Getting Started
This guide walks you through making your first authenticated call to the PAR OPS Back Office API.
Prerequisites
Before you begin, make sure you have:
- An active account for the store/organization you are integrating with.
- A DCKey (Integration Key), issued by the PAR OPS support team as part of the integration/partnership process.
- The port number assigned to your organization.
- An HTTP client (curl, Postman, or your language of choice).
If you do not have a DCKey yet, contact the PAR OPS support/partnership team to request one before proceeding.
Step 1: Configure your base URL
The API is hosted at a path that includes the port number assigned to your organization. This is a 4-digit integer assigned to your organization. If you already use the PAR OPS portal, you can find this port number in your portal URL; otherwise, contact PAR OPS support to obtain it.
Build your base URL as follows, replacing {server-name} and {XXXX} with the values provided by PAR OPS:
https://{server-name}/portal{XXXX}/api/
Step 2: Add your DCKey header
Every API request must include your DCKey (Integration Key) in the DCKey
header. This key alone is enough to authenticate your integration — no
username, password, or Auth0 login is required.
DCKey: <your-integration-key>
Step 3: Make your first API call
Combine your base URL with the DCKey header to call any endpoint you have
permission for. For example, get the current account with GET /v3/Account:
curl -X GET "https://{server-name}/portal{XXXX}/api/v3/Account" \
-H "DCKey: <your-integration-key>"
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Likely Cause |
|---|---|
401 Unauthorized |
Missing or invalid DCKey header, or your account does not have an active session/permission for the request. |
403 Forbidden |
Your DCKey or account does not have permission to access the requested resource. |
404 Not Found |
The base URL, port number, or endpoint path is incorrect. |
400 Bad Request |
The request body, query parameters, or headers are missing required fields or are malformed. |
500 Internal Server Error |
An unexpected server-side error occurred. Retry the request, and contact PAR OPS support if it persists. |
Next Steps
Continue to API Families Overview, and then browse the API References section of this portal for the full set of available endpoints:
- PAR OPS API v1 — legacy Back Office endpoints.
- PAR OPS API v2+ — current Back Office endpoints (recommended for new integrations).
- ShiftWorks API — employee-facing scheduling endpoints.
