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Get a client credentials access token for the Fulfillment API

Learn how to authenticate with Instacart Connect and make your first Fulfillment API call in a development environment.

  1. Before you begin
  2. Generate a token
  3. Create a Connect user account

Before you begin​

For this tutorial, you need the following items:

Generate a token​

To make requests to the Connect APIs, you need a bearer token with the client_credentials grant type. To generate the token, use the authentication endpoint and specify your client ID and secret in the body.

curl --request POST \
  --url 'https://<instacart_development_domain>/v2/oauth/token' \
  --header 'Accept: application/json' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '{
  "client_id": "<your_client_id>",
  "client_secret": "<your_client_secret>",
  "grant_type": "client_credentials",
  "scope": "connect:fulfillment”
}'

The response contains the generated token.

{
  "access_token": "<your_access_token>",
  "token_type": "Bearer",
  "expires_in": 86400,
  "created_at": 1603897760
}
note

The token is valid for 24 hours. During this period, reuse the same token in your requests. After 24 hours, you must generate a new token.

Create a Connect user account​

To validate that your token works, try creating a Connect user account. Your site creates a user account to associate with a customer's order. All requests require the generated access token and an HTTPS call that contains the Instacart development server domain.

curl --request POST \
  --url 'https://<instacart_development_domain>/v2/fulfillment/users' \
  --header 'Accept: application/json' \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer <your_access_token>' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '{
  "user_id": "johnsmith6000",
  "first_name": "john",
  "last_name": "smith",
  "phone_number": "800-555-0100"
}'

A successful request returns a JSON response with a status code of 200 and the following fields:

{
  "user_id": "johnsmith6000",
  "first_name": "John",
  "last_name": "Smith",
  "phone_number": "800-555-0100"
}

You are ready to begin trying out Instacart Connect capabilities.

For more information about other responses that you might receive, see Create a Connect user account. If you receive any valid response, the token is working with the Instacart server.

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