How-To: Creating and Managing Credentials

Definition​

Credentials are a way to securely store information at the client level that can be dynamically accessed by a Task at runtime. This can be anything from username and password combinations to API Keys.

Credentials are broken up into two components, Credential Groups and Credential Items.

• Credential Groups are a group of one or more credential items. They can either be created from a pre-defined template related to a specific platform or they can be Custom.

  • Predefined Template Credential Groups can only be used with their respective Library Templates. For example, a Google Sheet Credential Group can only be used with Google Sheet Templates.

  • Custom Credential Groups can be used with any Vessel, regardless of if it's built with custom code, a Library Template, or a Client Template. You can add or remove credential items from custom credential groups at any time.

• Credential Items are a unique pair of a key and value that live in a Credential Group. A Credential Group cannot have two credential items with the same key.

Creating Credentials​

1. Credentials can be created in three places:

• From the credentials page after clicking Add Credential Group.

• From a specific predefined template page after clicking Add Credential Group.

• From the Workflow builder, after selecting "Use Credential" then Add New Credential.

2. Give your credential group a clear, descriptive name you’ll recognize later.

   1. When initially creating a credential group, the name of the credential group can be edited. After saving a credential group, the name cannot be edited - so name things wisely!

3. Fill Out Your Credential Items

4. Click “Test Credentials” to check if everything works

5. Once your credentials have been successfully tested, you’ll be able to click "Save Credential Group" to store them for future use in your workflows. This ensures your credentials are securely saved and ready whenever you need them.

Updating Credentials​

Credentials can always be edited after the fact. While the credential item value can be updated, the key cannot. When a credential item value is updated, the new value will be used by every Task that uses or references that credential item.

Refreshing A Credential

1. Use the search bar or click on the Active button on the top left of the Credential Page

2. Select the partner you would like to refresh a token for

3. Next to the Credential Group Name, click Edit

4. Update the credential items and click Test Credentials to retest your new values

5. Click Save Credential Group to save your changes

Deleting A Credential

1. Use the search bar or click on the Active button on the top left of the Credential Page

2. Select the partner you would like to delete

3. Next to the Credential Group Name, click Delete

4. If you are sure, click Delete again

If you remove a Credential Group or Credential Item that is being referenced in multiple places, the value will just be returned as an empty string, and could cause your workflows or tasks to fail, so be absolutely sure before you delete!

For an in depth tutorial on using credentials, see > How-To: Applying Credentials to Tasks ​

Additional Notes​

1. There is currently no way to see where credentials are being used, so be careful when deleting them.

2. There are currently no access controls related to credentials. Every credential can be used by every member of the client.