OLX Developer Portal - Partner, Application, and User

Important

In Partner API docs, Client means the Application (the HTTP / OAuth client), not a person and not the customer who pays for a product. Do not confuse Client with User (also called seller or lister).

Glossary

Partner — the company that builds the integration. The Partner is responsible for following the Partner API Terms & Conditions, for the technical solution, and for technical contact related to the integration.

Application (also called Client in the API) — software created by the Partner that calls the Partner API to integrate with OLX. One Partner may own several Applications. Each Application has its own credentials (client_id / client_secret). End users work with the Partner's product; the Application is what talks to OLX on their behalf.

User (also called seller or lister) — a person who uses the Partner's Application and has an OLX account. Through the Application, the User can publish ads, read statuses and messages, and use other OLX features without using the OLX website or app directly. When the API acts "on behalf of a user", it means this OLX account — not the Partner company.

Relationship:

Partner → owns Application(s) / Client(s) → each Application acts on behalf of User(s) (sellers / listers)

flowchart LR
    Partner["Partner
company / integrator"]
    App["Application
(Client in the API)"]
    UA["User A
seller / lister"]
    UB["User B
seller / lister"]
    UMore["User …
OLX accounts"]
    Partner -->|owns| App
    App -->|acts for| UA
    App -->|acts for| UB
    App -->|acts for| UMore

Example

Partner Excellent and Beautiful Integrations Company (EBIC) creates two Applications:

Excellent Stock Management
Excellent Stock Management Premium

These Applications help EBIC's customers manage inventory. One feature is selling on OLX.

For an EBIC customer to sell on OLX, that person must have an OLX account. In API terms they are a User (seller / lister) — not a Client.

The User signs in to Excellent Stock Management (or Premium) and grants that Application access to their OLX account (OAuth consent, started by the Application). After consent, the Application can publish ads, read ad statuses, receive buyer messages, and use other Partner API features in that User's name. The Application stores that User's tokens on its side.

In their OLX account, the User can see connected Applications and disconnect one at any time. After disconnect, that Application can no longer use their OLX account. A User may connect Applications from several Partners.

Who registers in the Developer Portal?

The Partner registers in the Developer Portal (Partner API Terms & Conditions must be accepted). Then the Partner registers their Applications (Clients). Each Application gets a client_id and client_secret used in OAuth. The Partner manages Applications, settings, and API usage.

The User does not register in the Developer Portal. Users use the Partner's Application and authorize it to access their OLX account. They are onboarded through the auth / consent flow, not through the portal.

Common mix-ups to avoid

The paying customer of the Partner's product is a User (seller / lister), not a Client.
Client in the API always means the Application.
Do not register end sellers in the Developer Portal as if they were Partners.

For OAuth, tokens, and how the Application calls the API on behalf of a User, see Authorization in API.

For request details, endpoints, and scopes, see the Authentication section in the API documentation.

To register as a Partner and create an Application, follow Getting access to API.

Partner, Application, and User — who is who?

Glossary

Example

Who registers in the Developer Portal?