---
name: zoho-people
description: |
  Zoho People integration via Apideck's HRIS unified API — same methods work across every connector in HRIS, switch by changing `serviceId`. Use when the user wants to read or sync employees, departments, payrolls, and time-off records in Zoho People. Routes through Apideck with serviceId "zoho-people".
license: Apache-2.0
alwaysApply: false
metadata:
  author: apideck
  version: "1.0.0"
  serviceId: zoho-people
  unifiedApis: ["hris"]
  authType: oauth2
  tier: "2"
  verified: true
  status: beta
  difficulty: straightforward
  partnershipRequired: false
  sandboxAvailable: true
---

# Zoho People (via Apideck)

Access Zoho People through Apideck's **HRIS** unified API — one of 58 HRIS connectors that share the same method surface. Code you write here ports to BambooHR, Workday, Deel and 54 other HRIS connectors by changing a single `serviceId` string. Apideck handles auth, pagination, rate limiting, and retries so you don't write per-tenant Zoho People plumbing.

> **Beta connector.** Zoho People is currently in beta on Apideck. Expect partial resource coverage and occasional mapping gaps. Always verify coverage (see below) and fall back to the Proxy API for unsupported operations.

## Quick facts

- **Apideck serviceId:** `zoho-people`
- **Unified API:** HRIS
- **Auth type:** oauth2
- **Status:** beta
- **Gotchas:** [page](https://developers.apideck.com/apis/hris/zoho-people/gotchas)
- **Zoho People docs:** https://www.zoho.com/people/api/
- **Homepage:** https://www.zoho.com/people/

## At a glance

- **Implementation difficulty:** straightforward — Self-Service OAuth Client + Free Trial, No Partnership or App Review
- **Vendor partnership required:** no — Zoho runs no partner programme or app review for API access.
- **Apideck-managed credentials:** available — For testing only; production connections use your own Zoho OAuth client.
- **Account type required:** Zoho People account on Essential HR or higher.
- **Consumer access level:** Zoho People publishes no minimum role for authorising a connection.
- **Sandbox:** available ([signup](https://www.zoho.com/people/signup.html)) — 30-day free trial with all plan features; Zoho People's in-product Sandbox (a copy of your configuration) is an Enterprise plan feature.
- **Costs:** API included with Essential HR and higher paid plans; Zoho publishes no separate API fee.
- **Rate limits:** Per day by plan: 5,000 (Essential HR), 10,000 (Professional), 15,000 (Premium), 25,000 (Enterprise); 250 calls per user licence, 500 on Enterprise.
- **Authentication:** Authorization Code flow.
- **Webhooks:** Virtual webhooks - employee created, updated and terminated events

**Important to know:**

- Each Zoho People account sits in one regional data centre. Consumers pick theirs when connecting, and your Zoho OAuth client must be enabled for every data centre your consumers use, or their authorisation fails.

> Facts synced from Apideck's connector metadata API — `GET /connector/connectors/zoho-people` (`overview` field) is the live, authoritative version.

## When to use this skill

Activate this skill when the user explicitly wants to work with **Zoho People** — for example, "sync employees in Zoho People" or "list time-off requests in Zoho People". This skill teaches the agent:

1. Which Apideck unified API covers Zoho People (HRIS)
2. The correct `serviceId` to pass on every call (`zoho-people`)
3. Zoho People-specific auth and coverage caveats

For the full method surface (parameters, pagination, filtering), use your language SDK skill:

- [`apideck-node`](../../skills/apideck-node/), [`apideck-python`](../../skills/apideck-python/), [`apideck-dotnet`](../../skills/apideck-dotnet/), [`apideck-java`](../../skills/apideck-java/), [`apideck-go`](../../skills/apideck-go/), [`apideck-php`](../../skills/apideck-php/), or [`apideck-rest`](../../skills/apideck-rest/)

For the raw OpenAPI spec:

- **HRIS:** [https://specs.apideck.com/hris.yml](https://specs.apideck.com/hris.yml) · [API Explorer](https://developers.apideck.com/api-explorer?id=hris)

## Minimal example (TypeScript)

```typescript
import { Apideck } from "@apideck/unify";

const apideck = new Apideck({
  apiKey: process.env.APIDECK_API_KEY,
  appId: process.env.APIDECK_APP_ID,
  consumerId: "your-consumer-id",
});

// List employees in Zoho People
const { data } = await apideck.hris.employees.list({
  serviceId: "zoho-people",
});
```

## Portable across 58 HRIS connectors

The Apideck **HRIS** unified API exposes the same methods for every connector in its catalog. Switching from Zoho People to another HRIS connector is a one-string change — no rewrite, no new SDK.

```typescript
// Today — Zoho People
await apideck.hris.employees.list({ serviceId: "zoho-people" });

// Tomorrow — same code, different connector
await apideck.hris.employees.list({ serviceId: "bamboohr" });
await apideck.hris.employees.list({ serviceId: "workday" });
```

This is the compounding advantage of using Apideck over integrating Zoho People directly: code against the unified HRIS API once, gain access to every connector in it. New connectors Apideck adds become available to your app without code changes.

## Authentication

- **Type:** OAuth 2.0
- **Managed by:** Apideck Vault — Apideck handles the full OAuth dance (authorization code flow, token exchange, refresh). Never ask the user for API keys or tokens directly.
- **User setup:** Users authorize via the Vault modal. Connection state progresses `available → added → authorized → callable`.
- **Token refresh:** automatic. Expired tokens are refreshed transparently on the next API call.

See [`apideck-best-practices`](../../skills/apideck-best-practices/) for Vault setup, connection lifecycle, and handling re-auth flows.

## Verifying coverage

Not every HRIS operation is supported by every connector. Always verify before assuming a method works:

```bash
curl 'https://unify.apideck.com/connector/connectors/zoho-people' \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${APIDECK_API_KEY}" \
  -H "x-apideck-app-id: ${APIDECK_APP_ID}"
```

See [`apideck-connector-coverage`](../../skills/apideck-connector-coverage/) for patterns around `UnsupportedOperationError` and connector-specific fallbacks.

## Escape hatch: Proxy API

When an endpoint isn't covered by the HRIS unified API, use Apideck's Proxy to call Zoho People directly — Apideck injects auth headers and handles token refresh. Set `x-apideck-downstream-url` to the target endpoint on Zoho People's own API:

```bash
curl 'https://unify.apideck.com/proxy' \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${APIDECK_API_KEY}" \
  -H "x-apideck-app-id: ${APIDECK_APP_ID}" \
  -H "x-apideck-consumer-id: ${CONSUMER_ID}" \
  -H "x-apideck-service-id: zoho-people" \
  -H "x-apideck-downstream-url: <target endpoint on Zoho People>" \
  -H "x-apideck-downstream-method: GET"
```

See [Zoho People's API docs](https://www.zoho.com/people/api/) for available endpoints.

## Sibling connectors

Other **HRIS** connectors that share this unified API surface (same method signatures, just change `serviceId`):

[`bamboohr`](../bamboohr/), [`workday`](../workday/), [`deel`](../deel/) *(beta)*, [`hibob`](../hibob/), [`personio`](../personio/), [`adp-ihcm`](../adp-ihcm/) *(beta)*, [`adp-workforce-now`](../adp-workforce-now/) *(beta)*, [`paychex`](../paychex/) *(beta)*, and 49 more.

## See also

- [HRIS OpenAPI spec](https://specs.apideck.com/hris.yml) · [API Explorer](https://developers.apideck.com/api-explorer?id=hris)
- [`apideck-connector-coverage`](../../skills/apideck-connector-coverage/) — programmatic coverage checks
- [`apideck-best-practices`](../../skills/apideck-best-practices/) — architecture, Vault, pagination, error handling
- [`apideck-node`](../../skills/apideck-node/) — TypeScript / Node SDK patterns
- [Zoho People official docs](https://www.zoho.com/people/api/)