Managing source details in outgoing requests

Last updated: Oct 10, 2025

HEALTH TECH VENDOR

DEVELOPER

While data exchange often focuses on the destination, the source is critical for kicking off the exchange and routing data to the right location.

With Redox, you typically only need one source to send data from, unless data is exchanged in multiple formats that require different configurations. A source, the initiating point of a request, is identified in either the header or payload with source IDs.

For outgoing requests, you’re responsible for providing your source details for routing purposes.

Key takeaways

If you have multiple sources, you must provide a source ID in outgoing API requests.
If you have only one source, providing the source ID is optional.
The source ID is provided in the Meta.Source.ID field for the Redox Data Model API or the Redox-Source-Id header for the Redox FHIR® API.

When to include a source ID

If you only have one source, it’s entirely optional to include the source ID in an outgoing request. With one source, the source ID only matters if the destination system needs it for their own processing.

Source IDs and legacy API keys

A source ID is tied to a legacy API key. This means that for every source in your system, you’ll have a corresponding legacy API key, even if you use an OAuth API key to authenticate requests. Learn more about authentication methods.

How to route with multiple sources

If your system has multiple sources (e.g., your system sends data via API and SFTP), you must identify the relevant source ID in any outgoing requests. That way, Redox knows where the request came from, what configuration to apply, and who to notify in case of errors.

No need to identify source IDs with DevTools

If you’re using the Redox dashboard DevTools to send requests, you don’t need to worry about identifying a source ID. DevTools takes care of this for you.

Where to find a source ID

You can locate the source ID either in the Redox dashboard or via the Platform API.

Redox Platform API

Use the Get sources endpoint to retrieve a list of sources with their corresponding IDs.

Redox dashboard

Log into the Redox dashboard and navigate to the Developer page to locate the source ID. By default, the Sources tab opens with any configured sources and API keys. Find the source you want to use and copy its ID value.

Alternatively, navigate to the Connections page to locate the source ID. By default, the Subscriptions tab opens. All of your sources display on the left side of the subscription. Find the source you want to use and copy its ID value.

Source ID in the Subscriptions tab

Where to include a source ID

Redox Data Model API

Identify the source in the Meta.Source.ID field of the request payload. Remember that this field is only required if you have more than one source in your environment.

Redox FHIR® API

Identify the source by adding the Redox-Source-Id header to an outgoing query. This header is only required if you have more than one source in your environment.

Example: FHIR source ID header

bash

1
curl 'https://api.redoxengine.com/fhir/R4/{destinationSlug}/{environmentFlag}/{FHIR-resource}/_search' \
2
--request POST \
3
  -H "Authorization: Bearer " \
4
  -H "Redox-Source-Id: {source-id-string}" \

For FHIR® writeback messages, include a MessageHeader resource with this metadata:

Metadata	Required	Notes
MessageHeader.source.endpoint	Required	Set to your Redox source ID (urn:uuid:<source-id>) or a public endpoint that identifies your organization. For example, we’d use https://redoxengine.com to identify Redox. This is required even if Redox-Source-Id isn’t.
source.name	Optional, but recommended	Enter a human-readable name for the source represented by the URL.

FHIR® is a registered trademark of Health Level Seven International (HL7) and is used with the permission of HL7. Use of this trademark does not constitute an endorsement of products/services by HL7®.