User Management

Programmatically manage Showpad users by syncing with your identity provider or master directory. Create new users, update profiles, manage licenses, and handle deactivation, all through the API.

What you'll learn

• How to retrieve user information
• How to create, update, and deactivate users
• How to map external directory IDs to Showpad users

TL;DR

• Retrieve users? Use GET /v4/users or GET /v4/users/{userId}
• Create users? Use POST /v3/users.json
• Update users? Use PUT /v3/users/{userId}.json
• Deactivate users? Use PUT /v3/users/{userId}.json with isActive: false

When to use the API

Directory Sync	License Management	User Onboarding	SSO Integration
Keep Showpad users in sync with your corporate directory (AD, Okta, etc.).	Programmatically assign and revoke Showpad licenses.	Automate new user provisioning as part of employee onboarding.	Map external IDs for Single Sign-On authentication.

Prerequisites

• Plan: Any Showpad plan
• Permissions: Administrator access to Showpad's Admin App
• Authentication: Valid OAuth 2.0 access token (learn more)
• API Version: User creation/update/delete requires API v3; retrieval supports v4

Retrieve User Information

Retrieve user data with a simple GET request:

Method	Endpoint	Description
GET	/v4/users/{userId}	Returns a single user by ID
GET	/v4/users	Returns a paginated list of users

Get a Single User

cURL

curl "https://{{subdomain}}.api.showpad.com/v4/users/c143c05d12c1433ba1358c7eb2e07c75" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer {access_token}"

JavaScript

const response = await fetch('https://{{subdomain}}.api.showpad.com/v4/users/c143c05d12c1433ba1358c7eb2e07c75', {
  headers: { Authorization: 'Bearer {access_token}' },
});
const user = await response.json();

Python

import requests

response = requests.get(
    'https://{{subdomain}}.api.showpad.com/v4/users/c143c05d12c1433ba1358c7eb2e07c75',
    headers={'Authorization': 'Bearer {access_token}'}
)
user = response.json()

Get All Users

cURL

curl "https://{{subdomain}}.api.showpad.com/v4/users" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer {access_token}"

JavaScript

const response = await fetch('https://{{subdomain}}.api.showpad.com/v4/users', {
  headers: { Authorization: 'Bearer {access_token}' },
});
const users = await response.json();

Python

import requests

response = requests.get(
    'https://{{subdomain}}.api.showpad.com/v4/users',
    headers={'Authorization': 'Bearer {access_token}'}
)
users = response.json()

Create Users

API v3 Required User creation requires API v3. The endpoint format differs from v4. :::

Method	Endpoint	Description
POST	/api/v3/users.json	Creates a new user

Example

cURL

curl -X POST "https://{{subdomain}}.showpad.biz/api/v3/users.json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer {access_token}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "email": "bob.smith@showpad.com",
    "firstName": "Bob",
    "lastName": "Smith",
    "userName": "bob.smith@showpad.com",
    "isActive": true,
    "language": "en",
    "externalId": "customer-ab7320ec521e4783be92512b7e400eb7"
  }'

JavaScript

const response = await fetch('https://{{subdomain}}.showpad.biz/api/v3/users.json', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    Authorization: 'Bearer {access_token}',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json',
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    email: 'bob.smith@showpad.com',
    firstName: 'Bob',
    lastName: 'Smith',
    userName: 'bob.smith@showpad.com',
    isActive: true,
    language: 'en',
    externalId: 'customer-ab7320ec521e4783be92512b7e400eb7',
  }),
});
const newUser = await response.json();

Python

import requests

response = requests.post(
    'https://{{subdomain}}.showpad.biz/api/v3/users.json',
    headers={
        'Authorization': 'Bearer {access_token}',
        'Content-Type': 'application/json'
    },
    json={
        'email': 'bob.smith@showpad.com',
        'firstName': 'Bob',
        'lastName': 'Smith',
        'userName': 'bob.smith@showpad.com',
        'isActive': True,
        'language': 'en',
        'externalId': 'customer-ab7320ec521e4783be92512b7e400eb7'
    }
)
new_user = response.json()

External ID The externalId field maps the user to your corporate directory (AD, Okta, etc.). This enables:

• Verifying if a user already exists in Showpad
• SAML/SSO authentication mapping :::

Response Codes

• 201 Created: User successfully created
• 409 Conflict: User already exists
• 4xx: Validation error (check response body for details)

Update Users

API v3 Required User updates require API v3. :::

Method	Endpoint	Description
PUT	/api/v3/users/{userId}.json	Updates an existing user

Example

cURL

curl -X PUT "https://{{subdomain}}.showpad.biz/api/v3/users/c143c05d12c1433ba1358c7eb2e07c75.json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer {access_token}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "firstName": "Robert",
    "lastName": "Smith",
    "language": "fr"
  }'

JavaScript

const response = await fetch('https://{{subdomain}}.showpad.biz/api/v3/users/c143c05d12c1433ba1358c7eb2e07c75.json', {
  method: 'PUT',
  headers: {
    Authorization: 'Bearer {access_token}',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json',
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    firstName: 'Robert',
    lastName: 'Smith',
    language: 'fr',
  }),
});
const updatedUser = await response.json();

Python

import requests

response = requests.put(
    'https://{{subdomain}}.showpad.biz/api/v3/users/c143c05d12c1433ba1358c7eb2e07c75.json',
    headers={
        'Authorization': 'Bearer {access_token}',
        'Content-Type': 'application/json'
    },
    json={
        'firstName': 'Robert',
        'lastName': 'Smith',
        'language': 'fr'
    }
)
updated_user = response.json()

Deactivate Users

API v3 Required User deactivation requires API v3. :::

Deactivate a user by setting isActive to false using the Update Users endpoint:

cURL

curl -X PUT "https://{{subdomain}}.showpad.biz/api/v3/users/c143c05d12c1433ba1358c7eb2e07c75.json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer {access_token}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"isActive": false}'

JavaScript

const response = await fetch('https://{{subdomain}}.showpad.biz/api/v3/users/c143c05d12c1433ba1358c7eb2e07c75.json', {
  method: 'PUT',
  headers: {
    Authorization: 'Bearer {access_token}',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json',
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({ isActive: false }),
});

Python

import requests

response = requests.put(
    'https://{{subdomain}}.showpad.biz/api/v3/users/c143c05d12c1433ba1358c7eb2e07c75.json',
    headers={
        'Authorization': 'Bearer {access_token}',
        'Content-Type': 'application/json'
    },
    json={'isActive': False}
)

Reactivation To reactivate a user, send the same request with isActive set to true. :::

Delete Users

API v3 Required User deletion requires API v3. :::

Irreversible Action Deleting a user permanently removes the user and all associated data from Showpad. Use

deactivation instead unless the user is being permanently removed from your organization. :::

Method	Endpoint	Description
DELETE	/api/v3/users/{userId}.json	Permanently deletes a user

cURL

curl -X DELETE "https://{{subdomain}}.showpad.biz/api/v3/users/c143c05d12c1433ba1358c7eb2e07c75.json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer {access_token}"

JavaScript

const response = await fetch('https://{{subdomain}}.showpad.biz/api/v3/users/c143c05d12c1433ba1358c7eb2e07c75.json', {
  method: 'DELETE',
  headers: { Authorization: 'Bearer {access_token}' },
});

Python

import requests

response = requests.delete(
    'https://{{subdomain}}.showpad.biz/api/v3/users/c143c05d12c1433ba1358c7eb2e07c75.json',
    headers={'Authorization': 'Bearer {access_token}'}
)

User Authentication

For security reasons, do not send user passwords when creating users via the API. When no password is provided, Showpad automatically sends an invitation email allowing the user to set their own password.

For corporate environments, consider implementing Single Sign-On (SSO):

• API Authentication Guide: OAuth 2.0 and token-based authentication
• SSO Setup Guide: SAML and identity provider configuration

Next Steps

• SCIM 2.0 Provisioning: Automate user provisioning with SCIM
• Webhooks: Get notified when users are created or updated
• API v3 Reference: Full API specification for user endpoints