Use this reference when you know the authentication method required by an external API and need to choose the matching Payloads Credential type.

Credentials are reusable records. A Payload references one Credential, and Payloads uses that Credential when building the outbound request.

API Key stores a header name and header value. Use it when the API expects a fixed key in a request header. See Configure API Key Credentials.

Basic Authentication stores a username and password. Payloads generates the standard Authorization header from those values. See Configure Basic Authentication Credentials.

Bearer Token stores token details and links to a generated Credential Payload for token refresh configuration. Payloads generates the bearer Authorization header. See Configure Bearer Token Credentials.

Custom stores either a custom header or a custom URL parameter. Use it for authentication schemes that do not fit the other types. See Configure Custom Credentials.

Certificate stores a Salesforce certificate name. Use it when the external API requires certificate authentication for the outbound call. See Configure Certificate Credentials.

API Key uses Header Name and Header Value.

Basic Authentication uses Username and Password.

Bearer Token uses Client Id, Client Secret, Access Token, Refresh Token, Access Token Duration in Minutes, and Token Payload.

Custom uses Placement. Header placement uses Header Name and Header Value. Parameter placement uses Parameter Name and Parameter Value.

Certificate uses Certificate Name.

Header placement adds a request header when Payloads sends the outbound call.

Parameter placement adds a query string parameter to the outbound request URL.

Certificate authentication applies the named Salesforce certificate to the outbound callout rather than adding a header or parameter.

After saving a Credential, review the generated output on the Credential record.

For header-based Credentials, check Generated Headers.

For parameter-based Custom Credentials, check Generated Parameters.

For Bearer Token Credentials, open the Token Payload to confirm the token request, response body, and Data Target mappings.

For certificate Credentials, confirm the Certificate Name matches the Salesforce certificate Unique Name exactly.

For the end-to-end setup flow, see Credentials Overview.