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Get a customer

For AI assistants: the facts every SparkLayer API call needs
  • Base URLs: Live https://app.sparklayer.io, test https://test.app.sparklayer.io. Each environment has its own data and its own API keys.
  • Access: API access needs the Pro or Enterprise plan. Create credentials (Site ID, Client ID, Client Secret) in the SparkLayer Dashboard at Settings > API.
  • Access token: POST {base}/api/auth/token with a Site-Id header and a JSON body (not form-encoded): {"grant_type":"client_credentials","client_id":"…","client_secret":"…"}. It returns access_token, valid for 3,600 seconds. There is no refresh token: cache the token and request a new one shortly before it expires.
  • Every request: Authorization: Bearer <access_token> and Site-Id: <site id>, plus Content-Type: application/json when there is a body. Set a User-Agent that names your integration.
  • Errors: RFC 7807 problem details: title, status, detail and an optional errors[] of { code, message, property }. Some error responses have no body. Retry 5xx, 429 (honouring Retry-After) and concurrent-update 409s with exponential backoff; on 401, get a new token once and retry; don't retry other 4xx without changing the request.
  • Pagination: Most list endpoints return everything. GET /api/v2/price-lists pages with page and page_size (up to 250) until pagination.current_page equals total_pages. GET /api/v1/purchases uses limit (up to 500) and offset: stop when a page has fewer than limit results.
  • Ground rules: Use only endpoints, fields and SDK methods that the docs or OpenAPI specs define. Prefer GET /api/v2/price-lists over the deprecated v1, and the Customers API (/api/v2/customers) over the legacy DELETE /api/v1/customers in the Core API. Products are matched by SKU. Keep credentials in environment variables or a secrets manager, never in code.
  • Read the docs as Markdown: Add .md to any page URL. Index of every page: docs.sparklayer.io/llms.txt. Every API operation, compactly: docs.sparklayer.io/llms-api.txt. The developer guides in full: docs.sparklayer.io/developers/llms.txt.
  • OpenAPI specs: customers, core, ordering, pricing, purchasing, stock, files, sync-log: https://docs.sparklayer.io/openapi/<api>.yaml (also .json). Ignite: https://docs.sparklayer.io/openapi/ignite.yaml.
  • MCP: Search and read these docs from your assistant with the docs MCP server at https://docs.sparklayer.io/mcp.
GET
/api/v2/customers/{lookupBy}/{identifier}

Returns the customer. Look them up by SparkLayer ID, by their ID on your eCommerce platform or by email address (see lookupBy). Inactive and archived customers are returned too; a deleted or unknown customer returns 404.

Authorization

bearerAuth
AuthorizationBearer <token>

Send Authorization: Bearer <access_token>, together with your Site-Id header, on every request. Get the token from POST /api/auth/token with your Site ID in the Site-Id header and a JSON body (not form-encoded, so standard OAuth 2.0 client libraries don't work): {"grant_type": "client_credentials", "client_id": "…", "client_secret": "…"}. Tokens are valid for 3,600 seconds and there is no refresh token: request a new one shortly before it expires. Create API credentials in the SparkLayer Dashboard under Settings > API. See Authentication.

In: header

Path Parameters

lookupBy*string

What identifier is: sparklayer (the customer's SparkLayer ID), platform (their ID on your eCommerce platform) or email (their email address).

Value in

  • "sparklayer"
  • "platform"
  • "email"
identifier*string

The customer's ID or email address, of the kind set by lookupBy. SparkLayer IDs are UUIDs; legacy cu_ IDs work too, except for shopping lists and favourites. Email lookups are exact and case-sensitive: URL-encode the address, with + as %2B.

Header Parameters

Site-Id*string

Your SparkLayer Site ID, from Settings > API in the SparkLayer Dashboard.

Length1 <= length

Response Body

application/json

application/problem+json

curl -X GET "https://app.sparklayer.io/api/v2/customers/platform/7843024560291" \  -H "Authorization: Bearer <ACCESS_TOKEN>" \  -H "Site-Id: jones-climbing"
{  "title": "Mr",  "first_name": "Tom",  "last_name": "Jones",  "company_name": "Tom Jones Climbing Ltd",  "status": "active",  "group": "base",  "default_billing_address_id": "string",  "default_shipping_address_id": "string",  "available_shipping_addresses": [    "string"  ],  "sales_agent_groups": [    "south-west-uk"  ],  "price_lists": [    "b2b_gb_gbp_123"  ],  "discount_percentage": 0,  "addresses": [    {      "id": "9151f21f-43ae-43b4-92f3-f4af67cdf544",      "legacy_id": "ca_47",      "created_at": "2019-08-24T14:15:22Z",      "updated_at": "2019-08-24T14:15:22Z",      "title": "Mr",      "first_name": "Bob",      "last_name": "Jones",      "company": "Tom Jones Climbing Ltd",      "address_line1": "Example Industrial Estate",      "address_line2": "North Country",      "city": "Cityland",      "region_name": "California",      "region_code": "CA",      "postal_code": "12345",      "country_name": "USA",      "country_code": "US",      "phone": "+44 (0) 123456789",      "external_id": "123456789",      "is_default_shipping": true,      "is_default_billing": true,      "valid_for_purchase_id": "64bd7a6d-6c6e-4483-b017-db631805fab6"    }  ],  "cart_uuid": "9151f21f-43ae-43b4-92f3-f4af67cdf544",  "previous_cart_uuid": "9151f21f-43ae-43b4-92f3-f4af67cdf544",  "cart_loaded_from_purchase": false,  "tax_exempt": true,  "id": "9151f21f-43ae-43b4-92f3-f4af67cdf544",  "legacy_id": "cu_123456789",  "external_id": "123456789",  "accounting_id": "string",  "email": "Tom.jones@climbing.com",  "effective_sales_agent_groups": [    "south-west-uk"  ],  "role": "limited",  "role_object": {    "id": "019bbd11-4e64-735f-9205-5b7bc84181f6",    "name": "My Custom Role",    "slug": "my-custom-role",    "type": "customer",    "permissions": {      "purchase-edit-prices": true,      "customers-create-new": false    },    "is_default": true  },  "parent_customer_id": "9151f21f-43ae-43b4-92f3-f4af67cdf544",  "created_at": "2019-08-24T14:15:22Z",  "updated_at": "2019-08-24T14:15:22Z",  "parent_customer": {    "title": "Mr",    "first_name": "Tom",    "last_name": "Jones",    "company_name": "Tom Jones Climbing Ltd",    "parent_customer_id": "9151f21f-43ae-43b4-92f3-f4af67cdf544",    "status": "active",    "group": "base",    "role": "limited",    "default_billing_address_id": "string",    "default_shipping_address_id": "string",    "available_shipping_addresses": [      "string"    ],    "sales_agent_groups": [      "south-west-uk"    ],    "price_lists": [      "b2b_gb_gbp_123"    ],    "discount_percentage": 0,    "addresses": [      {        "id": "9151f21f-43ae-43b4-92f3-f4af67cdf544",        "legacy_id": "ca_47",        "created_at": "2019-08-24T14:15:22Z",        "updated_at": "2019-08-24T14:15:22Z",        "title": "Mr",        "first_name": "Bob",        "last_name": "Jones",        "company": "Tom Jones Climbing Ltd",        "address_line1": "Example Industrial Estate",        "address_line2": "North Country",        "city": "Cityland",        "region_name": "California",        "region_code": "CA",        "postal_code": "12345",        "country_name": "USA",        "country_code": "US",        "phone": "+44 (0) 123456789",        "external_id": "123456789",        "is_default_shipping": true,        "is_default_billing": true,        "valid_for_purchase_id": "64bd7a6d-6c6e-4483-b017-db631805fab6"      }    ],    "cart_uuid": "9151f21f-43ae-43b4-92f3-f4af67cdf544",    "previous_cart_uuid": "9151f21f-43ae-43b4-92f3-f4af67cdf544",    "cart_loaded_from_purchase": false,    "tax_exempt": true  },  "payment_on_account": null}

Customers API

Create, update and look up B2B customers with the Customers API, and manage their addresses, account balance, company roles and shopping lists.

PUTCreate or update a customer

Creates the customer if none matches `lookupBy` and `identifier` (`201`), or replaces the one that does (`200`). - **The body must contain the identifier in the URL**: `external_id` for `platform`, `email` for `email`, `id` for a SparkLayer UUID or `legacy_id` for a `cu_` ID. Otherwise you get `400` (`idMismatch`). With `sparklayer` and a UUID no customer has, the customer is created with that ID. - **Send the whole customer every time.** Fields you leave out are cleared, including `accounting_id`, `price_lists`, `discount_percentage`, `tax_exempt`, `sales_agent_groups` and the credit limit, currency and net terms in `payment_on_account`. Addresses missing from `addresses` are deleted, so leaving `addresses` out deletes them all. - **`group` and `role` must exist**, and so must `parent_customer_id` if you set it, or you get `400`. Price list slugs aren't checked, and sales agent groups that don't exist yet are created. - **Emails and platform IDs are unique.** `409` if another customer has the same `email` or `external_id`, or another address has the same address `external_id`. - **`payment_on_account` records the balance.** With `balance_date`, `balance` becomes an opening balance on that date. Without it, the balance is set to `balance` (or 0) as of now. See **Adjust a customer's account balance**. To change only some fields, use **Update a customer**.