Mastering the 7shifts API: The Complete Developer's Handbook

by Martyn Davies

Hey there, developer friends! 👋 7shifts is a restaurant management platform that makes workforce management simple in the food service industry. The 7shifts API connects your systems with this platform, creating automation opportunities and making your operations run smoother.

Built on RESTful principles with OAuth 2.0 authentication, the 7shifts API welcomes developers, system admins, and technical project managers who need to connect restaurant management systems. Let's face it—those time-consuming processes that eat up management resources? They're begging to be automated, and that's exactly what this API helps you do.

When you integrate with the 7shifts API, you'll get seamless data flow between existing tools, automation of routine tasks, and customization options tailored to your operations. This API shines for restaurants with multiple locations that need consistent operations and centralized management, allowing you to create and modify schedules, track time punches, manage tips, and enable team communication.

Real-world examples like Black Rock Coffee Bar and Halal Guys demonstrate the practical value of 7shifts' integration capabilities for improving labor management and tracking attendance.

Understanding the 7shifts API Architecture#

The 7shifts API follows a RESTful API design with developer-friendly patterns and standard conventions. Its architecture includes:

API Versioning#

The current version is v2, reflected in all API endpoints, ensuring backward compatibility as features evolve. For developers concerned about transitioning API versions, it's important to monitor updates and plan accordingly.

Production vs. Sandbox Environments#

• Production Environment: Live environment with real user data and rate limits
• Sandbox Environment: A testing environment with mock data, mirroring production features, allowing you to set up a sandbox environment for safe testing.

Rate Limiting#

The 7shifts API allows 10 requests per second per access token. Exceeding this limit returns a 429 HTTP status code, so implementing retry mechanisms with exponential backoff is recommended. Understanding and implementing effective API rate limiting strategies is crucial to ensure compliance with these limits and prevent disruption to your service.

URL Structure#

All endpoints follow a consistent pattern:

https://api.7shifts.com/v2/{endpoint}

Data Format and HTTP Methods#

The API uses JSON exclusively for data exchange and supports standard HTTP methods (GET, POST, PUT/PATCH, DELETE). Authentication requires including your token in the Authorization header using Bearer format.

Authentication and Security#

The 7shifts API uses OAuth 2.0 for authentication, providing secure access to resources without exposing credentials.

Getting API Credentials#

1. Register your application in the 7shifts Developer Portal
2. Receive a Client ID and Client Secret
3. Store these credentials securely

Implementing OAuth 2.0#

The authentication flow involves:

1. Redirecting users to the authorization endpoint
2. Receiving an authorization code
3. Exchanging the code for an access token
4. Using the token for API requests

Following these steps ensures a secure implementation of the OAuth 2.0 protocol. For more in-depth OAuth 2.0 practices, consider reviewing best practices for API authentication.

Token Expiration and Refresh#

Access tokens expire after one hour. Store refresh tokens securely and use them to obtain new access tokens without requiring users to re-authenticate.

Security Best Practices#

1. Secure credential storage using environment variables or secrets management
2. Always use HTTPS
3. Request only necessary OAuth scopes
4. Handle rate limiting gracefully
5. Protect tokens in transit and at rest
6. Implement PKCE for additional security
7. Set secure cookies when storing tokens in browsers

While OAuth 2.0 is a widely adopted authentication method, it's important to be aware of OAuth 2.0 and alternatives to choose the best approach for your application. Protecting your API keys is paramount to maintaining security. For more information on protecting API keys, consider implementing secure storage and handling practices.

Core API Endpoints and Resources#

The 7shifts API provides several key endpoints for restaurant management:

User and Staff Management#

Scheduling Endpoints#

With these scheduling endpoints, you can build custom API integrations that tailor the scheduling functionality to your specific operational needs.

Shifts and Time Tracking#

Department and Location Endpoints#

Manage organizational structure with endpoints for departments and locations, particularly useful for businesses with multiple locations.

Tip Management and Webhooks#

The API includes endpoints for tip pooling/distribution and supports webhooks for real-time notifications when events like shift changes occur.

API Integration Tutorials#

POS System Integration#

Connecting the 7shifts API with your Point of Sale system syncs sales data with scheduling, enabling smarter staffing decisions based on actual sales patterns.

Implementation Steps:#

1. Authentication Setup: Authenticate using OAuth 2.0
2. Sync Menu Items: Match sales data with labor costs
3. Employee Data Matching: Create a system to identify employees across platforms
4. Sales Data Synchronization: Set up regular data syncing between systems

By focusing on usability and consistency in your integration, you can significantly improve both functionality and maintainability. For tips on enhancing API developer experience, consider best practices that make your API more developer-friendly.

Common Challenges:#

• Data discrepancies from voided transactions and refunds
• Time zone differences affecting data alignment
• API rate limiting requiring exponential backoff

Payroll Integration#

Connecting the 7shifts API with payroll systems eliminates manual data entry and reduces errors.

Implementation Steps:#

1. Extract time tracking data using the time punches endpoint
2. Calculate hours accounting for regular time, overtime, and special cases
3. Transform data to match your payroll system's requirements
4. Set up automatic syncing to keep systems aligned

Advanced API Usage#

The 7shifts API offers powerful features for optimizing operations:

Bulk Operations#

Perform actions on multiple records at once, reducing API calls and processing time. One restaurant group with 150 locations used bulk operations to update employee roles across all branches in under an hour, cutting administrative time by 75%.

Webhooks for Real-time Updates#

Receive instant notifications when specific events occur:

POST /webhooks
{
  "event_type": "shift.swap",
  "target_url": "https://your-application.com/webhooks/shifts",
  "secret": "your_webhook_secret"
}

Data Filtering and Pagination#

Filter large datasets effectively:

GET /employees?location_id=12345
GET /shifts?start_date=2023-09-01&end_date=2023-09-30
GET /employees?limit=50&offset=100

Performance Optimization#

1. Cache frequently accessed data
2. Batch related operations
3. Implement exponential backoff for rate limits
4. Use conditional requests to avoid retrieving unchanged data

Error Handling and Troubleshooting#

Common HTTP Status Codes#

The 7shifts API uses standard HTTP status codes:

• 200/201: Success
• 400: Invalid request
• 401: Authentication failed
• 403: Insufficient permissions
• 404: Resource not found
• 429: Rate limit exceeded (10 requests per second)
• 500: Server error

Error Response Format#

{
  "error": {
    "code": "rate_limit_exceeded",
    "message": "Rate limit has been exceeded. Please retry after 60 seconds.",
    "request_id": "abc123xyz"
  }
}

Handling Common Issues#

Authentication Failures#

Implement token refresh logic when receiving 401 errors.

Rate Limit Exceptions#

When encountering rate limit errors, it's essential to understand best practices for handling API rate limits to ensure your application remains robust. Use exponential backoff when receiving 429 errors:

async function apiRequestWithRetry(endpoint, accessToken, maxRetries = 3) {
  let retries = 0;
  
  while (retries < maxRetries) {
    try {
      // API request code
      
      if (response.status === 429) {
        const delay = Math.pow(2, retries) * 500;
        await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, delay));
        retries++;
        continue;
      }
      
      return await response.json();
    } catch (error) {
      throw error;
    }
  }
  
  throw new Error('Maximum retry attempts reached');
}

Webhook Reliability#

Implement verification and asynchronous processing for webhook payloads.

Real-world Implementation Case Studies#

Restaurant Chain Scheduling Automation#

A mid-sized restaurant chain with 20 locations built a custom scheduling system using the 7shifts API to automate staff allocation based on sales data.

Technical Implementation:

• Created middleware connecting POS sales forecasts to 7shifts scheduling endpoints
• Implemented webhooks for real-time shift notifications
• Built business rules for automatic staffing adjustments

Business Impact:

• 9% reduction in labor costs
• 40% decrease in scheduling time
• 22% improvement in staff satisfaction
• $120,000 annual savings from optimized labor

Custom Reporting Dashboard#

A large hospitality group implemented a custom reporting dashboard using the 7shifts API to consolidate labor data across 35 locations.

Technical Approach:

• Built a data pipeline extracting scheduling information
• Implemented aggregation routines combining data from multiple endpoints
• Created visualization components for labor metrics

Results:

• Provided executives with consolidated insights
• Reduced labor costs by 7%
• Identified $200,000 in annual staffing optimizations
• Improved forecast accuracy by 15%

API Status and Support#

Stay informed about the 7shifts API through their official API status page, which shows current availability, incidents, and maintenance windows.

Support Resources#

• Developer Documentation: The comprehensive developer docs should be your first stop
• Email Support: Available for technical questions
• Developer Community: Connect with other developers for shared solutions

When reporting issues, provide detailed information including endpoints, requests, responses, and expected behavior.

Exploring 7shifts API Alternatives#

While the 7shifts API offers comprehensive restaurant workforce management capabilities, several alternatives exist for different needs:

• Deputy: Offers robust scheduling, time tracking, and team communication features. Their API documentation is available through their Partner Program.
• Toast: While primarily a POS system, Toast offers scheduling and labor management capabilities with API access through their developer portal.
• Lightspeed Restaurant: Provides restaurant POS and management tools with API documentation.
• Square: Offers restaurant management tools, including scheduling, with API capabilities.

Each alternative presents different tradeoffs in terms of feature depth, geographic focus, integration capabilities, and pricing models.

7shifts Pricing#

7shifts offers several pricing tiers to cater to different types of restaurants, each designed to meet the specific needs of your business. Whether you're managing a single-location restaurant or a growing chain, 7shifts has an option that provides the tools you need for workforce management and operational efficiency.

• Comp: This plan is ideal for small, single-location restaurants that need the basics for scheduling and team communication. It includes features like scheduling, time-off and availability management, team chat, and basic time tracking tools.

• Entrée: Perfect for teams that need more advanced scheduling and time tracking options, this tier adds powerful tools like schedule templates, unlimited scheduling, labor budgeting, and reporting. It also comes with sales forecasting and enhanced team communication features.

• The Works: For larger operations or those that need more robust features, this plan includes all the capabilities of the previous tiers, with additional tools for labor compliance, advanced budgeting, payroll integration, and detailed reporting. It also offers alerts for overtime and clock-in issues, making it easier to stay on top of labor costs and compliance.

• Gourmet: Designed for large, multi-location businesses or those that need deeper integration with other systems, this tier includes everything in The Works plan, along with features like task management, employee onboarding, and advanced business insights. It also provides dedicated account management and auto-scheduling tools to optimize labor and staffing.

For more information on 7shifts' pricing structure and to explore which tier is right for your business, visit 7shifts pricing page.

Wrapping Up: Transform Your Restaurant Operations with the 7shifts API#

The 7shifts API offers powerful integration capabilities for restaurants seeking to automate workforce management and connect critical business systems. By leveraging its RESTful architecture and comprehensive endpoint suite, developers can create seamless connections between scheduling, payroll, POS systems, and other operational tools.

Through real-world implementations, we've seen how the API delivers tangible benefits: reduced labor costs, decreased administrative overhead, and improved staff satisfaction. The robust authentication, error handling, and webhook capabilities provide a solid foundation for building reliable integrations that scale with your business.

Whether you're managing a single location or a multi-location restaurant group, the 7shifts API presents opportunities to transform manual processes into efficient, data-driven operations. As you build your integration strategy, consider using Zuplo to secure and manage your API integrations. Zuplo can help you maintain performance, enforce security, and gain visibility into your API usage patterns. Try it out for free!