ashby integration guide

ATS integrations

Connecting Ashby to Colare

Three phases take you from an unconnected Ashby instance to scores landing on candidate profiles. The first is done once, by an Ashby admin. The second repeats each time you add the assessment to a job, and the third is the day-to-day loop your recruiters run for every candidate.

Phase 1

Connect

Swap two API keys between Colare and Ashby to open the connection.

Once · in Colare and Ashby

Phase 2

Add to a job

Add Colare as an activity on the interview-plan stage where the assessment belongs.

Per job · in Ashby

Phase 3

Send and score

Send the assessment and read the score on the candidate's page, without leaving Ashby.

Per candidate · in Ashby

What you'll need before you start

Access to Settings in your Colare account.
An Organizational Admin in Ashby: you're one if you can open the Admin tab. Ashby doesn't show who the admins are, so ask your IT team if you can't.
Colare and Ashby open side by side, since you'll copy two keys between them.

No support ticket. Unlike Greenhouse, Ashby needs nothing from its support team: Colare is already listed in Ashby's Integrations Marketplace, so an admin on your side can finish the whole connection.

1Connect Colare and Ashby

Setup starts in Colare's Settings and finishes in Ashby's Admin area. You'll move two keys: Colare's key into Ashby, and an Ashby key back into Colare. Done once, by an Ashby Organizational Admin.

Open the integrations settings

In the Colare platform, go to Settings → Integrations. The Ashby card sits under Applicant Tracking Systems, alongside Greenhouse.

The Colare platform on Settings → Integrations, with the Ashby and Greenhouse cards under Applicant Tracking Systems — Colare → Settings → Integrations. The Ashby card sits under Applicant Tracking Systems.

Click Connect on the Ashby card

The card switches to Connecting… and a connection window opens over the page.

Review the access Colare is requesting, then click Continue

The window lists what Colare will read from Ashby, for example Read jobs: “We can read your job data.” Read it, then click Continue.

Colare's Connect your Ashby account to Colare window, listing Read jobs access, with a Continue button — The permissions window inside Colare, showing the access Colare is requesting.

Copy the Colare API key

The window now shows two keys: a Colare API Key to add to Ashby, and an empty Ashby API Key field to fill in later. Click Copy next to the Colare API Key, and leave this window open.

Colare connection window showing the Colare API Key with a Copy control and the Ashby API Key section below — The connection window links straight to Ashby's Integrations Marketplace and API Keys sections. The key is blurred in this screenshot.

Open Colare in Ashby's Integrations Marketplace

In Ashby, go to Admin → Integrations → Marketplace and select Colare. The Integrations Marketplace link in the Colare window takes you straight there.

Colare is listed in Ashby's marketplace, so there's nothing to request from Ashby first.

Paste the key, test it, and save

Paste the Colare API Key into the integration configuration. Click the refresh button under the input box to check the key works (it reads Test API Key when you hover over it), then click Update to save.

Ashby Colare integration settings with the API Key field open, a refresh button and Update — Test the key before saving, so a typo surfaces here rather than later.

Create an Ashby API key for Colare

In Ashby, open Admin → API Keys (also linked from the Colare window) and create a new key with a name you'll recognise later, for example “Colare assessment integration”.

Ashby's API Keys section, under the Admin tab.

Turn on two permissions

The key needs Api Keys → Read and Candidates → Write.

Without both permissions the connection still saves, but scores never reach the candidate's profile.

Ashby API Scopes table with Candidates Write and Api Keys Read ticked — The two permissions Colare needs on the Ashby key.

Paste the Ashby key into Colare and finish

Copy the key, since Ashby shows it only once. Then paste it into the Ashby API Key field back in the Colare connection window and click Set up integration. That completes Phase 1.

Treat both keys as credentials. Store them somewhere secure, and don't post them in a shared channel or ticket.

Ashby Credentials step showing the new Colare Assessment Key with a Copy and Close button, key blurred — Ashby shows the new key once. The key is blurred in this screenshot.

2Add Colare to a job

Repeat this phase for every job that should use the assessment. It is not a one-time setup. That includes jobs that are already open and running: adding the activity to a live job is fine, and candidates already in the pipeline can be moved into the stage afterwards.

Open the job's interview plan

Open the job from Jobs, go to Interview Plan, and find the stage where the assessment belongs.

Ashby job Interview Plan listing stages with Add Activity links — The job's Interview Plan, listing every stage.

Add Colare as an activity on that stage

Click Add Activity to… → Add Activity, choose Colare under Integrations, select the assessment, and click Add.

The assessment list is pulled live from the connected Colare account, so every assessment built in Colare appears here. Nothing needs to be re-created on the Ashby side.

Colare appears under Integrations once Phase 1 is complete.

Invite candidates automatically (optional)

Open the Automation tab on the activity and turn on Automate on Stage Entry. Every candidate who enters the stage is then invited without anyone sending the assessment by hand.

Automate on Stage Entry invites a whole stage's worth of candidates at once.

3Send assessments and read scores

The day-to-day loop. Everything here happens inside Ashby. There's no need to open Colare to send an assessment or read a result.

Send the assessment

Automatically: move the candidate into the assessment stage. With Automate on Stage Entry turned on, the invitation goes out on its own.

Manually: open the candidate, then New Activity → Assessment → Colare, select the assessment, click Add Activity, then Start Assessment and Start.

Ashby Candidate Pipeline with a candidate selected and the More menu open, showing Start Assessment — Sending by hand from the Candidate Pipeline: select candidates, then More → Start Assessment.

Read the result without leaving Ashby

Once the candidate finishes, the score appears under the activity on their page, with a link through to the full Colare report.

Completed Colare Assessment in Ashby showing a score of 100 and a View in Colare link — A completed assessment. The score sits under the Colare activity.

Filter the pipeline by score

Open the job's Candidate Pipeline, turn on Advanced, click Add Field to Match, and search for “Colare assessment score”.

Scores are written back as a field, so the pipeline can be filtered on them.

Keeping the connection working

The connection keeps working as long as both keys stay valid. If either key is deleted or changed, in Ashby or in Colare, the integration has to be set up again from step 1.

While setup or a reconnection is in progress, your team can keep sending assessments directly from Colare.

Questions that come up

Why does setup need an Organizational Admin?

Ashby only lets admins manage integrations and API keys, so both halves of Phase 1 are out of reach for other roles.

Can a whole stage be invited at once?

Yes. Turn on Automate on Stage Entry, then move the candidates into the stage.

Does it work for jobs that are already open?

Yes. Add the activity to the live job's interview plan and move candidates in as usual.

What if Colare doesn't appear in the activity list?

Check that Phase 1 finished on both sides, then email support@colare.com.

Phase 1 is done once. After that, the only recurring work is adding Colare to each new job and sending the assessment for each candidate. Both happen entirely inside Ashby.

If a step doesn't match what you're seeing on screen, check with your Colare contact before working around it.