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Big Cartel API Essential Guide

Aug 18, 20246 minute read

What type of API does Big Cartel provide?

Based on the search results provided, Big Cartel appears to have a REST API. The key points are:

API Type

Big Cartel has a REST API. The documentation refers to REST-style concepts like OAuth 2.0 authentication, API versioning, and resource-based endpoints (e.g. /v1/accounts/123).

Key Features

  • Uses OAuth 2.0 for authentication
  • Currently on version V1
  • Provides access to account/shop data and core functionality
  • Supports webhooks for real-time updates

Best Practices

Big Cartel recommends the following best practices for using their API:

  • Optimize API calls and avoid unnecessary requests
  • Implement thoughtful rate limiting
  • Conduct thorough testing
  • Monitor usage and performance

Additional Notes

  • Developers need to submit an application to get approved for creating apps with the API
  • The API documentation provides details on available resources like accounts, products, orders etc.
  • Big Cartel previously had an older read-only API, but the current V1 API provides more functionality

In summary, Big Cartel offers a modern REST API that allows developers to integrate with and extend the functionality of Big Cartel stores. The API follows REST principles and best practices for authentication, versioning and resource modeling.

Does the Big Cartel API have webhooks?

Based on the search results provided, here are the key points regarding webhooks in the official Big Cartel API:

Availability of Webhooks

Yes, the official Big Cartel API does have webhooks.

Types of Events

The API uses webhooks to notify applications of important changes that have occurred outside of the application for connected accounts. Webhooks are also sent for changes made through the API, though these may be less necessary since API requests receive synchronous responses. Some types of webhooks are restricted to sellers with paid plans.

Key Points to Consider

  • Webhooks are only available when building an application that uses OAuth for authentication.
  • To use webhooks, developers need to apply to build an app with Big Cartel.
  • When receiving a webhook, your server should return a 2xx HTTP status code to acknowledge receipt. Any other response code will trigger retries from Big Cartel for up to 7 days.
  • Big Cartel recommends exploring their APIs and Webhooks to learn how to best extend and improve Big Cartel stores.

Best Practices

  1. Respond promptly to webhooks with a 2xx status code to avoid unnecessary retries.
  2. If building a marketing app, ensure compliance with Big Cartel's API License Agreement regarding opt-ins for email marketing.
  3. Familiarize yourself with Big Cartel's OAuth implementation for secure authentication.

While the search results don't provide a comprehensive list of webhook events, they indicate that webhooks are available for significant changes to connected accounts. For a complete list of available webhook events, developers would need to refer to Big Cartel's full API documentation or contact their developer support.

Rate Limits and other limitations

Here are the key points about the API rate limits for Big Cartel's API:

Current Rate Limiting

  • Big Cartel's API does not currently have specific rate limits on the number of requests in a given time period.

  • However, they state that rate limiting will be added in the future.

Best Practices

While there are no hard limits currently, Big Cartel recommends the following best practices:

  • Optimize API calls by only fetching needed data and avoiding unnecessary calls.

  • Use thoughtful rate limiting in your app, considering both your needs and Big Cartel's platform capacity.

  • Avoid querying the API for all accounts simultaneously or excessively.

  • Use webhooks instead of polling regularly to know when updates happen.

Monitoring and Enforcement

  • Big Cartel reserves the right to suspend or terminate access if they believe an app is violating best practices or harming their platform.

  • They may monitor and audit apps for compliance.

Future Plans

  • Rate limiting will be added to the API in the future, but no specific details are provided on what those limits will be.

Key Takeaway

While there are no hard limits currently, developers should follow best practices and avoid excessive API usage. Big Cartel may enforce limits or suspend access if an app is deemed to be overusing the API. Specific rate limits are likely to be implemented in the future.

Latest API Version

The most recent version of the Big Cartel API is V1 [1].

Key points to consider:

  • The current version is specified in all API endpoints (e.g. /v1/accounts/123) [1].
  • Updates made to the V1 API are always backwards-compatible [1].
  • Changes to the API are documented in the API Changelog [1].
  • Big Cartel also has an older read-only API for getting basic public details about shops and products [1].

The V1 API uses OAuth 2.0 for authentication and provides access to core shop information and functionality [1]. Developers can create apps and integrations for Big Cartel sellers using this API after going through an approval process [1].

To stay updated on new features and changes to the API, developers can:

The most recent update to the API mentioned in the search results was on August 8, 2024, which added a new Carts API to get information about abandoned carts [1].

How to get a Big Cartel developer account and API Keys?

To get a developer account for Big Cartel to create an API integration, you need to follow these steps:

Submit an Application

  1. Big Cartel approves a select number of partners and developers to create apps using their API or Webhooks.

  2. To apply, you need to submit an application through their developer portal.

  3. After submitting your application, Big Cartel will review it and get in touch with you.

Key Points to Consider

  • Big Cartel's API uses OAuth 2.0 for authentication, allowing your application to access an account without sharing or storing passwords.

  • You'll need to follow Big Cartel's OAuth guide and explore their APIs and Webhooks to learn how to best extend and improve Big Cartel stores.

  • There are specific app requirements and best practices you must follow, which Big Cartel will review during your initial app review and on an ongoing basis.

Best Practices

  1. Optimize API calls by fetching only the data you need and caching when appropriate.

  2. Implement thoughtful rate limiting to prevent unnecessary load on the platform.

  3. Conduct thorough testing, including unit, integration, and stress tests.

  4. Regularly monitor your app's usage and performance, adjusting as needed.

  5. Build help content and workflows for your app integration.

  6. Design your app to handle non-unique emails and potential domain changes.

Personal Projects

If you're only looking to create a private integration for your own store, you can do so without an invite by using HTTP Basic authentication. However, this should only be used for your own store and you should never ask anyone else for their password.

Developer Resources

  • Join Big Cartel's Developer Newsletter to stay updated on new features, improvements, and bug fixes.

  • Follow their API Changelog for the latest updates.

  • If you have questions, you can contact their developer support at [email protected].

What can you do with the Big Cartel API?

Based on the provided search results, here's a list of data models you can interact with using the Big Cartel API, along with what is possible for each:

Account

  • Retrieve core information and settings for a shop [1]
  • Access store name, description, contact email, URL, and other basic details [1]
  • Check inventory and artist settings [1]
  • Get time zone information [1]
  • View creation and update timestamps [1]

Currency

  • Retrieve currency information for a shop [1]
  • Access currency name, sign, and locale [1]

Country

  • Get country information for a shop [1]
  • Access country name [1]

Plan

  • View plan details for a shop [1]
  • Access plan name, maximum product limit, maximum images per product, and monthly rate [1]

Account Image

  • Retrieve account image information [1]
  • Access image URL [1]

Orders

  • Fetch order information for a shop [1]
  • Create new order events (via webhooks) [2]

Categories

  • Retrieve category information for a shop [1]

Products

  • Fetch product information for a shop [1]
  • Create new product events (via webhooks) [2]

Pages

  • Create new custom pages [1]
  • Update existing pages [1]
  • Fetch page information [1]

Customers

  • Potentially access customer data (implied from CRM integration example) [2]

Inventory

  • Manage inventory levels (implied from inventory management example) [2]

It's important to note that the Big Cartel API uses OAuth 2.0 for authentication [1], and developers need to follow best practices and requirements when building applications that interact with the API [1]. Additionally, the API supports versioning, with the current version being V1 [1].