Client Alerts API
 

Making a Call

Retrieves a list of public channel messages.

Note: All methods of the Client Alerts API will be decommisioned on May 31, 2023. The alternative for this API is Platform Notifications, which supports all notification event types supported by Client Alerts API.

For anyone that is not familiar with Platform Notifications, we recommend that you read the Platform Notifications Guide to get started.

This document is an overview of the format and parameters you can use for making calls with the ClientAlerts API. You can obtain data in the JSON format using the ClientAlerts API. The HTTP GET method is supported.

The Gateway URL (endpoint) for the ClientAlerts API is https://clientalerts.ebay.com/ws/ecasvc/ClientAlerts?, in all-lowercase letters.

Standard URL Parameters

The following table contains descriptions of standard ClientAlerts API parameters:

URL Parameter Required? Description
appid Y This is the application ID (AppID) you obtain by joining the eBay Developers Program.
callback N Applies only in cases where the response data is in JSON format. If this value is true, the response data is wrapped in a call to a _cb_[call name] function, to make the response data easier to use. For example, if you use the GetPublicAlerts call and you specify callback=true, then the GetPublicAlerts response data will be wrapped in a call to a _cb_GetPublicAlerts function. If you prefer, use the callbackname parameter instead. The callbackname parameter enables you to specify the name of the function that is returned. If you use both the callback parameter and the callbackname parameter, the callback parameter is ignored.
callbackname N Applies only in cases where the response data is in JSON format. If you use this value, the response data is wrapped in a call to a function, to make the response data easier to use. The value you specify for this parameter is used as the name of the function that is returned. For example, if you use the GetPublicAlerts call and you specify callbackname=myfunction, then the GetPublicAlerts response data will be wrapped in a call to a myfunction function. If you use this parameter with the callback parameter, the callback parameter is ignored.
callname Y The name of the call you are using, e.g. GetPublicAlerts.
siteid N The numeric value for the eBay site with the items you want information about, e.g. the siteid of the US site is 0.
version Y The API version that your application supports.
versionhandling N The versionhandling option allows you to receive the enum values from the latest ClientAlerts API schema, regardless of the schema version you specified in the version parameter. To utilize this option, set versionhandling=LatestEnumValues. If you set versionhandling=eBayStandard, you will receive the value 'CustomCode' if we have added an enum value that is not defined in the schema version you specified in version. If you don't specify a versionhandling value, the default behavior is the same as the versionhandling=eBayStandard setting.

Call-Specific Values

In addition to standard and affiliate-related values, call-specific values must be specified. For example, in the GetPublicAlerts call, the ChannelID value is used.

URL Examples

You are using the HTTP GET method, so call-specific values are specified in your HTTP message.

This example shows standard ClientAlerts API parameters.



https://clientalerts.ebay.com/ws/ecasvc/ClientAlerts?

   ChannelDescriptor(0).ChannelType=Item&

   ChannelDescriptor(0).ChannelID=3**********5&

   ChannelDescriptor(0).EventType(0)=ItemEnded&

   ChannelDescriptor(1).ChannelType=Item&

   ChannelDescriptor(1).ChannelID=1**********7&

   ChannelDescriptor(1).EventType(0)=ItemEnded&

   Version=643&

   callname=GetPublicAlerts

Testing Overview

You can test calls using the Production environment (that is, using the https://clientalerts.ebay.com/ws/ecasvc/ClientAlerts? endpoint).

You also can test calls using the Sandbox environment (that is, using the https://clientalerts.sandbox.ebay.com/ws/ecasvc/ClientAlerts? endpoint). In the Sandbox environment, an application can perform the same operations it would in the Production environment, except that the users, items, and payments are just test data. The test data cannot be accessed from, or used in, the Production environment.

Schema Location

You can access the current version of the Client Alerts schema here: https://developer.ebay.com/webservices/latest/ClientAlertsService.xsd


You can access a particular version of the Client Alerts schema using a URL with the following format, where VERSION is the version identifier of the release:

For ClientAlertsService.xsd:
https://developer.ebay.com/webservices/VERSION/ClientAlertsService.xsd

The version identifier can be one of the following:

All releases have odd-numbered versions. Each time we release a new version of the eBay schema, we add a new directory with a new version number, and point the "latest" URL to the new version. That is, the schema file in the "latest" directory changes for every release.