Commerce Order API

Commerce Order API (SCAPI / OCAPI — Headless Storefront)

This skill activates when a practitioner needs to submit, retrieve, or manage orders from a headless B2C Commerce storefront using the Salesforce Commerce API (SCAPI) or its predecessor OCAPI. It covers the shopper-facing API layer: authenticating shoppers via SLAS, placing orders against an active basket, retrieving order status and history, and wiring order notifications. It does NOT cover the OMS Connect API layer (OrderSummary, FulfillmentOrder, submit-cancel, ensure-funds-async) — that is handled by admin/commerce-order-management.

Before Starting

Gather this context before working on anything in this domain:

• Confirm whether the project is on SCAPI (modern, recommended) or OCAPI (legacy). OCAPI's Shop API is in maintenance mode as of Spring '24 and Salesforce has signaled eventual deprecation. New integrations must use SCAPI.
• Confirm SLAS is configured: a SLAS client must exist in Account Manager with the correct scopes (sfcc.shopper-baskets-orders, sfcc.shopper-myaccount.order) and redirect URIs registered before any order API call will succeed. Missing scopes produce silent 403 errors, not descriptive messages.
• Verify the shopper has an active basket with a valid shipping address, shipping method, and at least one payment instrument before calling the orders endpoint — the API will reject the order creation if the basket is incomplete, but the error responses can be generic.
• The SCAPI Orders endpoint consumes and deletes the basket in a single call. Once POST /orders returns 200, the basket is gone. There is no rollback of a successfully submitted order through the shopper API; amendments require either the OMS layer or OCAPI order amendment resources.
• Know whether shoppers are guest (anonymous) or registered (authenticated): SLAS guest tokens can place orders, but order history retrieval (GET /orders) requires a registered shopper token. Guest order lookup uses order number + email, not a shopper session.

Core Concepts

SCAPI ShopAPI Orders — The Modern Path

The Salesforce Commerce API (SCAPI) ShopAPI Orders resource is the current standard for headless order submission:

SLAS Scopes for Orders:

OCAPI Shop API Orders — The Legacy Path

OCAPI (/s/{site-id}/dw/shop/v23_2/orders) remains available for existing integrations but is in maintenance mode. Key behavioral differences from SCAPI:

• Auth uses OCAPI client ID + HMAC or OAuth 2.0, not SLAS. OCAPI client IDs are configured per-site in Business Manager under Administration > Site Development > OCAPI Settings.
• OCAPI orders support POST (create), GET (retrieve), and PATCH (amend). SCAPI's ShopAPI does not expose an amendment endpoint — post-submission changes go through OMS.
• OCAPI returns customer_info, billing_address, and shipments in the same response structure but with underscore-delimited keys vs SCAPI's camelCase.
• Order amendment via OCAPI PATCH is possible for status updates within certain lifecycle states, but this is being phased out in favor of OMS Connect API actions.
• Do not start new integrations on OCAPI. SCAPI is the strategic path.

SLAS Authentication for Order Submission

SLAS (Shopper Login and API Access Service) is mandatory for SCAPI order submission. It is hosted separately from the core Salesforce platform and operates through Account Manager:

• Guest flow: POST /shopper/auth/v1/organizations/{organizationId}/oauth2/guest/token — Returns a short-lived access token usable for basket creation and order submission. Guest tokens cannot access order history.
• Registered flow (PKCE): Authorization Code + PKCE with redirect_uri in the browser. After the shopper logs in, exchange the code for tokens. The access token carries the shopper's customer_id and enables order history.
• Token refresh: Both guest and registered tokens have configurable TTLs (default 30 min / 7 day refresh). Implement token refresh before expiry; SCAPI returns 401 with invalid_token when expired.
• Trusted agent flow: For server-side integrations (e.g., Apex callouts reading shopper orders into Salesforce core), use the SLAS Trusted Agent flow with a private client and a sfcc.shopper-baskets-orders.rw scope. This avoids requiring a browser-based PKCE flow in backend systems.

Order Status and Notifications

B2C Commerce headless does not push order status changes via native Salesforce Platform Events. Order status notifications use one of two mechanisms:

1. B2C Commerce Hooks (dw.system.HookMgr): A custom cartridge can register a hook on dw.order.afterOrderCreated or dw.order.afterOrderStatusChange. The hook script runs server-side in the Commerce Cloud cartridge layer and can fire an HTTP callout to an external webhook or a Salesforce Experience Cloud endpoint.
2. Order Management Platform Events (after OMS integration): Once a B2C order is ingested into OMS as an OrderSummary, OrderSummaryCreatedEvent, FOStatusChangedEvent, and OrderSumStatusChangedEvent platform events carry status changes back to Salesforce core. This requires the OMS integration layer and is described in admin/commerce-order-management.

For pure headless storefronts without OMS, polling GET /orders/{orderNo} is the fallback for order status — it is not a webhook model.

Common Patterns

Pattern: Guest Shopper Order Submission via SCAPI

When to use: A headless storefront (React, Vue, mobile) needs to place an order for an anonymous/guest shopper.

How it works:

1. Obtain a SLAS guest token:

   POST https://{shortCode}.api.commercecloud.salesforce.com/shopper/auth/v1/organizations/{organizationId}/oauth2/guest/token
   Body: grant_type=client_credentials&client_id={publicClientId}
   

2. Create a basket via Shopper Baskets API (POST /baskets). Add product line items, set shipping address and method, add payment instrument.
3. Submit the order:

   POST /checkout/shopper-orders/v1/organizations/{organizationId}/orders
   Authorization: Bearer {slasGuestToken}
   Body: {"basketId": "{basketId}"}
   

4. Parse the response orderNo and status. Store orderNo in local state — it is the only future lookup key for guest shoppers.
5. Trigger confirmation email via cartridge hook or external service using orderNo.

Why not the alternative: Using OCAPI for new guest order placement requires configuring OCAPI client settings in Business Manager per-site and does not benefit from SLAS centralized token management or the newer Commerce API rate-limiting and observability tooling.

Pattern: Registered Shopper Order History Retrieval

When to use: A logged-in shopper views their order history in a headless My Account page.

How it works:

1. Obtain a SLAS registered token for the shopper (PKCE flow or session-based via trusted agent).
2. Call:

   GET /checkout/shopper-orders/v1/organizations/{organizationId}/orders?offset=0&limit=10
   Authorization: Bearer {registeredToken}
   

3. The response is paginated. Use total, offset, and limit in the response envelope for pagination. Filter by status query param if needed (created, new, open, completed, cancelled).
4. For order detail, call GET /orders/{orderNo} with the same registered token.

Why not the alternative: Guest tokens cannot access GET /orders — the API returns 403. Attempting to look up a registered shopper's order history with a guest token is the most common auth mistake in headless implementations.

Pattern: Apex Callout to Read B2C Order Data into Salesforce Core

When to use: A Salesforce core org needs to read order data from B2C Commerce (e.g., to display recent orders in Service Console) without OMS integration.

How it works:

1. Use the SLAS Trusted Agent flow in Apex to obtain a server-side access token (no browser required):

   HttpRequest req = new HttpRequest();
   req.setEndpoint('callout:SLAS_Endpoint/shopper/auth/v1/organizations/{orgId}/oauth2/token');
   req.setMethod('POST');
   req.setBody('grant_type=client_credentials&client_id={privateClientId}&client_secret={secret}');
   

2. Store the token in a custom setting or Platform Cache (not in a field on a record — avoid token persistence in audit-visible storage).
3. Use the token in a subsequent callout to GET /orders/{orderNo} or GET /orders and map the response to a Salesforce object or LWC display component.

Why not the alternative: Hardcoding an OCAPI client secret in Apex Named Credentials or Custom Metadata without rotating expiry logic creates a credential exposure risk and makes the integration fragile when OCAPI clients are regenerated in Business Manager.

Decision Guidance

Recommended Workflow

Step-by-step instructions for an AI agent or practitioner working on this task:

1. Confirm API path (SCAPI vs OCAPI): Determine whether this is a new integration (use SCAPI) or a maintained legacy integration (OCAPI). For SCAPI, confirm the org's shortCode and organizationId from the Commerce Cloud Business Manager (Administration > Salesforce Commerce API Settings). For OCAPI, locate the site-level OCAPI Shop API settings in Business Manager.
2. Configure SLAS: In Account Manager, verify a SLAS client exists with sfcc.shopper-baskets-orders scope and the storefront's redirect URI. For server-side Apex callouts, configure a private SLAS client and store credentials in Salesforce Named Credentials — never in Apex source or Custom Metadata readable by all profiles.
3. Implement the basket-to-order flow: Build the shopper basket using the Shopper Baskets API before calling the Orders endpoint. Validate the basket is complete (shipping address, shipping method, payment instrument) before submission. The Orders endpoint will reject an incomplete basket with a 400 error.
4. Submit the order and handle the response: Call POST /checkout/shopper-orders/v1/.../orders with the basketId. Parse orderNo and status from the response. Implement client-side deduplication: do not retry a POST /orders without first confirming via GET /orders/{orderNo} that the order does not already exist.
5. Wire notifications: Implement a B2C Commerce cartridge hook on dw.order.afterOrderCreated for immediate post-submission notifications. For status change notifications, implement a hook on dw.order.afterOrderStatusChange or integrate with OMS platform events if the org uses OMS.
6. Test authentication edge cases: Verify that expired SLAS tokens return 401 and the client refreshes correctly. Test guest shopper order lookup using orderNo + email (not session token). Test that registered shopper order history returns correct results and pagination works at the 10-record boundary.
7. Review security posture: Confirm SLAS client secrets are not exposed in browser-accessible JavaScript (use private SLAS clients only in server-side code). Confirm Named Credentials are used for Apex callouts. Confirm OCAPI allowed-origins whitelist is restricted to known storefront domains if OCAPI is in use.

Review Checklist

Run through these before marking work in this area complete:

• SLAS client is configured in Account Manager with correct scopes and redirect URIs
• SCAPI organization ID and short code are confirmed from Business Manager
• Order submission uses basket-first flow — basket is complete before POST /orders is called
• Client-side deduplication is implemented for POST /orders retries
• SLAS client secrets are stored in Named Credentials or equivalent — not in Apex literals or Custom Metadata accessible to all profiles
• Guest vs registered token usage is correct: guest for submission, registered for order history
• Order notification mechanism is in place (B2C hook or OMS platform events)
• If OCAPI: OCAPI allowed-origins is restricted to known domains; no wildcard origins in production

Salesforce-Specific Gotchas

Non-obvious platform behaviors that cause real production problems:

1. POST /orders is not idempotent and basket is destroyed on success — A network timeout during order submission leaves the client uncertain: did the order succeed? The basket is deleted on success. Retrying POST /orders creates a duplicate order. The safe recovery pattern is to call GET /orders?basketId={basketId} (OCAPI) or check order history by other means before retrying. Design the storefront to show a "checking order status" state before offering a retry button.
2. SLAS scope mismatches produce 403 with no useful error body — If the SLAS client lacks sfcc.shopper-baskets-orders, the orders endpoint returns a 403 with a generic payload. Business Manager does not surface scope errors in request logs by default. Always verify scopes in Account Manager before debugging storefront code.
3. Guest tokens cannot retrieve order history — 403, not 401 — Developers often mistake a guest-authenticated GET /orders 403 for a token expiry or scope issue. The distinction matters: 401 means re-authenticate; 403 means the token is valid but lacks privilege. For guest order lookup, use the OCAPI GET /orders/{orderNo}?guest_email={email} pattern or implement a dedicated guest order lookup endpoint.
4. OCAPI and SCAPI use different key casing conventions — OCAPI response keys are snake_case (customer_info, billing_address); SCAPI response keys are camelCase (customerInfo, billingAddress). Code that handles both APIs without an adapter layer will produce silent null-reference bugs in JavaScript when the casing assumption is wrong.
5. SCAPI has no order amendment endpoint — amendments require OMS — After a SCAPI order is submitted, the ShopAPI has no PATCH /orders/{orderNo} equivalent. Any quantity change, address correction, or cancellation requires either the OMS Connect API actions (if OMS is integrated) or a custom cartridge solution with direct business object access. Teams that discover this limitation post-launch often attempt direct DML against OMS objects, which corrupts financial aggregates in MANAGED mode.

Output Artifacts

Related Skills

• admin/commerce-order-management — Use for OMS-layer order processing: OrderSummary, FulfillmentOrder, submit-cancel, ensure-funds-async, and OMS platform events. This is the post-submission layer after a SCAPI order is ingested into Salesforce OMS.
• lwc/commerce-lwc-components — Use for building LWC checkout and My Account components that call SCAPI via the wire service or imperative Apex.
• apex/external-service-callout — Use for Apex HTTP callout patterns to external APIs including SCAPI and SLAS token management.

Official Sources Used

• Salesforce Commerce API (SCAPI) ShopAPI Orders — https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/commerce/salesforce-commerce/guide/ShopperOrders.html
• SLAS (Shopper Login and API Access Service) Developer Guide — https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/commerce/salesforce-commerce/guide/slas.html
• OCAPI Shop API Orders Resource — https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/commerce/b2c-commerce/references/ocapi-shop-api?meta=Orders
• Salesforce Well-Architected Overview — https://architect.salesforce.com/docs/architect/well-architected/guide/overview.html
• B2C Commerce Hooks Reference — https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/commerce/b2c-commerce/references/b2c-commerce-hooks-reference?meta=Summary