API Overview

Carbonio provides multiple API interfaces to integrate, extend, and automate its services. Developers can choose between SOAP, REST, and GraphQL depending on their use case, preferred data format, and level of control. This page introduces all available API families and serves as the main entry point for the entire Carbonio API documentation.

API Types

API Type	Best For	Advantages	Notes
SOAP	Full-featured operations, admin tasks, mailbox control	Very complete, stable	Most extensive API set
REST	User-facing services, integrations, automation	Simple, widely supported	Resource-oriented
GraphQL	Custom data retrieval, optimized queries	Fetch exactly what you need	Requires schema knowledge

Authentication

Access to most Carbonio services requires authentication.

1. Clients authenticate using the SOAP AuthRequest or the REST Login API.

2. Successful authentication returns a valid authToken.

3. This token must be included in all subsequent requests:

   • REST: via the ZM_AUTH_TOKEN cookie

   • SOAP: inside the request header context.authToken for /service/soap

   • GraphQL: via the ZM_AUTH_TOKEN cookie or the Authorization header

For more details on how each API type handles authentication with the authToken, see the dedicated documentation:

• SOAP API - Authentication
• REST API - Authentication
• GraphQL API - Authentication

API Reference

Below is the complete list of Carbonio API categories.

SOAP APIs – User Level

Operations available to end users:

• Account APIs

../../../apidoc/api-reference/zimbraAccount/service-frame.html

SOAP APIs – User Level

Operations available to end users:

• Mailbox APIs

../../../apidoc/api-reference/zimbraMail/service-frame.html

SOAP APIs – Admin Level

Administrative APIs for managing:

• Accounts

• Domains

• Server Configuration

../../../apidoc/api-reference/zimbraAdmin/service-frame.html

REST APIs

REST endpoints for:

• Login & Authentication

../../../apidoc/carbonio-auth/login-page-api.html

REST APIs

REST endpoints for:

• SAML Configuration

../../../apidoc/carbonio-auth/saml-auth-config-api.html

REST APIs

REST endpoints for:

• Backup

../../../apidoc/carbonio-backup/backup-api.html

REST APIs

REST endpoints for:

• Storage

../../../apidoc/carbonio-storages/storages-api.html

REST APIs

REST endpoints for:

• Chats

../../../apidoc/carbonio-ws-collaboration/chats-api.html

GraphQL APIs

GraphQL operations for:

• Metadata

../../../apidoc/files_meta/index.html

REST APIs

REST endpoints for:

• Blob access

../../../apidoc/files_blob/index.html