Partner vs Affiliate

Catalog without tracking versus the affiliate network

The Partner API and the Affiliate API read the same brand and campaign catalog. The difference is context.

Mental model

	Partner API	Affiliate API	SDK
Who	Catalog integration	Network affiliate	Onboarding partner
Header	x-api-key type partner	x-api-key type affiliate	x-auth-key
Payload	Brand / campaign	+ channels, short URLs, commission, personal codes	Affiliates, orders, terms
Paths	/api/partner/*	/affiliate/*	TypeScript client

An affiliate needs trackable links and commission split. A catalog partner only needs public information (brand, offer, generic coupon).

What the Partner API does not do

• Shorten URLs or return shortUrls per channel
• Calculate affiliate commission
• Expose affiliate-specific isFavorite state
• Expose PersonalCoupon code
• Orders, products, channels, or the shortener

Those stay on the Affiliate API.

Keys

An affiliate key on /api/partner/brands returns 401 (Expected: partner). The reverse is also true. Types are not interchangeable.