The Kinabase API

The Kinabase API lets approved external systems work with your organisation's records

, collections

Collection

A container for records in Kinabase, similar to a table in a spreadsheet or database, used to organise one type of data such as Projects or Contacts.

, colleagues

Colleague

Someone in your organisation with a Kinabase account; the built-in Colleagues list is where their profiles are managed.

and other data. System admins control which integrations are registered. A developer or implementation partner should complete the technical setup.

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1. What you can do with the API

Read and write records

Find, add and update records, including groups of records, and move them through workflow stages.

Look up your data model

View how your collections are structured so an integration can use the right information.

Sign users into your own app

Let people sign in to an approved companion app using their Kinabase account.

Feed in telemetry and payments data

Send telemetry readings to Kinabase and work with payment records synced from GoCardless.

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2. Before you start

The Kinabase API is enabled per organisation. If you can't see API under Settings → System, contact our support team to enable it for your organisation.

You'll need to sign in as a System admin to create and manage App Registrations. Ask the developer or integration provider what they need before creating one.

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3. Register an app

Each integration needs its own App Registration. Keeping registrations separate lets you identify and remove one integration without affecting the others.

1. Open the API pane

Click your name in the bottom-left corner of Kinabase, select Settings, open the System section, and select API.

2. Add an app registration

Click Add, then give it a Name and a Description so your team knows what it's for.

3. Decide whether it needs to sign users in

Leave Allow this app to sign in users off unless the developer or integration provider tells you that people need to sign in through the integration. If you turn it on, enter the display name and return addresses they provide. Leave the other security settings at their defaults unless the developer documentation gives you different instructions.

4. Copy your credentials

Each app registration has an App Id and an App Secret. Treat the App Secret like a password: share it only with the developer or provider responsible for the integration, using an approved secure method. If it is exposed, remove the registration and create a replacement.

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4. Explore the interactive documentation

Every App Registration pane includes an Open API documentation link. This opens technical documentation for your organisation and should be used by the person building the integration.

For authentication instructions, data formats, available operations and usage limits, see our developer documentation.

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5. Send data out with the Make an API call step

Inside an Automation

, the Make an API call step can send information from Kinabase to another system. Because this step can share record data outside Kinabase, ask someone familiar with the receiving system to configure and test it.

This step sends information out of Kinabase. An event in another system cannot currently start a Kinabase automation. See Automation steps for the available settings.

The Make an API call step is available on the Max plan.

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To get started, agree the requirements with your developer or integration provider, then register the integration under Settings → System → API.

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Need more help? Ask your System admin, or contact our support team via Help & Support.