Fourth (via Apideck)

Access Fourth through Apideck's HRIS unified API — one of 58 HRIS connectors that share the same method surface. Code you write here ports to BambooHR, Workday, Deel and 54 other HRIS connectors by changing a single serviceId string. Apideck handles auth, pagination, rate limiting, and retries so you don't write per-tenant Fourth plumbing.

Beta connector. Fourth is currently in beta on Apideck. Expect partial resource coverage and occasional mapping gaps. Always verify coverage (see below) and fall back to the Proxy API for unsupported operations.

Quick facts

• Apideck serviceId: fourth
• Unified API: HRIS
• Auth type: basic
• Status: beta
• Fourth docs: https://www.fourth.com
• Homepage: https://www.fourth.com/

When to use this skill

Activate this skill when the user explicitly wants to work with Fourth — for example, "sync employees in Fourth" or "list time-off requests in Fourth". This skill teaches the agent:

1. Which Apideck unified API covers Fourth (HRIS)
2. The correct serviceId to pass on every call (fourth)
3. Fourth-specific auth and coverage caveats

For the full method surface (parameters, pagination, filtering), use your language SDK skill:

• apideck-node, apideck-python, apideck-dotnet, apideck-java, apideck-go, apideck-php, or apideck-rest

For the raw OpenAPI spec:

• HRIS: https://specs.apideck.com/hris.yml · API Explorer

Minimal example (TypeScript)

import { Apideck } from "@apideck/unify";

const apideck = new Apideck({
  apiKey: process.env.APIDECK_API_KEY,
  appId: process.env.APIDECK_APP_ID,
  consumerId: "your-consumer-id",
});

// List employees in Fourth
const { data } = await apideck.hris.employees.list({
  serviceId: "fourth",
});

Portable across 58 HRIS connectors

The Apideck HRIS unified API exposes the same methods for every connector in its catalog. Switching from Fourth to another HRIS connector is a one-string change — no rewrite, no new SDK.

// Today — Fourth
await apideck.hris.employees.list({ serviceId: "fourth" });

// Tomorrow — same code, different connector
await apideck.hris.employees.list({ serviceId: "bamboohr" });
await apideck.hris.employees.list({ serviceId: "workday" });

This is the compounding advantage of using Apideck over integrating Fourth directly: code against the unified HRIS API once, gain access to every connector in it. New connectors Apideck adds become available to your app without code changes.

Authentication

• Type: Basic auth (username/password)
• Managed by: Apideck Vault — credentials are collected through the Vault modal and stored encrypted server-side.
• Note: basic auth connectors often require manual rotation by the end user. If auth fails persistently, prompt them to re-enter credentials in Vault.

See apideck-best-practices for Vault setup, connection lifecycle, and handling re-auth flows.

Verifying coverage

Not every HRIS operation is supported by every connector. Always verify before assuming a method works:

curl 'https://unify.apideck.com/connector/connectors/fourth' \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${APIDECK_API_KEY}" \
  -H "x-apideck-app-id: ${APIDECK_APP_ID}"

See apideck-connector-coverage for patterns around UnsupportedOperationError and connector-specific fallbacks.

Escape hatch: Proxy API

When an endpoint isn't covered by the HRIS unified API, use Apideck's Proxy to call Fourth directly — Apideck injects auth headers and handles token refresh. Set x-apideck-downstream-url to the target endpoint on Fourth's own API:

curl 'https://unify.apideck.com/proxy' \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${APIDECK_API_KEY}" \
  -H "x-apideck-app-id: ${APIDECK_APP_ID}" \
  -H "x-apideck-consumer-id: ${CONSUMER_ID}" \
  -H "x-apideck-service-id: fourth" \
  -H "x-apideck-downstream-url: <target endpoint on Fourth>" \
  -H "x-apideck-downstream-method: GET"

See Fourth's API docs for available endpoints.

Sibling connectors

Other HRIS connectors that share this unified API surface (same method signatures, just change serviceId):

bamboohr, workday, deel (beta), hibob, personio, adp-ihcm (beta), adp-workforce-now (beta), paychex (beta), and 49 more.

See also

• HRIS OpenAPI spec · API Explorer
• apideck-connector-coverage — programmatic coverage checks
• apideck-best-practices — architecture, Vault, pagination, error handling
• apideck-node — TypeScript / Node SDK patterns
• Fourth official docs