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To get started using the Finch APIs, sign up for a free sandbox account to receive application credentials (a client_id and client_secret) and pilot how Finch works in a safe testing environment with mock data. Sign Up
  1. Go to the Finch Developer Dashboard and sign up for a new account. You’ll need to provide your name, company name, email address, and create a password.
  2. Once you have created an account and logged in, locate the sandbox application in the upper left which was automatically created.
  3. Upon creating the application, you’ll be provided with a client_id and client_secret. You will use these credentials to authenticate your application to obtain access tokens in order to call the Finch APIs.
  4. Set up a secure method for storing your client_id, client_secret, and future access_tokens to prevent unauthorized access. Here are some methods to securely store these credentials:
    • Environment Variables: Store your client_id and client_secret as environment variables within your application. When your application needs to use these credentials, it can access them from the environment variables without exposing them in your source code.
    • Secure Database: Store the access tokens in a secure database with proper encryption and access controls in place. Make sure to use a database that supports encryption at rest and in transit to ensure the security of the stored tokens.
    • Secrets Management Solutions: Utilize a specialized secrets management solution, such as HashiCorp Vault or AWS Secrets Manager. These tools provide additional layers of security, access control, and auditing capabilities to ensure the safe storage of your client_id, client_secret, and access_token.
    • When storing access tokens, also store any relevant metadata, such as the associated employer ID. This will help you maintain data integrity and prevent mixing up tokens across different employers. This topic is covered in more detail in Store Tokens.
Finch Developer Dashboard

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Familiarize Yourself With the Finch Developer Dashboard

The Finch Developer Dashboard is your centralized place to manage your Finch Applications, view current connections, review request activity, and set up webhook alerts. We will cover these tabs in more detail in the following sections, but here is a quick overview.
  • Credentials: View your application credentials, including your client_id and client_secret, and product scopes.
  • Connections: View the status of your connections, including the last sync time and any errors that occurred.
  • Integrations: Manage providers that you have integrated with, including the ability to enable or disable specific providers.
  • Activity: Review the activity log to see a history of requests made by your application, including the request type, status, and timestamp.
  • Webhooks: Set up webhook alerts to receive notifications when specific events occur, such as a connection error or a successful sync.

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Verify Product Scopes

On the Credentials tab, verify the correct products (commonly called “scopes”) are checked that your application will need access to. Products determine the specific data your application can access and the actions it can perform. Each product refers directly to a Finch endpoint. If the products are not correct, reach out to your Implementation Engineer or developers@tryfinch.com.

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Add Redirect URIs

When using the Finch Connect Redirect Flow, register one or more Redirect URIs for your application. Redirect flow requires at least one registered URI; embedded flow does not require a registered URI. Each URI must be hosted on your own server or a trusted domain. Example: https://your-trusted-domain.com/api/finch/callback Registering a redirect URI tells Finch where it may send authorization codes for your application, so codes only reach URLs you control. In the redirect flow, pass one of your registered URIs as redirect_uri in two requests:
  1. When creating the Finch Connect session — POST /connect/sessions, or POST /connect/sessions/reauthenticate for reauthentication. Finch returns a 400 if the URI isn’t registered. After the employer authorizes your application, Finch redirects them to this URI with an authorization code query parameter.
  2. When exchanging the code for an access token — POST /auth/token. The redirect_uri must match the one used to create the session, or Finch returns a 400 invalid_grant_error. See Retrieve Access Token.
Finch’s embedded Frontend SDKs don’t need to set up a redirect URI. The default redirect URI https://tryfinch.com is already applied. The redirect URIs must match one of the following formats—

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Checkpoint + Next Step

After completing this step, you should have registered for a Finch Developer Dashboard account and set up a sandbox application, using your unique client_id and client_secret. You should also have a clear understanding of the Finch products that your application requires. You now have everything necessary to Integrate Finch Connect Into Your Application to begin connecting to employment providers.

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