Choose an Authentication Method
Overview
Apple Business supports two ways to obtain an access token. Choose based on whether a specific Apple Business user needs to authenticate and grant consent, or your integration runs without user interaction.
| If your integration needs to... | Use | Grant Type | Flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Act on behalf of a specific Apple Business user or organization, with their explicit consent | OAuth App | authorization_code | Authorization Code Flow (3-legged OAuth) |
| Run automated, server-to-server access with no user interaction | Service Account | client_credentials | Request Token (2-legged OAuth) |
Illustration
Common Starting Points
| I want to... | Endpoint | Requires |
|---|---|---|
| Look up the user, organization, or delegated feature access tied to the current token | Get User and Organization Details (GET /api/v1/me) | OAuth App (Authorization Code Flow) |
| Retrieve resources delegated to my organization (brands, locations, matching locations) or delegation-related notifications and feedback | Delegation APIs | Service Account (Client Credentials Flow) |
note
Delegation APIs identify resources by {orgId}/{delegatedOrgId} rather than a signed-in user, so they're accessed with a Service Account — an OAuth App token isn't accepted.