title: ShipStation API Vocabulary
description: Operational and domain vocabulary for the ShipStation shipping platform API
provider: ShipStation
version: '2026-05-02'
source: https://www.shipstation.com/docs/api/

terms:
  - term: Order
    definition: >-
      The central ShipStation entity representing an ecommerce order to be fulfilled.
      Orders contain customer information, items, shipping preferences, and status.
      Orders can be in states from awaiting payment through shipped or cancelled.
    type: resource
    related: [Shipment, Customer, Product, Store]

  - term: Shipment
    definition: >-
      A shipped order with a carrier label, tracking number, and actual shipping cost.
      Created when a shipping label is purchased for an order. An order can have
      multiple shipments (partial fulfillment).
    type: resource
    related: [Order, Label, Carrier]

  - term: Label
    definition: >-
      A shipping label purchased from a carrier via ShipStation. Contains the
      tracking number, label data (base64 PDF), and shipment cost.
    type: resource
    related: [Shipment, Carrier]

  - term: Carrier
    definition: >-
      A shipping provider connected to ShipStation (e.g., stamps_com, fedex, ups,
      usps, canada_post). Carriers provide services and rates for label purchase.
    type: resource
    related: [CarrierService, Package, Rate]

  - term: Carrier Service
    definition: >-
      A specific service level offered by a carrier (e.g., USPS Priority Mail,
      FedEx Ground). Referenced by serviceCode when creating labels.
    type: resource
    related: [Carrier]

  - term: Customer
    definition: >-
      A customer record in ShipStation, automatically created when orders are imported.
      Contains contact information and shipping history.
    type: resource
    related: [Order]

  - term: Product
    definition: >-
      A product record in ShipStation with SKU, weight, dimensions, and default
      shipping settings. Used to auto-populate order item shipping details.
    type: resource
    related: [Order]

  - term: Warehouse
    definition: >-
      A ship-from location configured in ShipStation. Orders are assigned to warehouses
      for fulfillment. Each warehouse has an origin address and optionally a return address.
    type: resource
    related: [Shipment, Order]

  - term: Store
    definition: >-
      A marketplace or selling channel connected to ShipStation (e.g., Shopify, Amazon,
      eBay). Orders are imported from stores and can be filtered by store.
    type: resource
    related: [Order]

  - term: Tag
    definition: >-
      A user-defined label applied to orders for organization and filtering. Tags
      have a name and color for visual identification in the ShipStation UI.
    type: resource
    related: [Order]

  - term: Fulfillment
    definition: >-
      A third-party fulfillment record (e.g., Amazon FBA) associated with an order.
      Fulfillments track orders shipped outside of ShipStation's direct label creation.
    type: resource
    related: [Order]

  - term: Webhook
    definition: >-
      An event subscription that sends POST notifications to a configured URL when
      orders are shipped or status changes occur.
    type: resource
    values: [ORDER_NOTIFY, ITEM_ORDER_NOTIFY, SHIP_NOTIFY, ITEM_SHIP_NOTIFY]

  - term: Order Status
    definition: The lifecycle state of an order in ShipStation.
    type: enum
    values:
      awaiting_payment: Order received but payment not confirmed
      awaiting_shipment: Payment confirmed, ready to ship
      pending_fulfillment: Assigned to third-party fulfillment
      shipped: Label purchased and order marked shipped
      on_hold: Order held until a specific date
      cancelled: Order cancelled

  - term: Confirmation Type
    definition: Delivery confirmation option for a shipment.
    type: enum
    values: [none, delivery, signature, adult_signature, direct_signature]

  - term: API Key and Secret
    definition: >-
      ShipStation V1 API credentials. Used as Basic HTTP authentication (API Key as
      username, API Secret as password). Found in ShipStation account settings under
      API Settings.
    type: concept
    related: [Authentication]

  - term: Rate Limit
    definition: >-
      ShipStation V1 API enforces 40 requests per minute per API key/secret pair.
      Exceeding this returns a 429 Too Many Requests response.
    type: concept

  - term: Order Key
    definition: >-
      The unique identifier from the selling channel used for order deduplication.
      If an order with the same orderKey exists, ShipStation updates rather than
      creates a new order.
    type: concept
    related: [Order]

capabilities:
  - name: Order Management
    description: Import, update, and manage orders from multiple selling channels
    apis: [Order, Store]

  - name: Label Generation
    description: Create shipping labels from multiple carriers
    apis: [Shipment, Carrier]

  - name: Rate Shopping
    description: Compare carrier rates for a shipment
    apis: [Rate]

  - name: Multi-Carrier Support
    description: Connect and ship with stamps_com, UPS, FedEx, DHL, and more
    apis: [Carrier, CarrierService]

  - name: Warehouse Management
    description: Manage multiple ship-from locations
    apis: [Warehouse]

  - name: Customer Management
    description: Track and manage customer shipping history
    apis: [Customer]

  - name: Product Management
    description: Maintain product records with default shipping settings
    apis: [Product]