Cognito Forms

Access the Cognito Forms API with managed OAuth authentication. List forms, manage entries (create, read, update, delete), and retrieve documents.

Quick Start

# List all forms
python <<'EOF'
import urllib.request, os, json
req = urllib.request.Request('https://api.maton.ai/cognito-forms/api/forms')
req.add_header('Authorization', f'Bearer {os.environ["MATON_API_KEY"]}')
print(json.dumps(json.load(urllib.request.urlopen(req)), indent=2))
EOF

Base URL

https://api.maton.ai/cognito-forms/{native-api-path}

Maton proxies requests to www.cognitoforms.com and automatically injects your OAuth token.

Authentication

All requests require the Maton API key in the Authorization header:

Authorization: Bearer $MATON_API_KEY

Environment Variable: Set your API key as MATON_API_KEY:

export MATON_API_KEY="YOUR_API_KEY"

Getting Your API Key

1. Sign in or create an account at maton.ai
2. Go to maton.ai/settings
3. Copy your API key

Connection Management

Manage your Cognito Forms OAuth connections at https://api.maton.ai.

List Connections

python <<'EOF'
import urllib.request, os, json
req = urllib.request.Request('https://api.maton.ai/connections?app=cognito-forms&status=ACTIVE')
req.add_header('Authorization', f'Bearer {os.environ["MATON_API_KEY"]}')
print(json.dumps(json.load(urllib.request.urlopen(req)), indent=2))
EOF

Create Connection

python <<'EOF'
import urllib.request, os, json
data = json.dumps({'app': 'cognito-forms'}).encode()
req = urllib.request.Request('https://api.maton.ai/connections', data=data, method='POST')
req.add_header('Authorization', f'Bearer {os.environ["MATON_API_KEY"]}')
req.add_header('Content-Type', 'application/json')
print(json.dumps(json.load(urllib.request.urlopen(req)), indent=2))
EOF

Get Connection

python <<'EOF'
import urllib.request, os, json
req = urllib.request.Request('https://api.maton.ai/connections/{connection_id}')
req.add_header('Authorization', f'Bearer {os.environ["MATON_API_KEY"]}')
print(json.dumps(json.load(urllib.request.urlopen(req)), indent=2))
EOF

Response:

{
  "connection": {
    "connection_id": "{connection_id}",
    "status": "ACTIVE",
    "creation_time": "2026-02-08T10:39:10.245446Z",
    "last_updated_time": "2026-02-09T04:11:08.342101Z",
    "url": "https://connect.maton.ai/?session_token=...",
    "app": "cognito-forms",
    "metadata": {}
  }
}

Open the returned url in a browser to complete OAuth authorization.

Delete Connection

python <<'EOF'
import urllib.request, os, json
req = urllib.request.Request('https://api.maton.ai/connections/{connection_id}', method='DELETE')
req.add_header('Authorization', f'Bearer {os.environ["MATON_API_KEY"]}')
print(json.dumps(json.load(urllib.request.urlopen(req)), indent=2))
EOF

Specifying Connection

If you have multiple Cognito Forms connections, specify which one to use with the Maton-Connection header:

python <<'EOF'
import urllib.request, os, json
req = urllib.request.Request('https://api.maton.ai/cognito-forms/api/forms')
req.add_header('Authorization', f'Bearer {os.environ["MATON_API_KEY"]}')
req.add_header('Maton-Connection', '{connection_id}')
print(json.dumps(json.load(urllib.request.urlopen(req)), indent=2))
EOF

If you have multiple connections, always include this header to ensure requests go to the intended account.

Security & Permissions

• Access is scoped to forms, entries, and documents within the connected Cognito Forms account.
• All write operations require explicit user approval. Before executing any create, update, or delete call, confirm the target resource and intended effect with the user.

API Reference

Forms

List Forms

GET /cognito-forms/api/forms

Returns all forms in the organization.

Entries

Get Entry

GET /cognito-forms/api/forms/{formId}/entries/{entryId}

Returns a specific entry by ID or entry number.

Create Entry

POST /cognito-forms/api/forms/{formId}/entries
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "Name": {
    "First": "John",
    "Last": "Doe"
  },
  "Email": "john.doe@example.com",
  "Phone": "555-1234"
}

Field names match your form's field names. Complex fields like Name and Address use nested objects.

Update Entry

PATCH /cognito-forms/api/forms/{formId}/entries/{entryId}
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "Name": {
    "First": "Jane",
    "Last": "Doe"
  },
  "Email": "jane.doe@example.com"
}

Updates an existing entry. Uses PATCH method (not PUT). Fails if the entry includes a paid order.

Delete Entry

DELETE /cognito-forms/api/forms/{formId}/entries/{entryId}

Deletes an entry. Requires Read/Write/Delete API scope.

Documents

Get Document

GET /cognito-forms/api/forms/{formId}/entries/{entryId}/documents/{templateNumber}

Generates and returns a document from an entry using the specified template number.

Response:

{
  "Id": "abc123",
  "Name": "Entry-Document.pdf",
  "ContentType": "application/pdf",
  "Size": 12345,
  "File": "https://temporary-download-url..."
}

Files

Get File

GET /cognito-forms/api/files/{fileId}

Retrieves a file uploaded to a form entry.

Response:

{
  "Id": "file-id",
  "Name": "upload.pdf",
  "ContentType": "application/pdf",
  "Size": 54321,
  "File": "https://temporary-download-url..."
}

Field Format Examples

Name Fields

{
  "Name": {
    "First": "John",
    "Last": "Doe"
  }
}

Address Fields

{
  "Address": {
    "Line1": "123 Main St",
    "Line2": "Suite 100",
    "City": "San Francisco",
    "State": "CA",
    "PostalCode": "94105"
  }
}

Choice Fields

Single choice:

{
  "PreferredContact": "Email"
}

Multiple choice:

{
  "Interests": ["Sports", "Music", "Travel"]
}

Code Examples

JavaScript

const response = await fetch(
  'https://api.maton.ai/cognito-forms/api/forms',
  {
    headers: {
      'Authorization': `Bearer ${process.env.MATON_API_KEY}`
    }
  }
);
const forms = await response.json();

Python

import os
import requests

response = requests.get(
    'https://api.maton.ai/cognito-forms/api/forms',
    headers={'Authorization': f'Bearer {os.environ["MATON_API_KEY"]}'}
)
forms = response.json()

Create Entry Example (Python)

import os
import requests

entry_data = {
    "Name": {"First": "John", "Last": "Doe"},
    "Email": "john@example.com",
    "Message": "Hello from the API!"
}

response = requests.post(
    'https://api.maton.ai/cognito-forms/api/forms/ContactForm/entries',
    headers={
        'Authorization': f'Bearer {os.environ["MATON_API_KEY"]}',
        'Content-Type': 'application/json'
    },
    json=entry_data
)

Notes

• List Entries: The Cognito Forms API does not support bulk listing of all entries. Use webhooks or OData for syncing entries.
• Get Form: Returns 404 - use List Forms to get form information instead.
• Form Availability: This endpoint may not be available depending on your Cognito Forms plan.
• Entry IDs can be either the entry number or entry ID (format: {formId}-{entryNumber})
• Complex fields (Name, Address) use nested JSON objects
• File uploads return temporary download URLs
• Document generation creates PDFs from form templates
• API scopes control access: Read, Read/Write, or Read/Write/Delete
• IMPORTANT: When using curl commands, use curl -g when URLs contain brackets to disable glob parsing
• IMPORTANT: When piping curl output to jq or other commands, environment variables like $MATON_API_KEY may not expand correctly in some shell environments

Error Handling

Troubleshooting: API Key Issues

1. Check that the MATON_API_KEY environment variable is set:

echo $MATON_API_KEY

1. Verify the API key is valid by listing connections:

python <<'EOF'
import urllib.request, os, json
req = urllib.request.Request('https://api.maton.ai/connections')
req.add_header('Authorization', f'Bearer {os.environ["MATON_API_KEY"]}')
print(json.dumps(json.load(urllib.request.urlopen(req)), indent=2))
EOF

Troubleshooting: Invalid App Name

1. Ensure your URL path starts with cognito-forms. For example:

• Correct: https://api.maton.ai/cognito-forms/api/forms
• Incorrect: https://api.maton.ai/api/forms

Resources

• Cognito Forms API Overview
• REST API Reference
• API Reference
• Maton Community
• Maton Support