The Trade Desk Platform API account setup

The Trade Desk is a flexible, open platform that you can tailor to fit your business needs. Even if you’re already using the platform, chances are you’re not taking full advantage of all the ways you can use it to grow your business.

With The Trade Desk API, you can grow your advantage and push the boundaries of your programmatic strategies with more granular control and deeper insights. Create custom optimizations to automate more trading, integrate third-party platforms to automate workflows, and even build your own custom media planning and buying products on top of our platform.

Onboarding process overview

Here's a high-level outline of the onboarding process.

Step Description Notes
1 Create an account and verify your email address. To create an account, you need to provide your name, email address, phone number, company name and address, and other information to your Account Manager or Technical Account Manager. If you don't have one assigned, contact us and fill out the form.
2 Choose the API features that meet your needs. This step typically requires close collaboration with your Account Manager and Technical Account Manager. Certain services might require additional paperwork and access permissions.
3 Sign all the contract and other required paperwork and receive your API credentials. After your account is set up, you'll receive an activation email with your API credentials that allow you to access both the sandbox and production environments.
NOTE: Your API credentials do not provide access to the platform UI.
4 Use your API credentials to generate an authentication token and start building your integrations. Here's what you need to know about using the Platform API:
  • To access the Platform API, you must authenticate yourself.
  • Depending on your task at hand, communication with the Platform API is performed either via REST and GraphQL.
  • To test your integrations, use the respective sandbox environments.
5 Use your auth token to call the Platform API for REST and GraphQL The Platform API supports two methods for making calls, each with different endpoints and schemas. For more information, see Making REST API calls or Making GraphQL API calls.

API services menu

The following table lists the most commonly used API services and indicates the approximate level of effort required of a single engineer to set them up.

Services Description Approximate Building Time Comments and Further Reference
Full API access This enables you to create campaigns, ad groups, and bid lists, automate campaign activation, onboard and activate first-party data, create custom targeting and optimization rules, customize and automate reporting. Depends on your needs The access includes the workflow automation solutions.
Workflow automation Key workflow automation solutions include the following:
  • Campaign connector (automatic campaign creation by syncing with client-booking systems, such as Salesforce, MediaOcean, Strata, or an internal system of record)
  • Creative connector (automatic creative upload and management by syncing with a client ad server or creative database)
 2-4 weeks None.
Custom segments The ability to upload custom first-party data segments to the platform using the Data API. 2 weeks Getting started with data onboarding
Custom bidding strategies These include The Trade Desk Dimensional Bidding and User Scoring algorithms that use custom data-driven logic to enrich your buying strategies. 4 weeks Custom optimization algorithms
Custom reporting and insights The Trade Desk offers three custom reporting and attribution solutions that enable you to get deeper insights on your ROAS: My Reports, Hourly Performance Feeds, and Raw Event Data Stream (REDS). 1 week
2-4 weeks for REDS		 To compare data availability, delivery methods, and other details, see Reporting.

NOTE: API services typically require a setup fee. Be sure to speak to your assigned Business Development or Client Services lead.

FAQs

The following are most commonly asked questions about creating an account.

What do I do if I lost my initial activation email?

If you cannot find your activation email, follow these steps:

  1. Look for an email with the subject line "Welcome to The Trade Desk!" from platformnoreply@thetradedesk.com.

  2. In the message, click the Activate Account button and follow the instructions to set up your API login password and credentials.

For details, see User Management Platform.

What do I do if I forgot my password?

You must reset your password. To do this, go to the login page, enter your email and, when asked to enter your password, click Forgot Password. You will receive a confirmation email with instructions on how to create a new password.

What do I do if my firewall is blocking traffic from The Trade Desk?

You must add the following IPs to your firewall allowlist. These IPs are for the REST and GraphQL endpoints in the Platform API.