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LOADED COMMERCE REST API

Loaded Commerce Setup Guide

Connect your Loaded Commerce store to EcomCentral using Bearer token authentication with your API key from the admin panel.

About Loaded Commerce

Loaded Commerce (loadedcommerce.com) is a US-based open-source e-commerce platform derived from osCommerce and Zen Cart, widely used by small and mid-sized US retailers. The modern version — Loaded7 — adds a REST API module and a contemporary admin interface while retaining the osCommerce field-naming conventions (products_model, orders_id, customers_name, etc.).

ℹ️ EcomCentral connects to the Loaded Commerce REST API at {store_url}/api/v1. The REST API module must be enabled in the admin panel before credentials will work.
⚠️ MEDIUM confidence note: The exact API endpoint paths and field names may vary depending on your Loaded Commerce version and installed modules. This integration targets Loaded7 with the REST API module. If requests fail, verify the endpoint paths against your store's API documentation or contact Loaded Commerce support.

Prerequisites

Enabling the REST API Module

  1. Log in to your Loaded Commerce administration panel
  2. Navigate to Modules → API
  3. Find the REST API module and click Install or Enable
  4. Once active, the module will expose endpoints under /api/v1/
  5. Verify the API is reachable by visiting https://your-store.com/api/v1/products?limit=1 — you should see a JSON response (or a 401 Unauthorized, which confirms the endpoint exists)
⚠️ If the REST API module is not installed, all EcomCentral requests will return 404 Not Found. Install the module first, then add the connection.

Getting Your API Key

  1. Log in to your Loaded Commerce administration panel
  2. Navigate to Modules → API (MEDIUM confidence — menu path may differ by version)
  3. Click Generate API Key or find the existing API key field
  4. Copy the generated API key — you will not be able to see it again in some versions
  5. Note your store's full URL, e.g. https://mystore.com
  6. In EcomCentral, add a new Loaded Commerce connection and enter both values
  7. Click ⚡ Test to verify the connection

Credentials Reference

KeyRequiredDescriptionExample
store_url Required Full root URL of your Loaded Commerce store. EcomCentral appends /api/v1 automatically. Do not include a trailing slash. https://mystore.com
api_key Required API key from the Loaded Commerce admin API settings. Sent as Authorization: Bearer {api_key} on every request. abc123xyz...
✅ Alternative key names accepted: url for the store URL; apiKey or token for the API key.

API Endpoints Used

OperationMethodEndpoint
Test connectionGET/products?page=1&limit=1
List ordersGET/orders?page=P&limit=N
Order detailGET/orders/{id}
Add trackingPUT/orders/{id} with { "tracking_number":"…", "orders_status":"Shipped", "comments":"…" }
List productsGET/products?page=P&limit=N
Product detailGET/products/{id}
Update stockPUT/products/{id} with { "products_quantity": N }
ℹ️ All requests send Authorization: Bearer {api_key}. List endpoints return a plain JSON array. The total count is read from the X-Total-Count response header when available, falling back to the array length. Single-item endpoints return the object directly without an envelope wrapper. Field names follow the osCommerce convention (products_model, orders_id, customers_name, etc.).

Order Statuses

Loaded Commerce uses text-based order statuses (inherited from osCommerce). EcomCentral recognises the following and displays them with colour-coded badges.

StatusBadge colourNotes
Delivered / Completed / Shipped Green Also: Complete, Closed
Pending / Processing Blue Also: Payment Received, New, Awaiting Fulfillment
On Hold Amber Also: Awaiting Credit, Partially Shipped, Backordered
Cancelled / Refunded Red Also: Canceled, Denied, Failed
Any other value Blue (default) Unknown statuses default to blue

Supported Features

FeatureSupportedNotes
View orders (paginated)Order ID, reference number, date, status, total + currency code
View order detailCustomer info, billing & shipping addresses, line items, current tracking, shipping method
Add tracking numberSets tracking_number, orders_status ("Shipped"), and a comment via PUT /orders/{id}
View products (paginated)Product ID, SKU (products_model), name, price, stock quantity
View product detailFull product with description (HTML stripped, 400-char limit), category, brand, image filename
Update stock quantityBy internal product_id via PUT /products/{id} with products_quantity. Product IDs are shown in the Products tab.
Test connectionHits GET /products?limit=1 — success confirms credentials and API module are working
ℹ️ Product IDs for stock updates: Loaded Commerce uses internal numeric product IDs (not SKUs / products_model values) for stock updates. The product ID is shown in the Products tab as the ID column. osCommerce-style field names (products_model, orders_id, etc.) are used throughout the API.

Troubleshooting

401 Unauthorized / 403 Forbidden

The API key is wrong, or the REST API module is not enabled. Double-check the api_key value copied from the admin panel. Ensure the API module is installed and active under Modules → API. Some versions require the API to be explicitly enabled per-user or per-role.

404 Not Found on all requests

The REST API module is not installed, or the endpoint path differs from /api/v1/ in your version. Verify the module is installed and check your Loaded Commerce version's documentation for the correct base path. Also confirm the store URL does not include a trailing path component beyond the domain root.

Connection error / SSL error

Verify the store_url format — it should be the store root, e.g. https://mystore.com. Do not append /api/v1; EcomCentral adds that automatically. A trailing slash is harmless and will be stripped. EcomCentral requires a valid SSL certificate; self-signed certificates will be rejected.

🔧 Quick sanity check — visit https://your-store.com/api/v1/products?limit=1 in a browser with the Authorization header set to Bearer {your_api_key} (using a tool like Postman or curl). A 200 response with a JSON array confirms the API is working. A 401 means the key is wrong; a 404 means the module is not installed or the path differs.