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How to connect to Salesforce using OAuth

Set up Salesforce OAuth JWT for Kolleno to enable secure, automated API access without passwords.

Kolleno Support avatar
Written by Kolleno Support
Updated this week

Overview

This guide configures Salesforce OAuth JWT authentication for Kolleno, enabling automated API access using:

  • Consumer Key (Client ID)

  • Salesforce Username

  • Private Key

No user interaction or password sharing is required.

Prerequisites

  1. Admin Access: To create certificates and Connected Apps in Salesforce.

  2. Integration User: A dedicated Salesforce user account for Kolleno (e.g., api@yourcompany.com).

  3. Profile Permissions

    The integration user's profile must have the following:

    • API Enabled

    • At minimum, Read access to the Account object. This permission is necessary because Salesforce may validate object visibility during authentication or during initial requests.

Step 1: Generate a Certificate & Private Key

Choose one method below:

Method A: Generate in Salesforce (Recommended)

  1. Go to Setup → Certificate and Key Management → Create Self-Signed Certificate.

  2. Name it (e.g., Kolleno_JWT_Cert).

  3. Save → Salesforce generates a certificate and private key.

  4. Export the Private Key:

    • In Certificate and Key Management, click your certificate → Export to Keystore → Download the .jks file.

    • Use KeyStore Explorer (GUI) or keytool (CLI) to extract the private key as key file, must be in pem format.

Method B: Generate via OpenSSL

Generate private key (PEM format)

openssl genpkey -algorithm RSA -out kolleno.key -pkeyopt rsa_keygen_bits:2048

Generate self-signed certificate 

openssl req -new -x509 -key kolleno.key -out kolleno.crt -days 365`

  • Use kolleno.key as your private key.

  • Upload kolleno.crt to Salesforce in Step 2.

Step 2: Create a Connected App

  1. Go to Setup → App Manager → New Connected App.

  2. Configure settings:

    • Connected App Name: Kolleno Integration

    • Contact Email: Your email

    • Callback URL: http://localhost (doesn’t matter for this integration, but the url is still required by Salesforce)

  3. Under API (Enable OAuth Settings):

    • ✅ Enable OAuth Settings

    • Selected OAuth Scopes:

      • Perform requests at any time (refresh_token, offline_access)

      • Manage user data via APIs (api)

    • ✅ Use Digital Signatures → Upload your certificate (.crt file).

  4. Save → Copy the Consumer Key (Client ID).

Step 3: Assign Permissions

  1. In your Connected App → Manage → Edit Policies:

    • Permitted Users: Set to Admin approved users are pre-authorized.

  2. Assign the app to the integration user’s Profile or Permission Set:

    • Go to Manage Profiles → Add the integration user’s profile.

Step 4: Gather Credentials for Kolleno

Credential

How to Obtain

Consumer Key

From the Connected App details (Step 2).

Username

Salesforce login email of the integration user (e.g., api@yourcompany.com).

Private Key

Exported from Salesforce (.key) or generated via OpenSSL.

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