Anaplan

Anaplan is a cloud-based business planning and performance management platform. The Anaplan connector enables you to interact with Anaplan models, workspaces, and data actions via the Anaplan REST API, allowing you to extract data, run export actions, and manage Anaplan resources programmatically.

Power end-to-end data operations for your Anaplan API with Nexla. Our bi-directional Anaplan connector is purpose-built for Anaplan, making it simple to ingest data, sync it across systems, and deliver it anywhere — all with no coding required. Nexla turns API-sourced data into ready-to-use, reusable data products and makes it easy to send data to Anaplan or any other destination. With comprehensive monitoring, lineage tracking, and access controls, Nexla keeps your Anaplan workflows fast, secure, and fully governed.

Features

Type: API

SourceDestination

• Seamless API Integration: Connect to any endpoint as source or destination without coding, with automatic data product creation
• Visual Composition & Chaining: Build complex integrations using visual templates, chain API calls, and compose workflows with data validation and filtering
• API Proxy: Expose curated slices of your data securely with a secure and customizable API proxy that validates and transforms data on the fly
• Request optimization with intelligent batching, retry, and caching to minimize API calls and costs

Prerequisites

Before creating an Anaplan credential, you'll need to obtain a JWT access token from the Anaplan authentication API. The Anaplan API uses Bearer token authentication with JWT access tokens obtained through Base64-encoded credential authentication.

Anaplan Account Setup

To obtain the required access token for Anaplan:

1. Sign in to Anaplan: Navigate to https://anaplan.com/ and sign in to your Anaplan account. If you don't have an account, you'll need to contact Anaplan to set up an account.

2. Obtain Credentials: You'll need your Anaplan username and password. These are the same credentials you use to sign in to the Anaplan web application.

3. Generate Access Token: The Anaplan API requires a JWT access token for authentication. To obtain this token:

   • Make a POST request to https://auth.anaplan.com/token/authenticate
   • Include your Anaplan username and password encoded in Base64 format in the Authorization header
   • The format should be: Authorization: Basic {base64(username:password)}
   • The API will return a JWT access token in the response

4. Extract Access Token: From the authentication response, extract the JWT access token. This token will be used for all subsequent API requests to Anaplan.

Anaplan access tokens are JWT tokens that authenticate API requests. The tokens are obtained by authenticating with Base64-encoded credentials. Access tokens may expire, so you may need to refresh them periodically. For complete information about Anaplan API authentication, see the Anaplan API Documentation.

API Access Requirements

Anaplan API access requires:

• Valid Anaplan Account: You must have an active Anaplan account with appropriate permissions
• JWT Access Token: A token obtained from the Anaplan authentication API
• Workspace Access: The access token must have permissions to access the workspaces and models you want to interact with

The Anaplan API uses Bearer token authentication, where the JWT access token is sent in the Authorization header with the format Bearer {token}. All API requests must use HTTPS.

For complete information about Anaplan API authentication and getting started, see the Anaplan API Documentation.

Authenticate

Credentials required

Authenticate with Anaplan using Base64-encoded credentials to retrieve a Bearer token for API access.

Field	Required	Secret	Description
Anaplan JWT Access Token	Yes	Yes	JWT Access token retrieved from the Anaplan authentication API.

Create a credential in Nexla

1. After selecting the data source/destination type, click the Add Credential tile to open the Add New Credential overlay.

New Credential Overlay – Anaplan

2. Enter a name for the credential in the Credential Name field and a short, meaningful description in the Credential Description field.

3. Enter your Anaplan JWT access token in the Anaplan JWT Access Token field. This is the token obtained from the Anaplan authentication API (https://auth.anaplan.com/token/authenticate). The token is used in the Authorization header as Bearer {token} for all API requests.

   The JWT access token is sensitive information that should be kept secure. Nexla will store this credential securely and use it only for API authentication purposes. The token is sent in the Authorization header as Bearer {token} for all Anaplan API requests. If your token expires, you'll need to obtain a new token and update the credential.

4. Click the Save button at the bottom of the overlay. The newly added credential will now appear in a tile on the Authenticate screen during data source/destination creation.

Use as a data source

The Anaplan connector enables you to ingest data from Anaplan models, workspaces, and export actions, allowing you to extract planning data, retrieve model information, and export data from Anaplan. This connector is particularly useful for applications that need to extract planning data, sync Anaplan data to other systems, or analyze business planning information.

To create a new data flow, navigate to the Integrate section, and click the New Data Flow button. Select the Anaplan connector tile, then select the credential that will be used to connect to the Anaplan instance, and click Next; or, create a new Anaplan credential for use in this flow.

Endpoint templates

Nexla provides pre-built templates that can be used to rapidly configure data sources to ingest data from common Anaplan endpoints. Select the endpoint from which this source will fetch data from the Endpoint pulldown menu. Available endpoint templates are listed in the expandable boxes below.

List Workspaces

This endpoint retrieves all accessible Anaplan workspaces. Use this endpoint when you need to discover available workspaces, analyze workspace structure, or build dynamic workflows that operate on multiple workspaces.

• Enter a schedule in the Schedule field to specify when this data source should run. The schedule uses cron expression format (e.g., 0 6 * * * for daily at 6 AM). The default is 0 0 * * * (daily at midnight).
• The endpoint returns workspace metadata including workspace IDs, names, and access information.

This endpoint is useful for discovering available workspaces before configuring more specific endpoints. The returned data includes workspace IDs that can be used as input for other Anaplan endpoints. For complete information about listing workspaces, see the Anaplan List Workspaces API Documentation.

List Models

This endpoint retrieves models within a specific workspace. Use this endpoint when you need to discover available models, analyze model structure, or build workflows that operate on multiple models.

• Enter the Workspace ID in the Workspace ID field. You can find this ID by using the "List Workspaces" endpoint first to retrieve available workspaces and their corresponding IDs.
• Enter a schedule in the Schedule field to specify when this data source should run. The schedule uses cron expression format.
• The endpoint returns model metadata including model IDs, names, and configuration information.

Workspace IDs are unique identifiers for each Anaplan workspace. You can find workspace IDs by using the "List Workspaces" endpoint first. Model information includes details about planning models within the workspace. For complete information about listing models, see the Anaplan List Models Documentation.

List Export Actions

This endpoint retrieves defined export actions in a model. Use this endpoint when you need to discover available export actions, analyze export configurations, or build workflows that trigger specific exports.

• Enter the Workspace ID in the Workspace ID field. You can find this ID by using the "List Workspaces" endpoint first.
• Enter the Model ID in the Model ID field. You can find this ID by using the "List Models" endpoint first to retrieve available models and their corresponding IDs.
• Enter a schedule in the Schedule field to specify when this data source should run. The schedule uses cron expression format.
• The endpoint returns export action metadata including export IDs, names, and configuration details.

Export actions are predefined data export configurations in Anaplan models. This endpoint returns information about all export actions available in a specific model. For complete information about listing export actions, see the Anaplan Perform Export Action Documentation.

Run Export Action

This endpoint triggers a configured export action in an Anaplan model. Use this endpoint when you need to execute export actions, extract data from models, or automate data exports from Anaplan.

• Enter the Workspace ID in the Workspace ID field. You can find this ID by using the "List Workspaces" endpoint first.
• Enter the Model ID in the Model ID field. You can find this ID by using the "List Models" endpoint first.
• Enter the Export ID in the Export ID field. You can find this ID by using the "List Export Actions" endpoint first to retrieve available export actions and their corresponding IDs.
• Enter the Locale in the Locale field (e.g., en_US). This specifies the locale for the export action.
• Enter a schedule in the Schedule field to specify when this data source should run. The schedule uses cron expression format.
• The endpoint triggers the export action and returns a task ID that can be used to check the export status.

Export actions must be configured in Anaplan before they can be executed via the API. The endpoint returns a task ID that can be used with the "Get Export Task Status" endpoint to monitor export progress. For complete information about running export actions, see the Anaplan Perform Export Action Documentation.

Get Export Task Status

This endpoint polls export task progress and status. Use this endpoint when you need to monitor export task execution, check export completion, or track export progress.

• Enter the Workspace ID in the Workspace ID field. You can find this ID by using the "List Workspaces" endpoint first.
• Enter the Model ID in the Model ID field. You can find this ID by using the "List Models" endpoint first.
• Enter the Export ID in the Export ID field. You can find this ID by using the "List Export Actions" endpoint first.
• Enter the Task ID in the Task ID field. This ID is returned when you run an export action using the "Run Export Action" endpoint.
• Enter a schedule in the Schedule field to specify when this data source should run. The schedule uses cron expression format.
• The endpoint returns task status information including progress, completion status, and any errors that occurred.

Task IDs are returned when running export actions. This endpoint allows you to monitor the progress of export tasks and determine when exports are complete. For complete information about getting export task status, see the Anaplan Get Export Task Status Documentation.

Once the selected endpoint template has been configured, click the Test button to the right of the endpoint selection menu to retrieve a sample of the data that will be fetched. Sample data will be displayed in the Endpoint Test Result panel on the right, allowing you to verify that the source is configured correctly before saving.

Manual configuration

Anaplan data sources can also be manually configured to ingest data from any valid Anaplan API endpoint, including endpoints not covered by the pre-built templates, chained API calls, or custom request parameters. Select the Advanced tab at the top of the configuration screen, and follow the instructions in Connect to Any API to configure the API method, endpoint URL, path to data, request headers, and ingestion schedule.

Anaplan API URLs typically follow the format https://api.anaplan.com/2/0/workspaces for workspace operations, or https://api.anaplan.com/2/0/workspaces/{workspaceId}/models for model operations. Replace {workspaceId} and other path parameters with actual identifiers. Use the GET method for retrieving data (most common for Anaplan data sources) and POST for triggering actions like export operations.

The response data path varies by endpoint: use $.workspaces[*] for workspace list responses, $.models[*] for model list responses, and $.exportActions[*] for export action responses. You do not need to include authentication headers (Authorization: Bearer {token}) as these are automatically included from your credentials, but the Content-Type header should be set to application/json for most Anaplan API requests. For complete information about Anaplan API endpoints and response formats, see the Anaplan API Documentation.

Once all of the relevant settings have been configured, click the Create button in the upper right corner of the screen to save and create the new Anaplan data source. Nexla will now begin ingesting data from the configured endpoint and will organize any data that it finds into one or more Nexsets.