Shippo API – Ruby Wrapper for Shippo API

⚠️ Shippo no longer actively maintains this library
However, you can use it as a starting point and update it for your needs and future changes to our APIs.
You can use our Open API Specification to build your own library using tools like the OpenAPI Generator and Swagger Codegen.

Shippo is a shipping API that connects you with multiple shipping carriers (such as USPS, UPS, DHL, Canada Post, Australia Post, UberRUSH and many others) through one interface.

Print a shipping label in 10 mins using our default USPS and DHL Express accounts. No need to register for a carrier account to get started.

You will need to register for a Shippo account to use the Shippo API. It's free to sign up, free to use the API. Only pay to print a live label, test labels are free.

This library is distributed as a ruby gem, therefore you can install it via adding the following line to your Gemfile:

gem 'shippo'

If you prefer to use the latest version of the library, just point your Gemfile to our github repo:

gem 'shippo', git: 'https://github.com/goshippo/shippo-ruby-client'

Or you can install the gem using the gem command:

gem install shippo

NOTE: examples below use the gem awesome_print to dump formatted objects and hashes to STDOUT. To be able to use the examples verbatum, please ensure you have this gem installed, or run: gem install awesome_print --no-rdoc --no-ri

Below we demonstrate the most basic usage of the library:

require 'shippo'

# Setup your API token
Shippo::API.token = 'aff988f77afa0fdfdfadf'  # not an actual valid token

# Setup query parameter hash
params   = {  async:          false,
              address_from:   {
                name:           'Mr Hippo',
                company:        'Shippo',
                street1:        '215 Clayton St.',
                street2:        '',
                city:           'San Francisco',
                state:          'CA',
                zip:            '94117',
                country:        'US',
                phone:          '+1 555 341 9393' },
              address_to:     {
                name:           'Mrs Hippo"',
                company:        'San Diego Zoo',
                street1:        '2920 Zoo Drive',
                city:           'San Diego',
                state:          'CA',
                zip:            '92101',
                country:        'US',
                phone:          '+1 555 341 9393',
                email:          'hippo@goshippo.com' },
              parcels:         {
                length:        5,
                width:         2,
                height:        5,
                distance_unit: :in,
                weight:        2,
                mass_unit:     :lb }
}

# Make our API call
@shipment = Shippo::Shipment.create(params)
@shipment.success?
# => true
@shipment.status
# => 'SUCCESS'

Let's take a quick look at what the Shipment object looks like:

require 'awesome_print'
ap @shipment
# {
#   "carrier_accounts"    => [],
#   "address_from"        => {
#     "name"    => "Mr Hippo",
#     "company" => "Shippo",
#     "street1" => "215 Clayton St.",
#     "street2" => "",
#     "city"    => "San Francisco",
#     "state"   => "CA",
#     "zip"     => "94117",
#     "country" => "US",
#     "phone"   => "+1 555 341 9393"
#   },
#   "address_to"          => { ... },   # omitted for brevity
#   "address_return"      => { ... },
#   "parcels"             => [{
#     "length"        => 5,
#     "width"         => 2,
#     "height"        => 5,
#     "distance_unit" => in,
#     "weight"        => 2,
#     "mass_unit"     => lb,
#   }],
#   "shipment_date"       => "2016-07-06T20:33:02.211Z",
#   "customs_declaration" => nil,
#   "extra"               => {
#     "insurance"   => {
#       "amount"    => 10,
#       "currency"  => "USD",
#       "content"   => "",
#       "provider"  => "FEDEX"
#     },
#     "is_return"   => false,
#     "reference_1" => "",
#     "reference_2" => "",
#   },
#   "messages"            => [ ... ],
#   "rates"               => [ ... ]
# }

In the case when the API returns a hash with one of the hash values being an array of entities, and if the corresponding key can be mapped into one of the existing API models, then each of the members of the array is coerced from a hash into an object of the model's type.

In the example below we are showing the result of such transformation where rates contains a list of fully constructed objects of type Shippo::Rate after being coerced from a hash.

ap @shipment.rates.first
# =>
# { 
#   "shipment"            => "20f25e44b16b4051b6dd910cb66fd27b",
#   "attributes"          => [],
#   "amount"              => "8.51",
#   "currency"            => "USD",
#   "amount_local"        => "8.51",
#   "currency_local"      => "USD",
#   "provider"            => "FedEx",
#   "provider_image_75"   => "https://shippo-static.s3.amazonaws.com/providers/75/FedEx.png",
#   "provider_image_200"  => "https://shippo-static.s3.amazonaws.com/providers/200/FedEx.png",
#   "servicelevel"        => {
#     "name"  => "Ground",
#     "token" => "fedex_ground",
#     "terms" => ""
#   }
#   "days"                => 2,
#   "arrives_by"          => nil,
#   "duration_terms"      => "",
#   "messages"            => [],
#   "carrier_account"     => "4b1940bc69524163b669asd361842db",
#   "test"                => true
# }
@shipment.rates.first.owner
# ⤷ unittest@gmail.com
@shipment.rates.first.class
# ⤷ Shippo::Rate

You can retrieve a list of objects for many endpoints (e.g. Transactions, Shipments). The API will return a paginated list of objects, usually sorted by creation date. Retrieving a list of your last Transactions can be done as follows, for instance:

@transactions = Shippo::Transaction.all()
@transactions
# =>
# {
#   "count"     => 3055,
#   "next"      => "https://api.goshippo.com/v1/transactions/?page=2",
#   "previous"  => nil,
#   "results"   => [ ... list of Transaction objects ... ]
# }

Shippo API returns several generalized fields for each valid resource, that being with 'object_' – for example, object_id, object_owner, etc. In this library we move these fields out of the main model, and into an instance of Shippo::API::ApiObject. However the fields can still be accessed on the main model via generated accessors.

Unfortunately Shippo API also returns object_id, which in Ruby has a special meaning: it's the pointer address of any object. Overwriting this field causes all sorts of issues.

For this reason we are mapping object_id to resource_id, as soon as the hash is passed in to initialize ApiObject. This way object_id continues to be used as a ruby internal field, and can be accessed as expected:

In the example below, object_id does not refer to any API field, and is a ruby internal field.

@shipment.object_id    # this is the Ruby object pointer
# ⤷ 70206221831520  

To access the "object_id" field retrieved with the API, see the following session that highlights many ways of accessing object_id field:

@shipment.resource_id  # this is the API id (note: deprecated accessor)
# ⤷ 20f25e44b16b4051b6dd910cb66fd27b
@shipment.object.id    # which is actually just this
# ⤷ 20f25e44b16b4051b6dd910cb66fd27b
@shipment.id           # but it can also be accessed this way too
# ⤷ 20f25e44b16b4051b6dd910cb66fd27b

Finally, here is how we access the rest of the object_ fields:

@shipment.object.owner    # this is whether 'object_owner' is stored
# ⤷ valued_customer@gmail.com
@shipment.object_owner    # deprecated accessor method
# ⤷ valued_customer@gmail.com
@shipment.owner           # forwarded alias to #object.owner
# ⤷ valued_customer@gmail.com

Here is the fully constructed ApiObject instance, attached to our @shipment:

ap @shipment.object
# {
#   :created  => 2016-07-06 20:44:47 UTC,
#   :updated  => 2016-07-06 20:44:47 UTC,
#   :owner    => "valued_customer@gmail.com",
#   :id       => "20f25e44b16b4051b6dd910cb66fd27b"
# }

In general this gem does not currently perform validation, except in the cases when enumerations are used. The gem automatically converts a response containing keys matching one of the known categories (such as Shippo::API::Category::Status and it's value into one of the constants, such as SUCCESS.

Look at bin/example for more code sample.

You can actually run this file, but first you should set your API token in the environment:

export SHIPPO_TOKEN="<your token here>"
bin/example

NOTE: this environment variable is only used by the included bin/example script, and is not automatically used by the underlying client library.

Version 3 and up of this library works with Ruby 2.2 and later, and is not backwards compatible. Version 1.0.4 of this library is the last version supporting ruby 1.8 and 1.9.

Warning: Version 3 brings potential backwards incompatibility issues. Please be prepared to update your usages (if necessary) when you migrate.

If you are still using an older version of Ruby, please make sure to use the last 1.X version of this library, which is currently the tag v1.0.4.

Please see https://goshippo.com/docs for up-to-date documentation.

For Ruby class documentation, please run the following rake task:

bundle install
bundle exec rake doc:read # preview documentation in the browser

This task will generate documentation using Yard and then open the browser with the generated index.html.

Connect with multiple different carriers, get discounted shipping labels, track parcels, and much more with just one integration. You can use your own carrier accounts or take advantage of our discounted rates with the USPS and DHL Express. Using Shippo makes it easy to deal with multiple carrier integrations, rate shopping, tracking and other parts of the shipping workflow. We provide the API and dashboard for all your shipping needs.

The Shippo API provides in depth support of carrier and shipping functionalities. Here are just some of the features we support through the API:

• Shipping rates & labels
• Tracking for any shipment with just the tracking number
• Batch label generation
• Multi-piece shipments
• Manifests and SCAN forms
• Customs declaration and commercial invoicing
• Address verification
• Signature and adult signature confirmation
• Consolidator support including:
  • DHL eCommerce
  • UPS Mail Innovations
  • FedEx Smartpost
• Additional services: cash-on-delivery, certified mail, delivery confirmation, and more.