Retrieving Custom Fields via Ashby’s user.info API endpoint
Retrieving custom fields allows you to pull updated People Ops custom fields on demand, supplement webhook payloads, and power downstream systems that depend on Ashby as a source of truth.
This article explains how to retrieve employee custom fields from Ashby People Ops using the user.info application programming interface (API) endpoint.
Ashby's People Ops module is currently available through restricted early access. The following documentation is provided for design partners participating in that program.
Permissions and access
Organization Admins in Ashby Recruiting can create and manage API keys in the API Keys page within Admin. The API key must have permission to access user data for the user.info endpoint to return results.
Generate an API key
For step-by-step instructions, see How do I generate an API key? . For additional technical details, see Ashby's API Documentation.
Retrieve custom fields
You can retrieve custom fields stored on the employee profile in Ashby People Ops via the user.info endpoint.
When making a request, you must pass an additional parameter called includeCustomFields.
Finding the user ID
The user.info endpoint requires a userId. If you do not already have this value, you can retrieve it by calling the user.search endpoint and providing the employee's email address. The response returns the corresponding userId, which you can then use in subsequent user.info requests.
Request example
{
"userId": "a6366ae1-e244-4817-8ff1-6ebb0b3afdc2",
"includeCustomFields": true
}Response example
{
"success": true,
"results": {
"id": "a6366ae1-e244-4817-8ff1-6ebb0b3afdc2",
"firstName": "Aaron",
"lastName": "Jimenez",
"email": "[email protected]",
"globalRole": "Limited Access",
"isEnabled": true,
"updatedAt": "2025-08-05T10:29:42.375Z",
"managerId": "7f1fa8f5-1482-4aff-8b1b-c9bd0770518d",
"customFields": [
{
"id": "0fcdd048-7a23-43ab-a5ea-59eabd5ed34d",
"isPrivate": false,
"title": "Home Department",
"value": "102000",
"valueLabel": "Engineering"
}
]
}
}By default, the response contains custom fields stored on the employee profile in Ashby People Ops.
FAQ
When does it make sense to use the user.info API endpoint?
While Ashby's People Ops Workflow Steps: Webhooks allow you to receive data when set conditions are met within a workflow (for instance, a dependency is met and Ashby triggers the webhook event), you can use the user.info endpoint to pull data whenever you need it.
This allows you to validate the webhook payload. For instance, Ashby's own information technology (IT) team triggers a webhook event to Okta when a new hire is enrolled in an onboarding workflow, sets this new hire as a "pending" user profile, and then polls the user.info endpoint regularly, filling in information as it is updated in Ashby. Once all required fields are populated, Okta marks the user as active and stops polling Ashby.