Developer guide

The Shippit APIs are available for you to integrate shipping and logistics directly into your applications and workflows. They are designed to handle everything from getting shipping quotes to printing labels, tracking packages, and even managing returns.

This guide is tailored for software developers and integrators who are responsible for building and maintaining connections between Shippit and other systems. You should be familiar with REST APIs and JSON data formats.

About the Shippit APIs

You can use the Shippit APIs to automate and streamline your shipping processes. By connecting your systems to Shippit’s platform, you can:

  • Eliminate manual data entry: say goodbye to tedious copying and pasting of order details.
  • Offer real-time quotes: provide your customers with accurate shipping costs at checkout, potentially reducing cart abandonment.
  • Gain end-to-end visibility: track your shipments from the moment they leave your warehouse to the moment they reach your customer’s doorstep.
  • Simplify returns: Make returns easy for you and your customers, with automated return label generation and tracking.

The Shippit APIs empower you to create a seamless, efficient, and customer-friendly shipping experience.

You can access the Shippit APIs using the base URL of https://app.shippit.com/api/3.

Shippit also provides a staging URL for testing purposes, at https://app.staging.shippit.com/api/3.

The Shippit workflow

When you create an application to use the Shippit APIs, the general workflow is:

  1. Authenticate: Securely connect to the API using your unique API keys.
  2. Get quotes (optional): Request shipping rates from multiple carriers based on your order details.
  3. Create an order: Submit your order details, including delivery address, items, and parcel information.
  4. Retrieve labels (optional): Generate and print shipping labels.
  5. Book a carrier: book your orders with a carrier.
  6. Track orders: Monitor the progress of your shipments and receive real-time updates.
  7. Manage returns (optional): Handle return requests and generate return labels.

For more information on the Shippit order flow, see the order flow section.

Get started

To get started with the Shippit APIs, you need to set a few things up first:

  • Log in to your Shippit account, if you haven’t already. This activates your account.
  • Enter your payment details. You need to have valid payment details to generate an API key.
  • Copy your API key. You’ll need this to access the Shippit APIs.

For more information on getting set up to use the Shippit APIs, see the getting started article on the Shippit help centre.