CIPHR (via Apideck)

Access CIPHR through Apideck's HRIS unified API — one of 58 HRIS connectors that share the same method surface. Code you write here ports to BambooHR, Workday, Deel and 54 other HRIS connectors by changing a single serviceId string. Apideck handles auth, pagination, rate limiting, and retries so you don't write per-tenant CIPHR plumbing.

Beta connector. CIPHR is currently in beta on Apideck. Expect partial resource coverage and occasional mapping gaps. Always verify coverage (see below) and fall back to the Proxy API for unsupported operations.

Quick facts

• Apideck serviceId: ciphr
• Unified API: HRIS
• Auth type: apiKey
• Status: beta
• Gotchas: page
• CIPHR docs: https://www.ciphr.com
• Homepage: https://www.ciphr.com/

When to use this skill

Activate this skill when the user explicitly wants to work with CIPHR — for example, "sync employees in CIPHR" or "list time-off requests in CIPHR". This skill teaches the agent:

1. Which Apideck unified API covers CIPHR (HRIS)
2. The correct serviceId to pass on every call (ciphr)
3. CIPHR-specific auth and coverage caveats

For the full method surface (parameters, pagination, filtering), use your language SDK skill:

• apideck-node, apideck-python, apideck-dotnet, apideck-java, apideck-go, apideck-php, or apideck-rest

For the raw OpenAPI spec:

• HRIS: https://specs.apideck.com/hris.yml · API Explorer

Minimal example (TypeScript)

import { Apideck } from "@apideck/unify";

const apideck = new Apideck({
  apiKey: process.env.APIDECK_API_KEY,
  appId: process.env.APIDECK_APP_ID,
  consumerId: "your-consumer-id",
});

// List employees in CIPHR
const { data } = await apideck.hris.employees.list({
  serviceId: "ciphr",
});

Portable across 58 HRIS connectors

The Apideck HRIS unified API exposes the same methods for every connector in its catalog. Switching from CIPHR to another HRIS connector is a one-string change — no rewrite, no new SDK.

// Today — CIPHR
await apideck.hris.employees.list({ serviceId: "ciphr" });

// Tomorrow — same code, different connector
await apideck.hris.employees.list({ serviceId: "bamboohr" });
await apideck.hris.employees.list({ serviceId: "workday" });

This is the compounding advantage of using Apideck over integrating CIPHR directly: code against the unified HRIS API once, gain access to every connector in it. New connectors Apideck adds become available to your app without code changes.

Authentication

• Type: API Key
• Managed by: Apideck Vault — the user pastes their CIPHR API key into the Vault modal; Apideck stores it encrypted and injects it on every request.
• Rotation: if the user rotates their key, they re-enter it in Vault. No code changes needed.

See apideck-best-practices for Vault setup, connection lifecycle, and handling re-auth flows.

Verifying coverage

Not every HRIS operation is supported by every connector. Always verify before assuming a method works:

curl 'https://unify.apideck.com/connector/connectors/ciphr' \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${APIDECK_API_KEY}" \
  -H "x-apideck-app-id: ${APIDECK_APP_ID}"

See apideck-connector-coverage for patterns around UnsupportedOperationError and connector-specific fallbacks.

Escape hatch: Proxy API

When an endpoint isn't covered by the HRIS unified API, use Apideck's Proxy to call CIPHR directly — Apideck injects auth headers and handles token refresh. Set x-apideck-downstream-url to the target endpoint on CIPHR's own API:

curl 'https://unify.apideck.com/proxy' \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${APIDECK_API_KEY}" \
  -H "x-apideck-app-id: ${APIDECK_APP_ID}" \
  -H "x-apideck-consumer-id: ${CONSUMER_ID}" \
  -H "x-apideck-service-id: ciphr" \
  -H "x-apideck-downstream-url: <target endpoint on CIPHR>" \
  -H "x-apideck-downstream-method: GET"

See CIPHR's API docs for available endpoints.

Sibling connectors

Other HRIS connectors that share this unified API surface (same method signatures, just change serviceId):

bamboohr, workday, deel (beta), hibob, personio, adp-ihcm (beta), adp-workforce-now (beta), paychex (beta), and 49 more.

See also

• HRIS OpenAPI spec · API Explorer
• apideck-connector-coverage — programmatic coverage checks
• apideck-best-practices — architecture, Vault, pagination, error handling
• apideck-node — TypeScript / Node SDK patterns
• CIPHR official docs