How to register users for Zoom Events: understanding API limitations and workarounds

When working with Zoom Events, it's essential to understand how the platform differs from regular Zoom meetings and webinars, especially when you're using APIs to automate processes like event or session creation and user registration. Here’s what you need to know when managing Zoom Events via API:

Key differences: eventId vs. webinarId/meetingId

One of the most common points of confusion is that webinarId or meetingId is not the same as eventId or sessionId on Zoom Events. These IDs represent entirely different entities. Zoom Events, which encompasses multi-session events, handles IDs uniquely, separating them from the IDs used in Zoom Meetings or Webinars.

Creating events and sessions programmatically

While Zoom offers robust APIs for creating and managing webinars or meetings, you cannot use these APIs to create a webinar or meeting and assign it to a Zoom Event or Session. The APIs for Zoom Events and Webinars/Meetings operate independently.

For Zoom Events, when you create a multi-session event, you can:

  1. Retrieve a list of sessions: Use specific Zoom Events APIs to get a list of sessions and their details.
  2. Identify Meeting/Webinar IDs: These API endpoints will return the meetingId or webinarId, which you can then use with the appropriate Meeting or Webinar APIs to review, but not change or create meeting and webinar specific details.

If you create a single session, you can set it as a meeting or webinar, but it will reside entirely within the Zoom Events platform, following the same separation rules mentioned above.

Can you use webinar or meeting APIs in Zoom Events?

No, you cannot use Webinar/Meeting APIs to create or update registrants in Zoom Events. POST and PATCH operations, such as adding users or registrants to a Zoom Event, must be handled using Zoom Events-specific APIs, not the Meeting/Webinar APIs.

How to register users for Zoom Events programmatically

While creating events or sessions might have its limitations, you can still register users for a Zoom Event programmatically. Here’s how:

  1. Obtain an access token: Ensure you have the right OAuth scopes and user permissions set up for Zoom Events.

  2. List all events/sessions: Use the /zoom_events/events endpoint or /zoom_events/events{eventId}/sessions endpoint to retrieve the eventId for the event you want to manage.

  3. Retrieve Ticket Types: Call the API endpoint /zoom_events/events/{eventId}/ticket_types to list all available ticket types for the event. If it’s a free event, there will typically be only one ticket type.

  4. Create a Ticket for the User: Use the POST /zoom_events/events/{eventId}/tickets endpoint, passing the user’s email address and the ticket type to register them.

After a successful registration, you’ll receive the event join link for that user and be able to use the Registrants endpoints to verify registrant info.

This approach ensures that users are correctly registered for the event, following the necessary API workflows.

Understanding event visibility in the Zoom web portal

One peculiar issue that often arises is why some users can see events as "upcoming" in the Zoom web portal, while others cannot. The answer lies in who owns the Zoom Events Hub. Only Zoom Events Hub owners can view upcoming events in their web portal. Even if you’re a Hub member or event host, you won’t see these events unless you are the Hub owner, as the events utilize the Hub Owner's license.

Conclusion

Understanding the distinction between Zoom Events and Zoom Webinars/Meetings is crucial when managing users and events via API. By using the Zoom Events-specific APIs, you can effectively register users and manage event logistics programmatically, despite the independence of Webinar/Meeting APIs.