# How to Provision Complex and Multi-valued Attributes on Google Workspace **URL:** \ **Category:** SHF Discussion and Questions\ **Tags:** identity-security-cloud, transforms, connectors, provisioning\ **Created:** [April 22, 2025, 12:24pm UTC](https://developer.sailpoint.com/discuss/t/how-to-provision-complex-and-multi-valued-attributes-on-google-workspace/114220 "2025-04-22T12:24:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Markharoll](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/sailpoint/discuss/user_avatar/developer.sailpoint.com/markharoll/32/20455_2.png) [@Markharoll](https://developer.sailpoint.com/discuss/u/Markharoll)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2025, 12:24pm UTC](https://developer.sailpoint.com/discuss/t/how-to-provision-complex-and-multi-valued-attributes-on-google-workspace/114220/1 "2025-04-22T12:24:09Z")
Hi Community, I’m working with the Google Workspace connector in Identity Security Cloud and have a couple of questions regarding how to correctly format attributes during provisioning, specifically for the “Create Account” operation. **Complex Attributes (e.g., Emails):** Google Workspace expects email attributes in a complex format, like `{"address":"test1@google.com","type":"other"}`. In my provisioning policy, I can easily generate the required email address (e.g., `test1@google.com`) from identity attributes. My questions are: 1. Do I need to create a Transform (e.g. a Concat type) to manually build the _entire_ JSON string `{"address":"...","type":"..."}` and insert my email in the `address` attribute of the JSON? 2. Or, is the connector smart enough that I can simply map the email address string directly to the `emails.address` (or similar) attribute, and the connector handles constructing the necessary JSON object for the Create Account? **Multi-valued Attributes:** Similarly, for multi-valued attributes (e.g., phone numbers, custom schema fields) that need to be sent during account creation: 1. How should these be handled? Do I need to use a Transform to format the list of values into a specific JSON array string (e.g., `["value1", "value2", "value3"]`) before mapping it to the target attribute? 2. Or, can I directly map a multi-valued attribute from SailPoint (like Entitlement values or a multi-valued Identity Attribute), and the connector will correctly format it as an array for the Google Workspace API? Any insights, examples, or best practices would be greatly appreciated! ---
**Author:** ![sukanta\_biswas](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/sailpoint/discuss/user_avatar/developer.sailpoint.com/sukanta_biswas/32/24596_2.png) [@sukanta\_biswas](https://developer.sailpoint.com/discuss/u/sukanta_biswas)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2025, 3:14pm UTC](https://developer.sailpoint.com/discuss/t/how-to-provision-complex-and-multi-valued-attributes-on-google-workspace/114220/2 "2025-04-22T15:14:34Z")
@Markharoll - Great questions — and this comes up frequently when working with the **Google Workspace connector in SailPoint IdentityNow (Identity Security Cloud)** due to the way Google APIs expect structured (often nested/complex) JSON formats. Let’s break down your questions clearly: * * * ### **1. Complex Attributes (e.g., `emails`)** **Question:** > Do I need to create a Transform to build `{"address":"...","type":"..."}` or can I just send `test1@google.com` and let the connector handle the JSON structure? **Answer:** Yes — **you need to construct the entire JSON object structure yourself** , usually via a **Transform** (e.g., `Script`, `Concat`, or `Custom`). The connector **does not** automatically wrap a plain string into the necessary JSON object for Google APIs. #### Best Practice: If you want to keep it static and simple, use a **static Transform** (if `type` is always `work`): ```json { "name": "Email-Community", "type": "static", "attributes": { "value": "{\"address\":\"$email\"\"type\":\"work\"}", "email": { "type": "identityAttribute", "attributes": { "name": "email" } } } } ``` Then map this to the **`emails`** attribute in the provisioning policy. * * * ### **2. Multi-valued Attributes (e.g., `phones`, `keywords`, etc.)** **Question:** > Do I need to transform a list into a JSON array like `["value1", "value2"]` or does SailPoint do it? **Answer:** Yes — again, you must **format the array structure yourself**. ISC **does not auto-convert** a list of values into the Google Workspace required array-of-objects format. This is especially true for: - `phones` - `keywords` - `customSchemas` - `organizations` #### Best Practice: If it’s a multi-valued list of complex objects, you can use **static Transform** or relevant transform to build the array properly. Then map the output of this transform directly to `keywords`, `phones`, etc. in the provisioning policy. * * * ### Summary (Cheat Sheet) | Attribute Type | Requires JSON Structure? | Auto-Handled by ISC? | Recommended Approach | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | `emails` (complex) | Yes | No | Use Transform | | `phones`, `organizations` | Yes | No | Script Transform | | `keywords` (array) | Yes | No | Use Transform (return array) | | `simple string attrs` | No | Yes | Direct map or use Concat | * * * ### Pro Tip: If you’re ever unsure what Google expects, test it first with the **Google API Explorer** or **Postman** — see what structure it accepts, then replicate that format using Transforms in ISC. Cheers!!! ---
**Author:** ![vbdm](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/sailpoint/discuss/user_avatar/developer.sailpoint.com/vbdm/32/26869_2.png) [@vbdm](https://developer.sailpoint.com/discuss/u/vbdm)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2025, 4:58pm UTC](https://developer.sailpoint.com/discuss/t/how-to-provision-complex-and-multi-valued-attributes-on-google-workspace/114220/3 "2025-06-17T16:58:38Z")
Thank you @sukanta_biswas , I have a similar use case for phone numbers sending to Entra ID source. I get this as part of the account response(in Postman): ```auto "businessPhones": [ "+64 23 455 2366" ], ``` I created a transform and made sure that I constructed a similar pattern for the attribute value: ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/sailpoint/original/3X/0/7/07c57f95fb940dd0ab692b2324b18a798d90f903.png) I tried removing the double quotes as well but that also fails. But this is still not being accepted. Any suggestions? I am using this transform: ```auto { "id": "id", "name": "transformWfPhone", "type": "static", "attributes": { "wfPhoneNumber": { "attributes": { "attributeName": "wfPhone", "sourceName": "success" }, "type": "accountAttribute", "name": "Account Attribute Transform" }, "value": "[\"$wfPhoneNumber\"]" }, "internal": false } ``` ---
**Author:** ![vbdm](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/sailpoint/discuss/user_avatar/developer.sailpoint.com/vbdm/32/26869_2.png) [@vbdm](https://developer.sailpoint.com/discuss/u/vbdm)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2025, 7:36pm UTC](https://developer.sailpoint.com/discuss/t/how-to-provision-complex-and-multi-valued-attributes-on-google-workspace/114220/4 "2025-06-19T19:36:43Z")
Here is my learning: For Entra ID, the only way to make sure we send a string array is to do it in beforeProvisioning rule, like below: ```auto for (AttributeRequest ar : accountRequest.getAttributeRequests()) { if ("businessPhones".equals(ar.getName())) { String phone = ""; if (ar.getValue() != null) { phone = ar.getValue().toString().trim(); } List list = new ArrayList(); if (!phone.isEmpty()) { list.add(phone); } ar.setValue(list); } } ``` But, for connectors like Epic I learned that we can do it in the provisiong policy with a static transform. Something like this: ```auto { "name": "multi-valued-attribute-name", "transform": { "type": "firstValid", "attributes": { "values": [ { "attributes": { "sourceName": "source_name", "attributeName": "multi-valued-attribute-name" }, "type": "accountAttribute" }, { "attributes": { "value": "" }, "type": "static" } ] } }, "attributes": { "cloudDelimiter": "," }, "isRequired": false, "type": "string", "isMultiValued": true } ``` ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/sailpoint/original/2X/f/f2136700ed5e3703e0b85e02f6be799dacca7735.png) [@system](https://developer.sailpoint.com/discuss/u/system)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2025, 7:37pm UTC](https://developer.sailpoint.com/discuss/t/how-to-provision-complex-and-multi-valued-attributes-on-google-workspace/114220/5 "2025-08-18T19:37:09Z")
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