GuidesAPI ReferenceChangelog
Log In
Hey! These docs are for version 2021-07-28, which is no longer officially supported. Click here for the latest version, 2023-11-22!

# Introduction

The Pinwheel API is built on RESTful principles. All request and response payloads are encoded in JSON. For security purposes, all requests must be sent via HTTPS. To get access to the [Developer Dashboard](🔗) and interface with the API, please contact [[email protected]](🔗).

# Modes

The API is available in three modes that can be accessed by sending requests to different servers. Each API Key you are granted will be associated with a single mode.

ModeHostDescription
**sandbox**https://sandbox.getpinwheel.comUse Sandbox mode to build and test your integration. In this mode, you must use [test credentials](🔗) to authenticate with payroll platforms. All API endpoints will return mock data and no actual updates are made to any payroll account.
**development**https://development.getpinwheel.comDevelopment mode can be used to test your integration before going live in Production. In this mode, you use real credentials to authenticate with payroll platforms. API endpoints return real data and updates are made to payroll accounts.
**production**https://api.getpinwheel.comUse Production mode to go live with your integration. Your users will use their login credentials to authenticate with their payroll accounts. API endpoints return real data and updates are made to payroll accounts. Note that in this mode, all API calls are billable.

# Authentication

You can access the API Keys and Secrets for each mode in the [Developer Dashboard](🔗).

Your **API Key** is a unique identifier used by Pinwheel for logging and troubleshooting. Your **API secret** must be included in all requests to the API via a custom HTTP header. You will have a different API Secret for each mode.

HeaderDescription
`x-api-secret`Your API Secret

# Version Headers

The Pinwheel API supports different behavior depending on the API version requested. You must send a `Pinwheel-Version` header with each request to specify how the Pinwheel API should behave. You can find the latest API version on the [Change Management](🔗) page. If no header is specified the Pinwheel API will default to the deprecated version **2021-04-29**. Once version **2021-04-29** is sunsetted, requests without a `Pinwheel-Version` header will return a `400 Bad Request` error.

Responses from the Pinwheel API will include a `Pinwheel-Version` header specifying which API version was used to process the request.


For more details, see [Versioned Changes](🔗) in the [Change Management](🔗) page.
# Identifiers
There are a number of important objects in Pinwheel's systems. It is particularly useful to store the identifiers for [Accounts](🔗), [Link Token](🔗), and [Jobs](🔗). These identifiers will help you optimize your Pinwheel integration, troubleshoot issues, and reconcile billing. Pinwheel does not have a user model, so it is important to associate these identifiers with users on your end.
ObjectDescriptionWhere to find it
`Account.id`UUID of each payroll account. Store the `account_id` in correlation with your user and `link_token_id`. Used to query data endpoints like [Income and Employment](🔗).It is returned in Link via the `onLogin` [callback](🔗) and in the `account.added` [Webhook](🔗) as `account_id` immediately after an end user authenticates. It can also be found by querying the [List Accounts](🔗) endpoint.
`LinkToken.id`UUID of a given Link token. Store the `link_token_id` in correlation with your users. There can be many Link tokens per user. For example, if a customer abandons the Link flow, or comes back to change their direct deposit settings. If you use [DDA Monitoring](🔗), there can be many Link tokens per payroll account, though only one is associated with account creation. For example, if a user goes through Link to reconnect a disconnected payroll account. Used to troubleshoot issues for users who were unable to connect.It is returned as `id` in the [Create Link Token](🔗) response and in all Link-initiated [Webhooks](🔗).
`Job.id`UUID of a given job. Can be helpful for troubleshooting job specific issues.It is returned in Link-initiated [Webhook](🔗) payloads and can be found by querying the [Jobs](🔗) endpoint.
# Responses
## Headers
Every Pinwheel response will contain a unique request identifier. We recommend logging this request identifier to be used for troubleshooting.
HeaderExampleDescription
`x-pinwheel-request-id`a3f19010-1bea-4527-8ef2-7e3b795a4056Request UUID
## Body
All responses are encoded in JSON and return an object with the key `data`. If the response is a single object, the value of the `data` key is that object. For example, the [Get Employment](🔗) endpoint will return a single `Employment` object:

If the response is a collection, the value of the `data` key is an array of objects. A `meta` key is also returned with metadata about the response. For example the [List Platforms](🔗) endpoint will return a collection of `Platforms`:

## Status Codes
Pinwheel API responses use standard [HTTP Status Codes](🔗).
CodeTextDescription
200OKSuccess!
204No ContentThe request was successfully processed and no content was returned.
307Temporary RedirectRedirection to another URI.
400Bad RequestThe request was invalid or cannot be served. The accompanying error type, code, and message will explain further.
401UnauthorizedMissing or incorrect authentication credentials.
403ForbiddenThe request is understood, but it has been refused or access is not allowed. An accompanying error message and code will explain why.
404Not FoundThe requested resource could not be found.
500Internal Server ErrorAn unexpected error occurred. Try again later.
502Bad GatewayPinwheel is down or being upgraded.
503Service UnavailableThe Pinwheel servers are up, but overloaded with requests. Try again later.
504Gateway TimeoutThe Pinwheel servers are up, but the request could not be completed. Try again later.
# Conventions
Some conventions used throughout our API are:
  • All dates and datetimes are returned as [ISO-8601](🔗) strings in UTC Timezone, e.g., `2021-01-03T14:34:16.549923+00:00`.
  • Object IDs are represented as UUIDs, e.g., `81575384-c55b-4a40-99af-6399910a2520`.
  • To avoid any potential loss of precision when parsing response payloads, all financial values are represented in the smallest common currency unit along with the ISO 4217 currency code. For example, $292.23 is represented as `29223` with a currency code of `USD`.

Please contact [[email protected]](🔗) for access to our [Developer Dashboard](🔗).