   

   This response contains the access_token that you’ll use to make API request on the user’s behalf, as well as a refresh token.

   Both tokens should be stored securely, to protect your users’ privacy.

   The refresh token in particularly important, since it would allow a nefarious entity to generate access tokens indefinitely:

   • The refresh token MAY NOT be stored in localStorage
   • The refresh token MAY NOT be stored in sessionStorage
   • The refresh token MAY NOT be stored in indexedDB
   • The refresh token MAY NOT be stored in a regular cookie
   • The refresh token MAY be stored in a Secure; HTTPOnly cookie
   • The refresh token MAY be stored in a server side database, only accessible to the current user
7. Using the access token

   The access token should be passed with requests as an Authorization header. For example:

   Authorization: Bearer jk8s9dGJK39JKD93jkd03JD
   
8. Refreshing the access token

   All access tokens will expire after 10 hours (the number of seconds in expires_in), for security purposes. After that point, any request using that access token will return a 401 status code. To proceed, the refresh token should be exchanged for a new access token and a new refresh token. This will not require any interaction by the user.

   Below is an example request that can be used:

   cURL

   curl -v -u {CLIENT_ID}:{CLIENT_SECRET} \
   -H "Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded" \
   -d "grant_type=refresh_token&refresh_token={REFRESH_TOKEN}" \
   https://zapier.com/oauth/token/
   

   import requests
   
   data = 'grant_type=refresh_token&refresh_token={REFRESH_TOKEN}'
   
   response = requests.post('https://zapier.com/oauth/token/', headers=headers, data=data, auth=('{CLIENT_ID}', '{CLIENT_SECRET}'))
   

   fetch('https://zapier.com/oauth/token/', {
     method: 'POST',
     headers: {
       'Content-Type': 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded',
       'Authorization': 'Basic ' + btoa('{CLIENT_ID}:{CLIENT_SECRET}')
     },
     body: 'grant_type=refresh_token&refresh_token={REFRESH_TOKEN}'
   });
   

   <?php
   $ch = curl_init();
   curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_URL, 'https://zapier.com/oauth/token/');
   curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
   curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_CUSTOMREQUEST, 'POST');
   curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, [
       'Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded',
   ]);
   curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HTTPAUTH, CURLAUTH_BASIC);
   curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_USERPWD, '{CLIENT_ID}:{CLIENT_SECRET}');
   curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, 'grant_type=refresh_token&refresh_token={REFRESH_TOKEN}');
   
   $response = curl_exec($ch);
   
   curl_close($ch);
   

   Parameter	Meaning
   CLIENT_ID	This will be the same client id that you retrieved earlier.
   CLIENT_SECRET	This is a secret known only to your application and the authorization server. It will be the same client secret that you retrieved earlier.
   REFRESH_TOKEN	This is the refresh token code you received with the access token.

   You’ll receive a response that looks like this:

   HTTP/1.1 200 OK
   Content-Type: application/json
   Cache-Control: no-store
   Pragma: no-cache
   {
     "access_token": "NEfSRKpUjVd3Nj9yyaXKs15BrM7SVA",
     "expires_in": 36000,
     "token_type": "Bearer",
     "scope": "zap zap:write authentication",
     "refresh_token": "zzdumGAW2TmayeKjzu0z9oHJiziKdn"
   }
   

   Note that you will receive a new refresh token - the old refresh token can no longer be used again, and so the new refresh token should be stored securely for future use. Refresh tokens don’t have an expiration date - they only expire when they are used to get a new access token.