Clinic resources · API keys
Clinic resources · ExplainerAPI keys, explained
Your clinic system and our booking system talk to each other through an API key. This page explains what that key is, how it is limited, how we look after it, and the two ways to set it up.
What an API key is
An API key is a long password that lets one system talk to another without a person signing in. Our booking system uses it to check availability and book appointments in your clinic system.
Whoever holds a key can do whatever the key allows. That is why we only ever ask for a key limited to what booking needs.
Full access versus scoped
A full-access key can do everything an administrator can. A scoped key is limited to chosen actions, or to what one dedicated user can do. If a scoped key ever leaked, it still could not read treatment notes, touch billing or change your settings.
Full-access key
What we avoid
- Appointments and availability
- Patient name and phone
- Recalls
- Treatment notes
- Medical alerts
- Invoices and payments
- Users and settings
Scoped key
What we ask for
- Appointments and availability
- Patient name and phone
- Recalls (read only)
- Treatment notes
- Medical alerts
- Invoices and payments
- Users and settings
Some projects add an optional read-only view of invoices and package balances, for treatment spacing or package redemption. We agree it with your clinic before the key is created.
How each clinic system limits a key
Every clinic system scopes keys differently, so each one has its own guide.
| System | How the key is limited | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Plato | You tick the exact actions the key may perform. | Plato guide |
| Cliniko | The key can do only what its user can do, so you create a dedicated booking user. | Cliniko guide |
| Zenoti | The key belongs to an app whose scope you choose by API group. | Zenoti guide |
| Nookal | You choose which locations the key can reach. | Nookal guide |
| Halaxy | You tick permissions such as patients, practitioners and appointments. | Halaxy guide |
| Pabau | The key reaches the whole account, so our code's limits do the scoping. | Pabau guide |
Whatever your system allows, our code also carries a fixed list of allowed actions. A request for anything else is refused before it leaves our system, even if the key would allow it.
How we look after your key
Where it lives
Encrypted settings on our hosting platform, marked sensitive so even our team members can't read it back. Never in code, never in WhatsApp, email or chat, and live keys are never kept on laptops.
How it moves
You hand it over through a one-time link that stops working after one view. Test and live keys are kept separate.
When it's replaced
Whenever the people with access change, and at once on any suspicion that it has been exposed.
What it brings in
Every patient record is cut down to name, phone and status the moment it arrives. Everything else is discarded.
Your off switch. Delete or archive the key, or deactivate the booking user, in your clinic system. That cuts our access without needing anything from us.
The full detail is in our clinic security standard.
Two ways to set it up
Choose whichever your clinic is comfortable with. The key ends up with the same limits either way.
You create the key
Follow the step-by-step guide for your clinic system. It takes 5 to 15 minutes, and you send us the key through the one-time link.
Choose your systemWe set it up with you
Guided screen-share. We book a 15-minute call. Your administrator stays signed in and either follows our directions or gives us control of the screen for the session. We never hold a login.
Temporary access. Your administrator creates a temporary Zelix user for an agreed time. We create the booking user or scoped key and nothing else, and confirm in writing what we created. You remove our user the same day.
Book a setup callNot sure which to pick? The screen-share means nobody outside your clinic holds a login at any point.
Questions clinics ask
Can you see our patients' clinical notes?
No. The key is limited in your clinic system, our code refuses any request outside its fixed list, and every patient record is cut down to name, phone and status on arrival.
What happens if the key leaks?
A scoped key can only do booking actions. Delete it in your clinic system and we connect a new one; we also replace keys at once on any suspicion of exposure.
How do we stop your access?
Delete or archive the key, or deactivate the booking user, in your clinic system. You don't need to ask us first.
Will this change our existing setup?
No. Creating a key or a booking user leaves your existing users and settings as they are. Appointments the system books appear in your calendar like any other.