Do I need my own OAuth app? Apideck credentials vs your own
Many connectors use OAuth: your customer clicks Connect, signs in at the provider and approves access. That approval is given to an OAuth app, identified by a Client ID and Client Secret. For each connector you choose whose app that is.
Apideck credentials | Your own app | |
|---|---|---|
Setup | None: choose Apideck credentials in the connector's settings | Register an app with the provider and enter its Client ID and Secret |
What your customer sees on the consent screen | Apideck's name and logo | Your name and logo |
Meant for | Trying the connector and testing | Production |
Use Apideck credentials to try a connector
For a selection of OAuth connectors, Apideck has its own app with the provider. In the dashboard, open Configuration, pick the connector and choose to use Apideck's credentials. You can then connect a test account straight away, without registering anything.
Apideck credentials aren't available for every connector. Where they aren't, you need your own app even to test. The connector's Overview tab in the connector catalog says whether they're available. In code, the Connector API returns has_sandbox_credentials: true for connectors that have them (GET /connector/connectors/{id}).
Use your own app in production
Before you go live, register your own app with each provider and enter your own Client ID and Secret in the connector's settings. Reasons:
Your customers see your name. With Apideck credentials, the consent screen asks your customer to grant access to "Apideck", which is confusing for them.
Providers limit shared apps. Depending on the provider, Apideck's app may be:
unverified (Google shows a warning screen),
capped to a small part of the normal API budget (Twinfield),
only able to reach sandbox or test companies (DATEV, Deel, Spiris),
or connected to live data, so use a test company (FreeAgent).
Some providers require their own approval or partner programme before your app can be used in production, for example Xero, QuickBooks, Exact Online and Sage Intacct. That process takes time, so start it early.
The exact rules per provider are on each connector's page in the connector catalog: see the Overview tab (Apideck credentials note and whether a partnership is required) and the setup guide for creating your own app.
Switching from Apideck credentials to your own app
Each connection was approved for the app it was made with. When you switch a connector to your own app, Apideck uses your app for all of that connector's connections, and existing connections stop working the next time their access token is refreshed. Your customers need to connect again so your app gets their approval.
So switch before you have live customers on that connector. If you already have some, tell them they'll be asked to reconnect, and switch at a time that suits them.
Connectors that don't use OAuth
Connectors that use an API key, a username and password, or a token (such as Odoo or BambooHR) don't need an OAuth app at all. Your customer enters their own credentials in Vault.
Related
Contact Apideck support through the Customer Portal (the Requests link at the top of this help center), your Slack channel with us, or support@apideck.com if you're unsure what a provider needs.