Overview

Aftership is a shipment tracking API that aggregates tracking data from over 900 carriers worldwide into a single unified interface. You can add tracking numbers, monitor shipment status, and receive webhooks for real-time delivery updates. It is widely used by e-commerce stores to provide customers with automatic shipping notifications.

Beginner Tip

When adding a tracking number, you can specify the carrier slug (e.g., "ups", "fedex") to skip auto-detection and get faster, more reliable tracking. Use the /couriers/detect endpoint first if you are unsure which carrier to use.

Available Data

The kind of data this API exposes, based on its documentation. We could not call the endpoint to confirm the exact field names.

track name and artist
album metadata
audio preview URLs
popularity score
genre classification
IP address information

Example Response

Illustrative shape only — we were not able to call this endpoint (it requires credentials or exposes no public sample URL), so the fields below show the kind of data this API returns rather than a recorded response.

JSON Response · Illustrative
{
  "name": "Bohemian Rhapsody",
  "artist": "Queen",
  "album": "A Night at the Opera",
  "duration_ms": 354000,
  "popularity": 92,
  "preview_url": "https://p.scdn.co/mp3-preview/..."
}

Field Reference

tracking.id Unique Aftership ID for this tracking record
tracking.tracking_number The shipment tracking number provided by the carrier
tracking.tag Standardized delivery status: "Pending", "InTransit", "OutForDelivery", "Delivered", "Exception"
tracking.checkpoints Chronological list of tracking events with location, timestamp, and status message
tracking.estimated_delivery_date Predicted delivery date in ISO 8601 format, if available from the carrier
tracking.slug Carrier identifier slug used by Aftership (e.g., "ups", "fedex", "dhl")

Implementation Example

Calls a real endpoint of this API. Replace any placeholder credentials with your own key.

Request
const url = "https://developers.aftership.com/reference/quick-start";
// Replace headers or query params with the values required by this API.
const response = await fetch(url, {
  headers: {
  "X-API-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY"
  }
});
if (!response.ok) throw new Error(`Request failed: ${response.status}`);
const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);

What Can You Build?

Note: These code examples are AI-generated and unverified. Always refer to the official API documentation for accurate usage.

Common Errors & Troubleshooting

Generated guidance based on this API's documentation, not observed by us. Treat it as a starting point and check against the provider's own error reference.

401 Unauthorized Missing or invalid API key in the as-api-key header
Obtain your API key from the Aftership dashboard and send it in the "as-api-key" header with every request
4003 Tracking already exists You are trying to add a tracking number that has already been added to your account
Use GET /trackings/{slug}/{tracking_number} to retrieve the existing tracking instead of creating a duplicate
Tracking status stuck at "Pending" The carrier was not detected automatically or the tracking number format is unrecognized
Explicitly specify the carrier "slug" when creating the tracking, or use /couriers/detect to identify the correct carrier

Metadata Score Breakdown

Estimated from metadata — endpoint not independently tested

This score is estimated from observable metadata — HTTPS support, authentication model, declared CORS, and documentation reachability — because the API requires authentication or exposes no publicly testable endpoint. The five-signal breakdown is only shown for live-tested APIs.

Metadata estimate · endpoint not independently tested

Technical Specifications

Auth API Key
HTTPS REQUIRED
CORS YES
Category Tracking
Difficulty Intermediate
Listing details not endpoint-verified

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