Step by Step Guide to Building a Shippo API Integration in Python

Introduction

Hey there, fellow developer! Ready to supercharge your e-commerce project with some serious shipping power? Look no further than the Shippo API. In this guide, we'll walk through integrating Shippo into your Python project, giving you the ability to handle shipping like a pro. Let's dive in!

Prerequisites

Before we start coding, make sure you've got:

• A Python environment set up (I know you've got this!)
• A Shippo account and API key (if you don't have one, hop over to Shippo's website and sign up – it's quick and easy)

Installation

First things first, let's get the Shippo package installed. Fire up your terminal and run:

pip install shippo

Easy peasy, right?

Authentication

Now that we've got the package, let's authenticate. It's as simple as initializing the Shippo client with your API key:

import shippo

shippo.config.api_key = "your_api_key_here"

Pro tip: Keep that API key safe! Consider using environment variables to store sensitive info.

Basic Operations

Let's start with some basics. Here's how you create and validate an address:

address = shippo.Address.create(
    name="Jane Doe",
    street1="123 Main St",
    city="San Francisco",
    state="CA",
    zip="94105",
    country="US"
)

validation = shippo.Address.validate(address.object_id)

Creating a Shipment

Time to create a shipment! We'll need an origin, destination, and parcel info:

shipment = shippo.Shipment.create(
    address_from=origin,
    address_to=destination,
    parcels=[{
        "length": "5",
        "width": "5",
        "height": "5",
        "distance_unit": "in",
        "weight": "2",
        "mass_unit": "lb",
    }]
)

Retrieving Rates

Now for the fun part – getting those shipping rates:

rates = shippo.Shipment.get_rates(
    shipment.object_id,
    sync=True
)

for rate in rates.results:
    print(f"{rate.provider} - {rate.amount} {rate.currency}")

Purchasing a Label

Found a rate you like? Let's buy that label:

transaction = shippo.Transaction.create(
    rate=chosen_rate.object_id,
    label_file_type="PDF",
    async=False
)

if transaction.status == "SUCCESS":
    print(f"Label URL: {transaction.label_url}")
else:
    print("Label purchase failed.")

Tracking a Shipment

Keep tabs on that shipment:

tracking = shippo.Track.get_status(
    carrier="usps",
    tracking_number="your_tracking_number"
)

print(f"Tracking status: {tracking.tracking_status.status}")

Error Handling

Always be prepared! Here's a quick way to handle errors:

try:
    # Your Shippo API call here
except shippo.error.ShippoError as e:
    print(f"Oops! Something went wrong: {str(e)}")

Best Practices

A couple of quick tips to keep your integration smooth:

1. Mind the rate limits – Shippo's pretty generous, but don't go overboard.
2. Consider setting up webhooks for real-time updates – your customers will thank you!

Conclusion

And there you have it! You're now equipped to handle shipping like a boss. Remember, this is just scratching the surface – Shippo's API has tons more features to explore.

Keep coding, keep shipping, and most importantly, keep being awesome! If you need more info, check out Shippo's official docs. Happy integrating!