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

Replace

{native-api-path}

with the actual Cognito Forms API endpoint path (starting with

api/

). The gateway 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

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

Connection Management

Manage your Cognito Forms OAuth connections at

https://ctrl.maton.ai

List Connections

python <<'EOF'
import urllib.request, os, json
req = urllib.request.Request('https://ctrl.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://ctrl.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://ctrl.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": "77de1a60-5f69-45fc-977c-9dfffe7a64d4",
    "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://ctrl.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://gateway.maton.ai/cognito-forms/api/forms')
req.add_header('Authorization', f'Bearer {os.environ["MATON_API_KEY"]}')
req.add_header('Maton-Connection', '77de1a60-5f69-45fc-977c-9dfffe7a64d4')
print(json.dumps(json.load(urllib.request.urlopen(req)), indent=2))
EOF

If omitted, the gateway uses the default (oldest) active connection.

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://gateway.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://gateway.maton.ai/cognito-forms/api/forms&#x27;,
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://gateway.maton.ai/cognito-forms/api/forms/ContactForm/entries&#x27;,
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

Status	Meaning
400	Missing Cognito Forms connection
401	Invalid or missing Maton API key
404	Form or entry not found
429	Rate limited (100 requests per 60 seconds)
4xx/5xx	Passthrough error from Cognito Forms API

Troubleshooting: API Key Issues

Check that the
```
MATON_API_KEY
```
environment variable is set:

echo $MATON_API_KEY

Verify the API key is valid by listing connections:

python <<'EOF'
import urllib.request, os, json
req = urllib.request.Request('https://ctrl.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

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

Correct:

https://gateway.maton.ai/cognito-forms/api/forms

Incorrect:
```
https://gateway.maton.ai/api/forms
```

Cognito Forms

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Cognito Forms

Quick Start

Base URL

Authentication

Getting Your API Key

Connection Management

List Connections

Create Connection

Get Connection

Delete Connection

Specifying Connection

API Reference

Forms

List Forms

Entries

Get Entry

Create Entry

Update Entry

Delete Entry

Documents

Get Document

Files

Get File

Field Format Examples

Name Fields

Address Fields

Choice Fields

Code Examples

JavaScript

Python

Create Entry Example (Python)

Notes

Error Handling

Troubleshooting: API Key Issues

Troubleshooting: Invalid App Name

Resources

Quick Start

Manual Installation

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