Shippo API Authentication

How to authenticate Shippo API requests: one Bearer API key plus a connectionId. MindCloud stores your Shippo API key securely — set it once, never resend it.

Every Shippo API request through MindCloud needs two things: a MindCloud API Key and a connectionId for your Shippo account. This page covers both, plus exactly how to send them, so you do not need to visit any other page to get authenticated.

Steps to authenticate

Create a MindCloud account at app.mindcloud.co if you do not already have one.
Generate a MindCloud API Key in API Keys. This is the Bearer token you send on every request. Keep it on your server.
Create a Shippo connection in Connections. Shippo uses an API key. You generate the key in your Shippo account, then paste it in when you create the connection — MindCloud stores it securely and never returns it in a response.
Copy the connection’s connectionId — you will send it on every request alongside your MindCloud API Key.

How requests are authenticated

Authentication has two layers. Your MindCloud API Key authenticates the request to MindCloud, sent as a Bearer token in the Authorization header. The connectionId selects the connected Shippo account that should run the action. MindCloud stores and refreshes the Shippo credentials behind that connection, so you never send provider tokens with your requests.

Pass connectionId in the query string for GET and DELETE actions, and in the JSON body for POST, PUT, and PATCH actions.

For example, calling List Carrier Accounts with an Shippo connection looks like this:

curl --request POST \
  --url "https://connect.mindcloud.co/v2/universal/apps/shippo/actions/list-carrier-accounts/run" \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer $MINDCLOUD_API_KEY" \
  --header "Content-Type: application/json" \
  --data '{
  "connectionId": "$CONNECTION_ID",
  "arguments": {}
}'

The Authorization: Bearer <your MindCloud API Key> header authenticates you to MindCloud; the connectionId tells MindCloud which Shippo account to run the action against. Missing or invalid Authorization returns 401, and a missing or mismatched connectionId returns 400.

Get your Shippo API key

Use a Shippo test token while you configure and test this connection. Switch to a live token only when you are ready to create real labels and charges.

Create a Shippo account if you do not already have one
Open Shippo sign up, create your account, and finish the registration prompts.
Join Shippo
Sign in to the Shippo API portal
Log in with your Shippo credentials so you can manage API credentials.
Open Developer keys
In the API Configuration menu, select Developer keys.
API Configuration → Developer keys
Create a test key for setup
Click Create new test key and copy the generated value. Shippo says test keys begin with shippo_test_. Use a live key only when you are ready for production usage.
Paste the key into your MindCloud connection
Return to MindCloud and paste the copied Shippo key into the API Key field for this connection.

Keep your key safe

Keep your MindCloud API Key on your server; do not ship it in browser code, mobile apps, public repositories, or logs. Anyone with the key can call the Universal API as your MindCloud account, across every connection you have created.