Legacy Quickstart Docs

Introduction

Note: Plaid's legacy API was deprecated on September 30, 2018. If you are already using Link, head to the Link Transition Guide to read about transitioning to the current API. If you are not using Link, head to the Direct API to Link Transition Guide instead.

The fastest way to get started with Plaid is by integrating with Plaid Link, a drop-in module that offers a secure, elegant authentication flow for each institution that Plaid supports. Read on to get started, or jump to the API reference, explore some sample apps, or tinker with the demo to see Link in action.

Glossary

Most Plaid API calls involve three pieces of information: a client_id, secret, and an access_token. All three of these are considered private information - they are not meant to be shared or hard coded directly into an app or site. This poses a problem for Plaid Link, as a user will be onboarding directly in the browser. To address this, Plaid client accounts now have an additional identifier: a public_key.

The public_key

Associates users that onboard through Plaid Link with your client_id and secret
Cannot be used to make authenticated Plaid API calls (i.e. retrieving account and routing numbers for a user)

The public_token

Once a user has successfully onboarded via Plaid Link, the module will provide a public_token. This is in contrast to typical Plaid API requests, which return an access_token.

Is safe to expose in an app or browser
Cannot be used to retrieve account and routing numbers (for auth) or transactions (for connect) directly
Can be exchanged for a Plaid access_token via the /exchange_token endpoint.

The getting started guide below illustrates how to use your public_key to get up and running with Plaid Link. The guide also covers how to exchange a public_token for an access_token.

Getting started

There are two different integrations:

Simple The simple integration provides a customizable "Link your Bank Account" button and handles submitting a Plaid public_token to a server endpoint that you specify.
Custom The custom integration lets you trigger the Plaid Link module via client-side Javascript. You specify your own callback function to be called with the public_token once a user has authenticated.

Step 1: Get your public_key

Your public_key is available from the Plaid dashboard. Your public_key is a less privileged version of your client_id and secret. It simply associates accounts you create using Plaid Link with your client_id. All Plaid API requests must be made using your private client_id and secret.

Step 2: Simple integration

Include the following markup (the <form> and <script> tags) in your site or web application:


<!-- A hidden input named public_token will be appended to this form
once the user has completed the Link flow. Link will then submit the
form, sending the public_token to your server. -->
<form id="some-id" method="POST" action="/authenticate"></form>

<!-- See the Parameter Reference for additional documentation. -->
<script
  src="https://cdn.plaid.com/link/v2/stable/link-initialize.js"
  data-client-name="Client Name"
  data-form-id="some-id"
  data-key="test_key"
  data-product="auth"
  data-env="tartan">
</script>

See the parameter reference for complete documentation on possible configurations.

The injected "Link your Bank Account" button has the ID plaid-link-button and can be styled with CSS:


#plaid-link-button {
  border: 10px solid pink;
}

Step 3: Custom integration

The custom integration allows you to decide, with a few lines of client-side Javascript, when the module is triggered. See below:


<button id='linkButton'>Open Link - Institution Select</button>
<button id='bofaButton'>Open Link - Bank of America</button>
<script src="https://cdn.plaid.com/link/v2/stable/link-initialize.js"></script&gt;
<script>
  var linkHandler = Plaid.create({
    env: 'tartan',
    clientName: 'Client Name',
    key: 'test_key',
    product: 'auth',
    onLoad: function() {
      // The Link module finished loading.
    },
    onSuccess: function(public_token, metadata) {
      // Send the public_token to your app server here.
      // The metadata object contains info about the institution the
      // user selected and the account ID, if selectAccount is enabled.
    },
    onExit: function(err, metadata) {
      // The user exited the Link flow.
      if (err != null) {
        // The user encountered a Plaid API error prior to exiting.
      }
      // metadata contains information about the institution
      // that the user selected and the most recent API request IDs.
      // Storing this information can be helpful for support.
    }
  });

  // Trigger Link's institution select view
  document.getElementById('linkButton').onclick = function() {
    linkHandler.open();
  };
</script>

See the parameter reference for complete documentation on possible configurations.

Plaid.create accepts one argument, a configuration Object, and returns an Object with two functions, open and exit, and one property, institutions. open accepts either no arguments or an optional institution type. If no argument is provided, the "Institution Select" view is opened. If a valid institution type is provided, the login form for that particular institution is opened. The exit function allows you to programatically close Link.

The exposed institutions property is an Array of Objects in the form:


[{
  name: 'Bank of America',
  type: 'bofa',
  auth: true,
  connect: true
},
...]

The institutions property will be populated with all supported institutions for a given product. That is, the list of institutions will be different for auth and connect. Use the institutions property to dynamically generate a list of supported institutions for your Link integration - by doing so, your app will support new institutions and products automatically.

Step 4: Write server-side handler

The Link module handles the entire onboarding flow securely and quickly but does not actually retrieve account or transaction data for a user. Instead, the Link module returns a public_token that is safe to expose in the browser.

This public_token must be exchanged for a Plaid access_token using the /exchange_token API endpoint. To do so, you must add a server side handler. A sample node.js server-side handler is provided below - full application samples can be found in the Examples section below.

With the simple integration, the public_token will be appended to the form specified by data-form-id as a hidden input. This form will be automatically submitted once a user has completed onboarding.

With the custom integration, the callback you specified in Plaid.create will be called with one argument, the public_token. It is your responsibility to send it to your app server.

In the example above, the form some-id had action="/authenticate". So we'll add a /authenticate route to our server side code that expects a POST request with a field named public_token in the request body. We'll then use that public_token along with our private client_id and secret to retrieve a Plaid access_token (via the /exchange_token endpoint). This access_token should be saved in a database and used to retrieve account and transaction data. Below is a sample server-side handler using Express and the plaid-node library:


var express = require('express');
var plaid = require('plaid');

var app = express();

var plaidClient = new plaid.Client(process.env.PLAID_CLIENT_ID,
                                   process.env.PLAID_SECRET,
                                   plaid.environments.tartan);

app.post('/authenticate', function(req, res) {
  var public_token = req.body.public_token;

  // Exchange a public_token for a Plaid access_token
  plaidClient.exchangeToken(public_token, function(err, exchangeTokenRes) {
    if (err != null) {
      // Handle error!
    } else {
      // This is your Plaid access token - store somewhere persistent
      // The access_token can be used to make Plaid API calls to
      // retrieve accounts and transactions
      var access_token = exchangeTokenRes.access_token;

      plaidClient.getAuthUser(access_token, function(err, authRes) {
        if (err != null) {
          // Handle error!
        } else {
          // An array of accounts for this user, containing account
          // names, balances, and account and routing numbers.
          var accounts = authRes.accounts;

          // Return account data
          res.json({accounts: accounts});
        }
      });
    }
  });
});

Check out the Examples for more sample code and complete example apps.

Step 5: Test with sandbox credentials

The Link module has a sandbox mode that works with the Plaid API sandbox. To enable the sandbox, set data-key or key to test_key (for simple and custom integrations, respectively). This lets you see the flow for each individual institution Plaid supports, including the multi-factor authentication process when applicable.

For simple integrations:


<!-- A hidden input named public_token will be appended to this form
once the user has completed the Link flow. Link will then submit the
form, sending the public_token to your server. -->
<form id="some-id" method="POST" action="/authenticate"></form>

<script
  src="https://cdn.plaid.com/link/v2/stable/link-initialize.js"
  data-client-name="Client Name"
  data-form-id="some-id"
  data-key="test_key"
  data-product="auth"
  data-env="tartan">
</script>

For custom integrations:


<button id="plaidLinkButton">Open Plaid Link</button>

<script src="https://cdn.plaid.com/link/v2/stable/link-initialize.js"></script&gt;
<script>
var sandboxHandler = Plaid.create({
  env: 'tartan',
  clientName: 'Client Name',
  key: 'test_key',
  product: 'auth',
  onSuccess: function(public_token, metadata) {
    console.log(public_token, metadata);
  },
});

document.getElementById('plaidLinkButton').onclick = function() {
  // Trigger the "Institution Select" view
  sandboxHandler.open();
};
</script>

If you are having trouble using the module in sandbox mode, check the developer console in your browser for error messages.

Updating existing accounts

When a user changes their username, password, or MFA credentials with a financial institution or is locked out of their account, they must update their credentials with Plaid as well.

Link's update mode makes this process secure and painless and is available in both the simple and custom integrations. To use update mode, initialize Link with the public_token for the user you wish to update.

For the simple integration add the data-token attribute as follows:


<!-- A hidden input named public_token will be appended to this form
once the user has completed the Link flow. Link will then submit the
form, sending the new public_token to your server. -->
<form id="some-id" method="POST" action="/authenticate"></form>

<script
  src="https://cdn.plaid.com/link/v2/stable/link-initialize.js"
  data-client-name="Client Name"
  data-form-id="some-id"
  data-key="test_key"
  data-product="auth"
  data-env="tartan"
  data-token="test,chase,connected">
</script>

The custom initializer takes a similarly-named token added to the parameter hash:


<script src="https://cdn.plaid.com/link/v2/stable/link-initialize.js"></script&gt;
<script>
var linkHandler = Plaid.create({
  env: 'tartan',
  clientName: 'Client Name',
  key: 'test_key',
  product: 'auth',
  token: 'test,chase,connected',  // <- token to patch
  onLoad: function() {
    // The Link module finished loading.
  },
  onSuccess: function(public_token, metadata) {
    // Send the public_token to your app server here.
    // The metadata object contains info about the institution the
    // user selected and the account ID, if selectAccount is enabled.
  },
  onExit: function(err, metadata) {
    // The user exited the Link flow.
    if (err != null) {
      // The user encountered a Plaid API error prior to exiting.
    }
    // metadata contains information about the institution
    // that the user selected and the most recent API request IDs.
    // Storing this information can be helpful for support.
  },
});

// Trigger the authentication view
document.getElementById('linkButton').onclick = function() {
  // Link will automatically detect the institution type associated with the
  // public token and present the credential pane to your user.
  linkHandler.open();
};
</script>

Link will automatically detect the institution type associated with the public_token and present the appropriate credential pane to your user.

Note: Calling open with an institution type as an argument (e.g.: open('chase')) is not supported when Link is initialized in update mode.

Test update mode with sandbox tokens

For update mode a suitable sandbox public token can be generated by inserting the desired institution type into the string test,{institution_type},connected.

For example:


test,chase,connected
test,usaa,connected
test,wells,connected

Reference

/exchange_token Endpoint

The /exchange_token endpoint is available in both the tartan (https://tartan.plaid.com) and production (https://api.plaid.com) environments.

Method	Endpoint	Required Parameters	Optional Parameters
POST	`/exchange_token`	`client_id`, `secret`, `public_token`	`account_id`

The /exchange_token endpoint has already been integrated into the plaid-node, plaid-go, plaid-ruby, and plaid-python client libraries. Support for plaid-java is coming soon.

If you are working with a library that does not yet support the /exchange_token endpoint you can simply make a standard HTTP request:


curl -X POST https://tartan.plaid.com/exchange_token \
>   -d client_id="$plaid_client_id" \
>   -d secret="$plaid_secret" \
>   -d public_token="$public_token_from_plaid_link_module"

For a valid request, the API will return a JSON response similar to:


{
  "access_token": "foobar_plaid_access_token"
}

For possible error codes, see the full listing of Plaid error codes.

Simple integration

Parameter	Required	Description
`data-client-name`	required	Displayed once a user has successfully linked their account.
`data-form-id`	required	The DOM ID associated with form that the Link module will append the `public_key` to as a hidden input and submit when a user completes the onboarding flow.
`data-product`	required	The Plaid product you wish to use: `auth`, `connect`, `info`, or `income`.
`data-key`	required	The `public_key` associated with your account; available from the dashboard.
`data-env`	required	The Plaid API environment on which to create user accounts. For development and testing, use `tartan`. For production use, use `production`. Note: all `production` requests are billed.
`data-webhook`	optional	Specify a webhook to associate with a user.
`data-token`	optional	Specify an existing user's public token to launch Link in update mode. This will cause Link to open directly to the authentication step for that user's institution.

Custom integration

Parameter	Required	Description
`clientName`	required	Displayed once a user has successfully linked their account.
`product`	required	The Plaid product you wish to use: `auth`, `connect`, `info`, or `income`.
`key`	required	The `public_key` associated with your account; available from the dashboard.
`env`	required	The Plaid API environment on which to create user accounts. For development and testing, use `tartan`. For production use, use `production`. Note: all `production` requests are billed.
`onSuccess`	required	A function that is called when a user has successfully onboarded their account. The function should expect two arguments, the `public_token` and a `metadata` object.
`onExit`	optional	A function that is called when a user has specifically exited the Link flow. The function should expect two arguments, a nullable `error` object and a `metadata` object. See onExit.
`onLoad`	optional	A function that is called when the Link module has finished loading. Calls to `plaidLinkHandler.open()` prior to the onLoad callback will be delayed until the module is fully loaded.
`webhook`	optional	Specify a webhook to associate with a user.
`token`	optional	Specify an existing user's public token to launch Link in update mode. This will cause Link to open directly to the authentication step for that user's institution.
`selectAccount`	optional	Set to `true` to launch Link with the 'Select Account' pane enabled. This allows users to select an individual account once they've authenticated. The Plaid Account ID of this account is provided in the `metadata` object of the `onSuccess` callback under the key `account_id`. Note: If you are using Link with Connect, all accounts will be listed on the Select Account pane. If you are using Link with Auth, only depository accounts will be listed.
`isWebview`	optional	Set to `true` if launching Link within a WebView.

onSuccess callback

The onSuccess callback should take two arguments, the public_token and a metadata object. The metadata object provides the following information:

Parameter	Description
`institution`	An Object with two properties: - `name`: The full institution name, such as 'Bank of America'. - `type`: The institution type, such as 'bofa'.
`account`	The Plaid Account of the account selected by the user. - `id`: the account id selected - `name`: the name of the selected account Note: Only applicable when the `selectAccount` is `true`.

onExit callback

The onExit callback is called when a user exits the Link flow. It takes two arguments, a nullable error object and a metadata object.

Parameter	Description
`error`	A nullable object that contains the API error `code` and `message` of the error that was last encountered by the user. If no error was encountered, `error` will be `null`.
`metadata`	An object containing information about the user's Link session, including Link and API request IDs and the `name` and `type` of the institution selected by the user.

If present, the error argument will return an Object in the form of:


{
  code: String,
  message: String,
}

If no error was encountered, the error argument will be null.

The metadata parameter is always present, though some values may be null:


{
  institution: {name: String, type: String},
  link_request_id: String,
  plaid_api_request_id: String,
  status: String,
}

The value of the status key indicates the point at which the user exited the Link flow. status may be one of the following values:

Status	Description
connected	User completed the Link flow
requires_questions	User was prompted to answer security question(s)
requires_selections	User was prompted to answer multiple choice question(s)
requires_code	User was prompted to provide a one time passcode.
choose_device	User was prompted to select a device at which to receive a one-time passcode.
requires_credentials	User was prompted to provide credentials for the selected financial institution or has not yet selected a financial institution

The arguments in the onExit function are meant to help you guide your users after they have exited Link. We recommend storing the error and metadata information server side in a way that can be associated with the user. Please include this and other relevant information in any support requests for the user.

exit() function

The exit function allows you to programmatically close Link. Calling exit will trigger either the onExit or onSuccess callbacks. exit takes a single, optional argument, a configuration Object. The configuration options are:

Option	Required	Description
`force`	optional	Boolean. If `true`, Link will exit immediately. If `false`, or the option is not provided, an exit confirmation screen may be presented to the user.

For example:


// Initialize Link
var linkHandler = Plaid.create(...)

// Force exit - Link exits immediately
linkHandler.exit({ force: true })

// Graceful exit - Link may display a confirmation screen
// depending on how far the user is in the flow
linkHandler.exit()

// This is equivalent to the above:
linkHandler.exit({ force: false })

exit() works on desktop and mobile but is not supported for WebView integrations. To exit Link in a WebView, you must programmatically close the iOS or Android WebView.

Security

All data sent to Plaid is encrypted using a secure HTTPS connection with our servers. While you can use the module on a non-HTTPS site (all data sent to Plaid operates in an entirely different context and connection), we strongly recommend using HTTPS at all times.

More information about Plaid's security policies and practices can be found on our website.

Browser support

Desktop

Fully supported

Fully supported

Fully supported

10 Fully supported

Mobile

Modern mobile browsers are supported, including most iPhone and Android devices. If you encounter any inconsistencies, open an issue.

WebView integration

Link is optimized to work within WebViews, including on iOS and Android. The Link initialization URL that's optimized for WebViews is:


https://cdn.plaid.com/link/v2/stable/link.html

The Link configuration options for a WebView integration are passed via querystring rather than via a client-side Javascript call. See the parameter reference for complete documentation. For example:


https://cdn.plaid.com/link/v2/stable/link.html
  ?isWebview=true
  &key=test_key
  &env=tartan
  &product=connect
  &selectAccount=true
  &clientName=Plaid%20Demo

Looking to get started right away? Jump to the WebView examples for sample code! The sample code includes example code to initialize Link and process events communicated from Link to your app.

You can initialize Link in update mode within a WebView by including a token paramter in the Link initialization URL:


https://cdn.plaid.com/link/v2/stable/link.html
  ?isWebview=true
  &key=test_key
  ...
  &token=test,chase,connected

Communication between Link and your app

Communication between the WebView and your app is handled by HTTP redirects rather than client-side JavaScript callbacks. These redirects should be intercepted by your app. The example apps include sample code to do this.

All redirect URLs have the scheme plaidlink. The event type is communicated via the URL host and data is passed via the querystring. There are two supported events, connected and exit, which are documented below.

For example:


plaidlink://connected
  ?public_token=test,chase,connected
  &account_id=QPO8Jo8vdDHMepg41PBwckXm4KdK1yUdmXOwK
  &account_name=Plaid%20Savings
  &institution_type=chase
  &institution_name=Chase

`connected` event

The connected event is analgous to the onSuccess callback and is sent when the user completes the Link flow. The following information is available from the querystring:

Field	Description
`public_token`	Link `public_token` which is exchanged for an API `access_token`. Should be stored for use with Link's update mode.
`account_id`	The ID of the account that was selected by the user.
`account_name`	The name of the account that was selected by the user.
`institution_type`	The institution type, such as `'bofa'`.
`institution_name`	The full institution name, such as `'Bank of America'`.

`exit` event

The exit event is analgous to the onExit callback and is sent when the user exits the Link flow. The following information is available from the querystring:

Field	Description
`status`	The user's status in the Link flow when they exited. See the possible values.
`error_code`	The Plaid API error code that the user encountered.
`error_message`	The Plaid API error message that the user encountered.
`institution_type`	The institution type, such as `'bofa'`.
`institution_name`	The full institution name, such as `'Bank of America'`.
`link_request_id`	The Link request ID. This can be shared with Plaid Support to expedite investigation.
`plaid_api_request_id`	The Plaid API request ID. This can be shared with Plaid Support to expedite investigation.

WebView examples

To get your Link WebView integration started, check out our example apps, available for iOS and Android.

Each example app is runnable (on both simulators and devices) and includes code to initialize Link and process events sent from Link to your app via HTTP redirects.

Expansion

Plaid Link is currently a web-only integration. Plaid Link will offer native iOS and Android bindings in the coming months.

Support and questions

Find answers to many common integration questions and concerns at our Help Center.

If you're still stuck, open a ticket with information describing the issue that you're experiencing and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.

Examples

Check out our code samples and community-contributed resources to kickstart your Plaid Link integration!

Client Libraries

Link provides a drop-in HTML snippet for the client-side integration but does requires a server-side handler to coordinate exchanging a Link public_token for a Plaid access_token via the /exchange_token endpoint.

The /exchange_token endpoint is integrated into each of our client libraries. Check out some examples:

Sum App

We built Sum to demonstrate a sample Link client and server-side integration using our client libraries. Check out the source code in the language or framework of your choice:

Each implementation has a complete README with instructions for running the app locally!

Community Resources

React component, by @pbernasconi
Ember component, by @jasonkriss
Angular component, by @csbarnes
Example Angular/Ionic app, by @pbernasconi
Example Elm app, by @jdudek

Introduction

Glossary

The public_key

The public_token

Getting started

Step 1: Get your public_key

Step 2: Simple integration

Step 3: Custom integration

Step 4: Write server-side handler

Step 5: Test with sandbox credentials

For simple integrations:

For custom integrations:

Updating existing accounts

Test update mode with sandbox tokens

Reference

/exchange_token Endpoint

Simple integration

Custom integration

onSuccess callback

onExit callback

exit() function

Security

Browser support

Desktop

Mobile

WebView integration

Communication between Link and your app

connected event

exit event

WebView examples

Expansion

Support and questions

Examples

Client Libraries

Sum App

Community Resources

`connected` event

`exit` event