Setting Up Your Akeneo API Connection: A Step-by-Step Guide

What you'll need

Quick check: Akeneo edition and API availability

The REST API is available on all Akeneo editions. Your URL format identifies which edition you're on:

Step-by-step: creating your API connection

1. 1

   Open System → API Connections

   Log into your Akeneo PIM as an administrator. Navigate to the top menu: System → API Connections. If you don't see 'API Connections', your user account doesn't have the ROLE_ADMINISTRATOR role — ask your Akeneo admin.

2. 2

   Create a new connection

   Click the blue 'Create' button (top right). Enter a label — use something descriptive like 'SyncPIM Export' or 'Data Pipeline'. Click Save.

3. 3

   Copy the Client ID and Client Secret

   After creation, Akeneo shows you the Client ID and Client Secret. The Client Secret is shown only once — copy it immediately and save it in a password manager. If you forget to copy it, click 'Regenerate Secret' to get a new one.

4. 4

   Set the connection role

   In the connection settings, set the 'Flow Type' to 'Data destination' (if exporting FROM Akeneo) and assign the role. For read-only exports, ROLE_USER with catalog permissions is sufficient. ROLE_ADMINISTRATOR gives full access — use only if needed.

5. 5

   Note the username + password

   The OAuth2 token request requires your Akeneo username and password in addition to the Client ID/Secret. Use a dedicated integration user account rather than your personal admin account — it's better practice and easier to manage permissions.

Testing your connection

Before using your credentials in SyncPIM or any integration, verify they work:

# Step 1: Get a token (replace with your values)
curl -X POST https://YOUR_AKENEO_URL/api/oauth/v1/token \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -u "YOUR_CLIENT_ID:YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET" \
  -d '{"username":"YOUR_USERNAME","password":"YOUR_PASSWORD","grant_type":"password"}'

# Expected response:
# { "access_token": "NzY4...", "expires_in": 3600, "token_type": "bearer" }

# Step 2: Test product access
curl https://YOUR_AKENEO_URL/api/rest/v1/products?limit=1 \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN"

# Expected response:
# { "items_count": 4283, "_embedded": { "items": [{...}] }, ... }

If Step 1 succeeds but Step 2 returns an empty items array or 403, your user account doesn't have access to the product catalog. Check channel and category permissions in System → Users.

Common issues during setup

Using your credentials in SyncPIM

Once you have your credentials working, enter them in SyncPIM's connection wizard:

SyncPIM tests the connection immediately and shows you the number of products it can access. If it shows 0, check the catalog permissions for your integration user.