ArchiveGetting Started

Quick Start

Deprecated
This is archived documentation. For current API getting-started guides, see the Quick Start.

This quick start guide will take you through making your first requests with BigCommerce’s APIs.

REST Management API

Create an API account

See the Guide to API Accounts for instructions on creating API accounts.

Use Request Runner

You can experiment with our REST Management APIs using the Request Runner, which is built in to the API Reference for most endpoints.

Copy and paste your store_hash and access_token into the form, then click Send.

If you use Visual Studio Code, another way to make API requests is with the REST Client extension. Once you have it installed, create a new file called bigcommerce.http and paste in the following:

@ACCESS_TOKEN = your_access_token
@STORE_HASH = your_store_hash
###
GET https://api.bigcommerce.com/stores/{{STORE_HASH}}/v3/catalog/products
X-Auth-Token: {{ACCESS_TOKEN}}
Content-Type: application/json
Accept: application/json

Save and you’ll see the send request link above GET. Click send request and the response will open in a split window.

REST Storefront API quick start

To make your first requests in a browser with the REST Storefront APIs, see the step-by-step tutorial Working with Storefront Cart and Checkout APIs.

GraphQL Storefront API

1

Create a storefront token

This example uses Request Runner to make an initial request that creates a Storefront API token. It is a REST API request, so you will need to copy and paste your API credentials.

In the allowed_cors_origins array, include the URL(s) of the storefront from which you plan to use the token.

Example request: Create a storefront token
POST https://api.bigcommerce.com/stores/{store_hash}/v3/storefront/api-token
X-Auth-Token: {{access_token}}
Content-Type: application/json
Accept: application/json
{
  "channel_id": 1,            // int (only ID 1 currently accepted)
  "expires_at": 1602288000,   // double UTC unix timestamp in seconds (required)
  "allowed_cors_origins": [   // array (accepts 1 origin currently)
    "https://example.com"
  ]
}
2

Create a sample request in the browser

While viewing your storefront in a browser, open the developer tools JavaScript console; for example, Google Chrome’s Console. Add your API token to the authorization header in the following code sample and add a valid Product ID for the entityId, then run the code in the console:

Example query
  fetch('/graphql', {
    method: 'POST',
    mode: 'cors',
    headers: { 
      'Content-Type': 'application/json',
      'Accept': 'application/json',
      'Authorization': `Bearer {{TOKEN}}`
    },
    body: JSON.stringify({
      query: `query SingleProduct {
        site {
          products (entityIds: {{product ID}}) {
            edges {
              node {
                id
                entityId
                name
                prices {
                  price {
                    value
                    currencyCode
                  }
                }
              }
            }
          }
        }
      }`
    })
  })
  .then(res => res.json())
  .then(res => console.log(res))
  .catch(err => console.error(err));

Customer Login API

For more information, see the Customer Login API Overview.