Overview

The Docs API enables developers to programmatically manage and interact with Bob's document management system. It streamlines workflows such as uploading and downloading documents for personal, employee, or company-wide use, ensuring efficient and secure document management.

Key concepts

Folders

Documents in Bob are organized in Shared, Confidential, or Custom folders. Each folder type allows for granular permissions.

Shared folders are accessible to admins and employees.
Confidential folders are limited to admins or authorized managers.
Custom folders provide flexible permission configurations.

Note: Confidential and shared folders are system-defined and must remain in their default setting for optimal API functionality.

Document backend-id

The document backend ID represents a document's unique ID in Bob's database. This identifier is essential for document management, as it allows you to retrieve or delete specific files.

When a document is uploaded, the id or docId property is included in the API response, enabling seamless follow-up actions. Additionally, you can fetch all documents associated with an employee, where each file's docId will be included in the response for precise identification and management.

eSign Documents

eSign documents in Bob allow users to streamline the process of collecting, managing, and tracking electronically signed documents. With the API, you can upload signed documents directly to the relevant folders (e.g., shared or confidential) in Bob, ensuring secure and organized storage. Additionally, the API can be used to set up notifications, enabling your system to stay informed when documents are signed, improving workflow automation and reducing administrative effort.

Document Actions

Using the API you can perform the following actions.

Upload files and create Bob documents: Directly upload files using the HTTP request or provide a URL link.
eSign Notifications: Listen to eSign read approval notifications for documents signed within Bob.
Metadata Access: Retrieve folder metadata to manage document storage and retrieval dynamically.

Docs API endpoints

The Docs API provides functionality to upload, retrieve, and delete docs:

Use Case	Description	Public API Endpoint
Folder Metadata	Retrieve folder IDs and types to manage document uploads effectively	Get list of folders with metadata
Employee Document Upload	Upload documents to shared, confidential, and custom folders	Upload file from a URL to a Shared Folder Upload file from a URL to a Confidential Folder Upload File from a URL to a Custom Folder Upload file to a Shared Folder Upload File to a Confidential Folder Upload File to a Custom Folder
Document Deletion	Remove documents from any folder type	Delete a Document from a Shared Folder Delete a Document from a Confidential Folder Delete a Document from a Custom Folder
Get employee document links	Returns a list of documents and download links for a specific employee.	Download list of documents of an employee

For detailed endpoint descriptions and examples, see the Documents API Reference.

Webhooks

Use Case	Description	Webhook event
eSign Event Notifications	Leverage webhook events to monitor document signing status. This event will be sent when the signing process is complete for all assigned users.	documents.eSign.completed

For detailed webhooks descriptions and examples, see the eSign document signing event.

Common use-cases

Onboarding: Seamlessly distribute employment contracts and new hire forms, leveraging eSign and read approval functionalities.
Compliance: Maintain employee-specific confidential documents like performance reviews.
Company-wide communication: Distribute employee handbooks or policy updates in company folders with access control.

Implementation tips

Permission Configuration

Ensure API Service users have the appropriate permissions to access and manage document folders effectively.

Permissions can be configured in System Settings > Account > Permission Groups > People’s Data > Docs.

Key points to note:

Each folder type (e.g., shared, confidential, or custom) has its permissions managed separately.
A new permission section with the folder's name is added to the Docs permissions when a custom folder is added.
Admins can determine access based on the API actions that will be performed with this service user:
- Delete selected employees’ docs in the folder
- Upload selected employees’ docs in the folder
- View selected employees' docs in the folder

For a seamless experience, verify that all required permissions for the Service user associated with the API requests are enabled.

To learn more, see the Docs API reference.

eSign integrations

For use cases requiring features like identity verification and timestamps or legally binding signatures, tools such as DocuSign, PandaDoc, and Adobe Sign are commonly used, and the signed document can be uploaded to Bob using the API.

Explore Docs API