The Use credentials block is a crucial tool for automating websites that require user authentication. It works by loading a stored set of browser cookies into the AI agent’s session, effectively “logging it in” before it visits a website. This block does not handle the login process itself (typing a username/password). Instead, it uses a pre-existing, valid session that you have saved as a credential.

Purpose

Use the Use credentials block to:
  • Automate actions on pages that are behind a login wall (e.g., dashboards, profile pages, account settings).
  • Scrape data that is only visible to logged-in users.
  • Perform actions on behalf of a specific user account.

Prerequisites: Creating a Credential Store

Before you can use this block, you must create a “credential store” by exporting your browser cookies and uploading them to Jsonify.
  1. Export Cookies: Log into the target website in your browser. Use a browser extension like “Get cookies.txt LOCALLY” to export your session cookies as a cookies.txt file.
  2. Create Store in Jsonify: Navigate to the Integrations ➙ Website Credentials section in your Jsonify dashboard.
  3. Upload Cookies: Create a new credential store, give it a memorable name (e.g., “Pinterest Account”), and upload your cookies.txt file to it.
For a detailed guide, see the Handling Authentication with Cookies page.

Configuration

The block itself has only one configuration option:
  1. Credential Store Dropdown:
    • This is a dropdown menu that lists all of the website credential stores you have created.
    • Simply select the name of the credential store you wish to use for this workflow (e.g., “Pinterest”).
Screenshot: Set website credentials block showing a dropdown with 'Pinterest' selected

Screenshot: Set website credentials block showing a dropdown with 'Pinterest' selected.

How It Works

  1. The Use credentials block should be placed at the beginning of your workflow, before any navigation blocks like Open Websites.
  2. When the workflow runs, this block loads the cookies from the selected credential store into the AI agent’s browser instance.
  3. When a subsequent Open Websites block navigates to a URL for the same domain (e.g., pinterest.com), the browser will present these cookies, and the website will recognize the agent as being logged in.
  4. The agent can then access and interact with pages that require authentication.

Example: Scraping Your Private Pinterest Boards

  1. Set website credentials Block:
    • This is the first block in the workflow.
    • Select “Pinterest” from the dropdown menu.
  2. Open Websites Block (added next):
    • URL: Enter the direct URL to your private “Saved” tab (e.g., https://www.pinterest.com/YOUR_USERNAME/saved/).
  3. Extract Data Block (added next):
    • Configure it to extract the names of your private boards from the page.
  • Result: The workflow will successfully run. The agent uses your stored credentials to authenticate, access the private page, and extract the data. Without the Use credentials block, this would fail.

Key Considerations

  • Placement is Crucial: This block must come before any Open Websites or other navigation blocks that visit the authenticated site.
  • Cookie Expiration: Cookies have a limited lifespan. If your workflow suddenly starts failing with authentication errors, your stored session has likely expired. You will need to re-export a new cookies.txt file and upload it to the same credential store to update it.
  • Security: This method is secure. Your cookies are encrypted and managed centrally in the credential store, not exposed in the workflow itself.