APIs

Retired Boards Appdev Authentication

Topic summary

A user is attempting to set up Shopify API authentication for an ETL system that queries vendor data (PayPal, Authorize.net, ShipStation, USPS) to retrieve store orders for reporting purposes.

Core Issue:

  • Trying to authenticate from a Windows console application but encountering confusion with required authentication fields
  • Documentation requires “subject_token” and “subject_token_type” parameters, which aren’t available in their ETL use case
  • Receiving error: “missing_subject_token” when testing the access API in Postman

Specific Challenges:

  • Unclear where to obtain the “code” parameter (defined as “authorization code generated by Shopify”)
  • Downloaded the ShopifySharp .NET solution and reviewed authorization code sections but still uncertain about implementation
  • Questions whether these APIs are restricted to hosted web applications only

Seeking Guidance:
How to use Shopify APIs within a simple console application on a Windows server, particularly regarding where to obtain the necessary authorization tokens and codes for this non-web-hosted scenario.

Summarized with AI on November 8. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
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We have an ETL system that can query or push data to venders (e.g. Paypal, Authorize.net, ShipStation, even USPS). I am wanting to setup Shopify to access a Store (configured client access) and to get orders for reporting.

My first step is getting authentication to work with a simple API all from a windows console (host) application (used within the ETL system). All seems straight forward until I read the documentation (i.e. https://shopify.dev/docs/apps/build/authentication-authorization/get-access-tokens/exchange-tokens) on authenticating and see I have required fields for “subject_token” and “subject_token_type”. For my ETL API calls, I will not have such a token.

Question: Are these APIs strictly to be used within hosted web applications? How can I use the APIs within a simple console application on a Windows server? Thank you in advance.

If anyone can direct me on what I am missing it is greatly appreciated. I have downloaded the .NET ShopifySharp solution and reviewed the authorization code part. It does not seem to follow the documention in that a “code” parameter is being passed. The code parameter is defined as, “The authorization code generated by Shopify, which should be a parameter named ‘code’ on the request querystring.”, and I am not sure where to get this code value.

I have executed the access API in postman and do get the following error. But, again, don’t know where I need to gather this information.

{
“error”: “missing_subject_token”,
“error_description”: “Missing subject token and/or subject token type in token exchange request.”
}