Why is Authentication Important?

Authentication is a core aspect of securing your e-commerce platform. It ensures that only authorized users can access sensitive operations, such as managing carts, placing orders, and retrieving user-specific information. Our API uses a combination of Merchant API KEY and JWT authentication to provide a secure and scalable solution.

🔑 Understanding Merchant API KEY

What is a Merchant API KEY?

A Merchant API KEY is a unique identifier assigned to each business upon signing up on our platform. It allows our API to isolate and manage data securely for different users and businesses.

Why is Merchant API KEY Needed?

• Multi-Merchant System: Ensures that each business or developer has a separate and secure environment.
• Data Segmentation: Prevents unauthorized access between different accounts.
• Scalability: Enables businesses to grow without interference from others.
• Mandatory for All API Requests: Every API request must include the X-MerchantApiKey header to specify which business the request belongs to.

How to Get Your Merchant API KEY?

1. Sign Up on our platform.
2. Log in with your credentials.
3. Navigate to the Profile Page where you will find your Merchant API KEY.
4. Use the Merchant API KEY in your API requests by adding it to the request header:

   {
     "X-MerchantApiKey": "MERCHANT_API_KEY"
   }

🔒 Why Use JWT Authentication?

What is JWT?

JWT (JSON Web Token) is a secure way to authenticate users and ensure only authorized individuals can access protected resources.

When is JWT Required?

• For Authenticated Users: Any request related to user-specific operations (like checkout, profile updates, or order management) requires a valid JWT token.
• For Guest Users: A session ID is used instead of a JWT for cart tracking.

How to Use JWT in API Requests?

Once logged in, users receive a JWT token that should be included in the Authorization header:

{
  "Authorization": "Bearer JWT_TOKEN"
}

🚀 Summary

Feature	Merchant API KEY	JWT Authentication
Required For	All API requests	User-specific operations (checkout, profile updates, order management)
Purpose	Identifies business	Verifies user authentication
How to Get It	From Profile Page	After logging in
Example Header	X-MerchantApiKey: MERCHANT_API_KEY	Authorization: Bearer JWT_TOKEN

By combining Merchant API KEY and JWT, our API ensures security, scalability, and efficient data management for every user.

Next Steps

• Get Started with API integration.
• Building a third-party app or AI agent? Read OAuth for Connected Apps instead.