SFTP User Sync

Using SSH File Transfer Protocol to sync user information

Updated over a week ago

At this time, User Provisioning is only available to organizations on our Enterprise tier. Please email support at support@joinblink.com for more information.

We at Blink are able to set up an SFTP server where you can upload files (.csv or .xlsx). Whenever a new file is uploaded to your server, we will apply the changes in said file to all impacted users in Blink.

This sync will only pick up the changes in the file and will not assume changes. For example, if the initial sync is done with 1,000 people and the subsequent sync is done with 50, it will not assume that 950 users need to be disabled. Instead, it will only update the 50 people included in the file. If you need to disable users, be sure the file includes the user with the correct flag (eg. Active: false).

CSV/Excel File Specifications

When creating your file, we ask that you be aware of the following information:

  • All data must be on the first sheet of the document (any data on subsequent sheets is not parsed)

  • The first row of the sheet must contain the headers.

  • Headers should not contain any accents (e.g. “é”, “ö”, “í” etc.).

  • Headers can be in any format (eg. First Name, FirstName, First_Name, first_name etc) but they will always need to be the same after we have mapped against them. (They can be changed in the future but that will require some configuration changes).

Mappings

There are very few limitations on the mappings. We only require the following:

  • External ID

  • Username

  • Active status

The External ID and the Username can be whatever you like: (Eg. The External ID can be the same as the Employee ID and then Username can be unique or a combination of things (First Name + Second Name etc). The Active column can be mapped to whatever field you like but we will need a handle to go off (eg. is_terminated = false, active = true etc).

The other fields are optional and can be configured in any way you want (eg. Multiple fields with the same value, etc). We can also add customer logic to pull certain fields in when others are not present, such as populating the work phone if there is one or mobile phone if there isn't.

The following, if included, must be unique:

  • External ID

  • Username

  • Employee Number

  • Email

  • Mobile Phone

If the data for these fields is not entirely accurate and there are duplicates, it is better not to include them until the data is clean as it will cause the sync to fail for these users.

What information we'll need from you

  1. A copy of the export format that you will be uploading to the server. This can have real or fake data in it, however if you would like us to run a “dry sync” to check the quality of your data before the initial sync, then we will need real data. The most important however is the headers.

  2. What you would like to map to what. Here are the Blink fields, please fill in the others as required.

Blink Fields

Your Mappings

External ID

Username

Employee ID

Email

First Name

Second Name

Phone Mobile

Phone Work

Manager

Job Title

Location Name

Department Name

Company

Active

Start Employment Date

End Employment Date


💡 Ready to get started?

Send the requested information to us at support@joinblink.com and we'd be happy to help!

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