Note: This integration is available on Enterprise plans.
The Kaleidoscope API lets you connect your own systems directly to your Kaleidoscope account, so you can pull applicant, program, and account data into your own reporting tools, dashboards, or systems of record. It's primarily read-only — you can retrieve data like applications, forms, review results, disbursements, and audit history — with one exception: you can also update custom contact fields for Scholar Relationship Management (SRM) contacts.
In this article, we'll cover:
Generating an API key
Making your first request
What you can read (and where you can write)
Rate limits
Getting your API key
Confirm your account is eligible — the API is limited to certain plan tiers (see note above).
From Account Settings, go to API Subscriptions.
Generate a new key. Your key is shown once at creation — copy and store it securely. It can't be retrieved again, so if you lose it, you'll need to revoke it and generate a new one.
Share the key with the developer or vendor building your integration. Every API request must include this key; requests without a valid key are rejected.
Note: Admins can revoke and regenerate a key at any time from the same API Subscriptions page. Regenerating immediately invalidates the old key, so coordinate with your integration team before doing this. Key generation, revocation, and regeneration are all logged in your account's Audit Trail.
Making your first request
Full endpoint documentation, including request and response formats, lives at public-api.mykaleidoscope.com/docs — use it to browse available endpoints and test requests directly.
[SCREENSHOT: API documentation portal homepage]
Note: Requests that are missing a key or use an invalid one are rejected. Refer to the documentation portal for the exact format your key needs to be sent in.
What you can do with the API
Most endpoints are read-only: applications, form definitions, review board results, disbursement records, the audit log, and account configuration.
Custom SRM contact fields are the one area with write access — you can update these values via the API in addition to reading them.
API requests are rate-limited per key to keep the platform stable for all customers; limits vary by account tier. If you exceed your limit, the response tells you when you can retry.
Common Questions
What can I do with the Kaleidoscope API?
Mostly pull data out — applications, form definitions, review board results, disbursements, audit history, and account configuration. The one write capability is updating custom SRM contact fields.
Is the API available on my plan?
It's limited to certain plan tiers. Check with your account team to confirm your eligibility.
Can I create or update records with the API?
Only custom SRM contact fields can be updated via the API today. Everything else is read-only.
What happens if I lose my API key?
You can't retrieve a lost key. Revoke it from API Subscriptions and generate a new one — just update your integration with the new key right away, since the old one stops working immediately.
What happens if I exceed the rate limit?
You'll get a response indicating you've hit the limit, along with when you can try again.
Is there a sandbox or test environment?
No — there isn't a separate test environment. Test requests against your live account using the documentation portal.