Altius SuiteCRM Bridge

What the Bridge does

The Bridge started as a link between the Altius Scheduler and SuiteCRM. It is now the core of Altius HQ: install it first, and every other Altius plugin builds on it.

Team, Permissions, Companies, Sensitive data and the Activity log are managed from the Altius Dashboard's tabs; the Bridge enforces them everywhere.

Requirements

SuiteCRM setup

Four steps in SuiteCRM, then the rest happens in WordPress.

1. Install the Altius Connector In SuiteCRM go to Admin, Module Loader, upload the Altius Connector zip and click Install. When it finishes it runs a Repair and Rebuild for you. You'll find its settings under Admin, Altius Connector, Altius Connector Configuration.
2. Make sure the API keys exist SuiteCRM needs two small files, called keys, to let other systems sign in to it: private.key and public.key. They live in your SuiteCRM folder, in Api/V8/OAuth2/. Many fresh installs don't have them, and without them the Bridge can't connect.

   First, check whether you already have them

   1. Sign in to your hosting control panel (usually cPanel) and open File Manager.
   2. Open your SuiteCRM folder (often public_html/crm or similar), then Api, then V8, then OAuth2.
   3. If you see both private.key and public.key, skip to step 3. If not, create them using one of the three ways below.

   Way 1: cPanel Terminal (easiest, about two minutes)

   1. In cPanel, find Terminal under Advanced. (If your host doesn't offer it, use Way 2 or Way 3.) Already connect to your server with PuTTY or another SSH program? You can type the same commands there instead.
   2. Type cd, a space, then the path to the OAuth2 folder, and press Enter. For example: cd public_html/crm/Api/V8/OAuth2
   3. Copy and paste these four lines, pressing Enter after each:

      openssl genrsa -out private.key 2048
      openssl rsa -in private.key -pubout -out public.key
      chmod 600 private.key
      chmod 644 public.key

   4. Type ls and press Enter. You should see private.key and public.key listed. Done.

   On cPanel hosting, files you create this way already belong to the right account, so there's nothing more to set.

   Way 2: make them on your computer and upload them

   1. Mac: open the Terminal app (Applications, Utilities). Windows: install Git for Windows and open Git Bash, which includes the tool you need.
   2. Paste these two lines, pressing Enter after each. The files appear in your home folder:

      openssl genrsa -out private.key 2048
      openssl rsa -in private.key -pubout -out public.key

   3. In cPanel File Manager, open the Api/V8/OAuth2 folder and Upload both files.
   4. Right-click private.key, choose Change Permissions and set it to 600. Do the same for public.key with 644.
   5. Delete the copies from your computer. The private key belongs only on the server.

   Way 3: ask your hosting company

   Send them this: "Please create an RSA 2048 key pair for SuiteCRM's V8 API in the folder Api/V8/OAuth2: private.key with permissions 600 and public.key with permissions 644, owned by the user the web server runs as." Any host's support team will know what this means. Or ask us and we'll do it for you.

   Can an AI chatbot help? Yes, as a guide. Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini can explain any step above or help if you get an error message. Just don't ask one to write the key itself and paste it into your server, and don't use a website that offers to generate keys. A private key must be created on your own server or computer, so nobody else ever sees it.
   Still can't connect? On a VPS or dedicated server (no cPanel), the key files must belong to the user the web server runs as, often www-data or apache. Your host or server administrator can set this in a minute.
3. Create an API user In Admin, User Management, create a user just for Altius, for example altius_api, with a strong password and administrator rights. Altius HQ records every change against the real person in its own Activity log, so this one login can safely do the CRM work for your whole team.
4. Create the API client In Admin, OAuth2 Clients and Tokens, create a new Password Client. Give it a name (Altius HQ) and a secret, and save. Copy the client's ID and the secret you typed: the Bridge needs both.
   Older guides say Admin, OAuth Keys. That screen is SuiteCRM's older system; the Bridge uses the OAuth2 password client.

WordPress setup

Install the Bridge before any other Altius plugin, connect it, then add the rest.

1. Install and activate the Bridge In WordPress go to Plugins, Add New, Upload Plugin, choose the Altius SuiteCRM Bridge zip, install and activate. With the Altius Dashboard installed, the Bridge appears under Altius Central, Bridge; without it, under SuiteCRM Bridge.
2. Fill in the connection settings

   Setting	What to enter
   Altius app address	Where your team signs in. Leave it as altius unless that clashes with a page you already have.
   SuiteCRM URL	The full address of your SuiteCRM, with no slash at the end, for example https://crm.yourcompany.com
   Client ID (Consumer Key)	The ID of the Password Client you created
   Client Secret (Consumer Secret)	The secret you gave that client
   API Username / API Password	The altius_api user you created
   Enable Sync	Leave off for now. It controls appointment sync with SuiteCRM meetings (see section 6).

   Click Save Settings.
3. Test the connection Click Test Connection at the top of the page. Success reads "Success! Connected to SuiteCRM as: Altius API (altius_api)" and the status turns to Connected. Anything else: see Troubleshooting.
4. Install the rest of Altius HQ Add the Altius Dashboard, then the modules you use: CRM Hub, Quotes, Invoices, Purchase Orders, Finance, Scheduler, Portal, Ask Claude and Altius HQ Mobile. Each one finds the Bridge's connection on its own.

Secure the Connector

The Connector's services (PDFs, record updates, layouts) are open until you give SuiteCRM a shared secret. With a secret saved, SuiteCRM accepts only requests signed by your WordPress site. Do this on every installation.

1. Generate the secret in WordPressOn the Bridge page, under Secure the connector services, click Generate a secret, then Copy.
2. Save it in SuiteCRMIn SuiteCRM go to Admin, Altius Connector Configuration. Under Service security, paste it into Secret from WordPress and click Save secret. The status changes to Secured (secret ending in …).
3. Test it from WordPressBack on the Bridge page, click Test secure connection. You should see "Secured. SuiteCRM checked this site's signature and accepted it; unsigned requests are now refused."

Appointment sync with SuiteCRM meetings (optional)

For businesses that also work in SuiteCRM's own calendar. Tick Enable Sync in the Bridge settings and save.

• WordPress to SuiteCRM, instantly. Each new appointment becomes a SuiteCRM meeting named "Appointment: client name", linked to the client's contact (found or created by email). The meeting's description starts with [ALTIUS:number], which ties it to the appointment: please leave that marker in place.
• SuiteCRM to WordPress, every five minutes. If a synced meeting is moved in SuiteCRM, the appointment moves too; if it's deleted or marked Not Held, the appointment is cancelled.
• Whose meeting it is. Each meeting is assigned to the SuiteCRM user whose email address matches the staff member's email in the Scheduler. Make those emails match.
• No double bookings. Before a booking is saved, the Bridge checks that staff member's SuiteCRM meetings and refuses a time that clashes.
• Time zones. The first synced appointment sets the time offset between the two systems automatically. If times ever appear shifted, click Recalibrate Timezone Offset on the Bridge page and book one new appointment.

Final checks

Five minutes now saves a support call later.

• Test Connection says Connected, as your API user.
• Test secure connection says Secured.
• Open CRM Hub in Altius HQ, edit a test contact's phone number, save, and see the change in SuiteCRM. Then delete a test contact the same way.
• Create a test quote and download its PDF: your company details and logo should appear.
• Sign in at yoursite.com/altius/ as a non-admin team member and confirm they see only what their role allows.

Troubleshooting

The message you see, what it means, and what to do.