Private apps are meant to be built for the specific needs of a single client, or law firm. Some examples of when you'll want to build a private app is when you need to access the Clio API to integrate with another tool to access advanced functionalities, or when you need to migrate data from one account to another.
Private apps are not reviewed by Clio and cannot be published on the Clio App Directory. You will need access to a paid Clio account to get your API key as a private app developer. Once created, a private app cannot be converted into a public app.
- They are designed to be used for a single Clio account, whether that's for your client's account or your own practice.
- They don’t go through Clio's app approval process.
- You can’t list them in the Clio app directory.
- They manage authentication with OAuth.
- They need to follow the terms listed under the Developer terms of services.
Learn more about the different types of app development at Clio.
How to build as a private app developer
To build apps as a private app developer, you'll need login access to the Clio account that will need to access the API. This portion of the guide assumes the following,
- You have been granted secure login credentials for the client you are building, or you have login access to your own law firm's Clio account.
- You are a developer building a private app on Clio's North American instance (app.clio.com, not eu.app.clio.com or ca.app.clio.com).
- You are using API development environments such as Postman. You can start using Postman by clicking here.
Create a Clio Application
- Navigate to the Clio Developer Apps page and login with your account information.
- Click the green 'Add' button to create a new application.
- Enter details and select the scope of your application here - these details will be shown to Clio users when they're asked to authorize your application.
- Make note of the
keyand thesecret, as these will be used to authorize your application with Clio.
This application holds the credentials you will use to authorize your users, so ensure you protect your Clio account!
Obtaining Authorization
Once you've created a Clio application and have the key and the secret, you will need to continue the process of building the OAuth 2.0 workflow that your users will go through when authorizing your application. Each user will need to be authorized in this manner to connect their account in your application to their account in Clio.