Custom API Development Skill

This skill guides you through developing Custom APIs for Salesforce B2C Commerce. Custom APIs let you expose custom script code as REST endpoints under the SCAPI framework.

Tip: If b2c CLI is not installed globally, use npx @salesforce/b2c-cli instead (e.g., npx @salesforce/b2c-cli code deploy).

Overview

A Custom API URL has this structure:

https://{shortCode}.api.commercecloud.salesforce.com/custom/{apiName}/{apiVersion}/organizations/{organizationId}/{endpointPath}

Three components are required to create a Custom API:

1. API Contract - An OAS 3.0 schema file (YAML)
2. API Implementation - A script using the B2C Commerce Script API
3. API Mapping - An api.json file binding endpoints to implementations

Cartridge Structure

/my-cartridge
    /cartridge
        package.json
        /rest-apis
            /my-api-name              # API name (lowercase alphanumeric and hyphens only)
                api.json              # Mapping file
                schema.yaml           # OAS 3.0 contract
                script.js             # Implementation

Important: API directory names can only contain alphanumeric lowercase characters and hyphens.

Component 1: API Contract (schema.yaml)

Minimal example:

openapi: 3.0.0
info:
  version: 1.0.0
  title: My Custom API
components:
  securitySchemes:
    ShopperToken:
      type: oauth2
      flows:
        clientCredentials:
          tokenUrl: https://{shortCode}.api.commercecloud.salesforce.com/shopper/auth/v1/organizations/{organizationId}/oauth2/token
          scopes:
            c_my_scope: My custom scope
  parameters:
    siteId:
      name: siteId
      in: query
      required: true
      schema:
        type: string
        minLength: 1
paths:
  /my-endpoint:
    get:
      operationId: getMyData
      parameters:
        - $ref: '#/components/parameters/siteId'
      responses:
        '200':
          description: Success
security:
  - ShopperToken: ['c_my_scope']

Key requirements:

• Use ShopperToken for Shopper APIs (requires siteId), AmOAuth2 for Admin APIs
• Custom scopes must start with c_, max 25 chars
• Custom parameters must have c_ prefix

See Contract Reference for full schema examples and Shopper vs Admin API differences.

Component 2: Implementation (script.js)

var RESTResponseMgr = require('dw/system/RESTResponseMgr');

exports.getMyData = function() {
    var myParam = request.getHttpParameterMap().get('c_my_param').getStringValue();
    var result = { data: 'my data', param: myParam };
    RESTResponseMgr.createSuccess(result).render();
};
exports.getMyData.public = true;  // Required

Key requirements:

• Mark exported functions with .public = true
• Use RESTResponseMgr.createSuccess() for responses
• Use RESTResponseMgr.createError() for error responses (RFC 9457 format)

See Implementation Reference for caching, remote includes, and external service calls.

Component 3: Mapping (api.json)

{
  "endpoints": [
    {
      "endpoint": "getMyData",
      "schema": "schema.yaml",
      "implementation": "script"
    }
  ]
}

Important: Implementation name must NOT include file extension.

Development Workflow

1. Create cartridge with rest-apis/{api-name}/ structure
2. Define contract (schema.yaml) with endpoints and security
3. Implement logic (script.js) with exported functions
4. Create mapping (api.json) binding endpoints to implementation
5. Deploy and activate to register endpoints
6. Check registration status and test

Deployment

# Deploy and activate to register endpoints
b2c code deploy ./my-cartridge --reload

# Check registration status
b2c scapi custom status --tenant-id zzpq_013

# Show failed registrations with error reasons
b2c scapi custom status --tenant-id zzpq_013 --status not_registered --columns apiName,endpointPath,errorReason

Authentication Setup

For Shopper APIs

1. Create a SLAS client with your custom scope(s):

   b2c slas client create --default-scopes --scopes "c_my_scope"
   

2. Obtain token via SLAS client credentials
3. Include siteId in all requests

For Admin APIs

1. Configure custom scope in Account Manager
2. Obtain token via Account Manager OAuth
3. Omit siteId from requests

See Testing Reference for curl examples and authentication setup.

Troubleshooting

Error	Cause	Solution
400 Bad Request	Invalid/unknown params	Define all params in schema
401 Unauthorized	Invalid token	Check token validity
403 Forbidden	Missing scope	Verify scope in token
404 Not Found	Not registered	Check b2c scapi custom status
500 Internal Error	Script error	Check b2c logs get --level ERROR
503 Service Unavailable	Circuit breaker open	Fix errors, wait for reset

Registration Issues

• Endpoint not appearing: Verify cartridge is in site's cartridge path, re-activate code version
• Check logs: Use b2c logs get or filter Log Center with CustomApiRegistry

Related Skills

• b2c-cli:b2c-code - Deploying cartridges and activating code versions
• b2c-cli:b2c-scapi-custom - Checking Custom API registration status
• b2c-cli:b2c-slas - Creating SLAS clients for testing Shopper APIs
• b2c:b2c-webservices - Service configuration for external calls

Reference Documentation

• Contract Reference - Full schema.yaml examples, Shopper vs Admin APIs
• Implementation Reference - script.js patterns, caching, remote includes
• Testing Reference - Authentication setup, curl examples