What is the Amazon Ads API?
The Amazon Ads API is Amazon's own interface for managing and reporting on advertising in code. According to Amazon's Ads API page, it gives programmatic access to sponsored ads, streaming TV, Amazon DSP, Amazon Marketing Cloud and Amazon Marketing Stream. Amazon's onboarding overview describes it as a REST API for the advertising resources tied to an advertiser. [amz-ads]
Amazon names who it is built for. Solution providers integrate with it and sell management and reporting tools. Agencies with their own engineers use it to run a large volume of client campaigns. Advertisers with in-house engineering use it for their own spend. Amazon also says that an advertiser who works with a third-party tool built on the API does not need to request access. [amz-ads]
That last point matters for most sellers. If what you want is your own ad numbers inside a spreadsheet, a script or an AI agent, you do not have to become an API developer yourself. You can use a tool that already holds access, which is where Commerce Spine sits. [amz-ads] [cs-site]
How do you get Amazon Ads API access?
You apply and wait for Amazon to approve you. Amazon states that its ads API requires an application and approval process before access is granted, and that the process depends on how your organization is categorized. [amz-ads]
There are two routes. A partner builds software that manages advertising on behalf of others and requests access through the Amazon Ads Partner Network, so it can license the application to clients. A direct advertiser requests registration to use the API on behalf of its own advertising account. [amz-ads]
Approval is where the work starts. Your code still has to call the API, store what comes back and keep parsing it as Amazon changes things. On the seller side, Amazon's Reports API documentation warns that Amazon periodically adds new fields and field values to reports, so any parser you build has to handle those updates. [amz-ads] [amazon]
How much does the Amazon Ads API cost?
Amazon charges no extra fee for the API itself. Its FAQ says the only fees are the standard account fees to sell on Amazon and the campaign costs of the ad products you use. Amazon also offers test accounts, where ads do not show on Amazon and no fees apply. [amz-ads]
The real cost is engineering time. Someone has to own the integration, the storage and the repairs every time a report changes. Commerce Spine prices that away with a flat subscription: free on one connected account, $49 a month for up to 3 connected accounts and $149 a month for up to 12, with no credits and no overages. [cs-site]
The free plan is a working product with printed caps: one account, 30 days of history, 20 requests an hour and 40 a day. Paid plans move to 60 requests a minute, 1,000 a day and a 90-day window per query. [cs-site]
How does Commerce Spine read your ad data?
Commerce Spine reads your ad data after you authorize your Ads account through Amazon's own authorization flow, which you can revoke there at any time. Most of the deeper Amazon data sits behind an approved marketplace application. Commerce Spine already carries that approval, so you skip the application step entirely. See how Commerce Spine connects for the full flow. [cs-site]
Your agent or script then talks to one read-only GraphQL endpoint: a POST to /graphql with an agent token in the Authorization header. The amazonAccounts query lists every account in your scope and shows, per account, whether the Ads API and Seller Central are connected. [cs]
Five entities carry the advertising detail. campaignPerformance has 19 fields, including status, portfolio, daily budget and new-to-brand orders. keywordPerformance has 18, with match type, current bid and a brand keyword flag. searchTermPerformance has 17 and links each customer search term to the target and ad group that captured it. [cs]
productTargetPerformance covers product and category targets with bid and status in 17 fields. advertisedProductPerformance has 19 fields by ASIN and SKU, including ad status and new-to-brand revenue. Each of these five ad entities returns rows, totals with derived ACoS and ROAS, cursors for the next page and a queryInfo block with the request ID. [cs]
Ad numbers also sit next to sales. accountPerformance puts daily ad spend and ad revenue beside ordered revenue and total product sales, and productPerformance does the same per SKU with ratings and review counts. The account performance data article shows that join in more detail, and the data Commerce Spine covers lists every entity. [cs]
Amazon Ads API vs Commerce Spine side by side
The two routes solve different problems. Amazon's API is the full control surface for advertising. Commerce Spine is a read layer on top of the data, built for agents and scripts that ask questions about it. [amz-ads] [cs]
| Point | Commerce Spine | Amazon Ads API |
|---|---|---|
| Getting access | Authorize your account through Amazon's own flow; Commerce Spine already carries an approved application in Amazon's marketplace | Application and approval before access, as a partner or as a direct advertiser |
| Price | Free on 1 account, $49 a month up to 3 accounts, $149 a month up to 12 | No additional fee from Amazon Ads; account fees and campaign costs apply |
| Interface | One read-only GraphQL endpoint with a bearer token | REST API |
| Changing campaigns | Not possible: the API is read-only | Manage campaigns, bids, keywords and budgets in code |
| Ad detail named in the docs | Campaign, keyword, search term, product target and advertised product performance | Sponsored ads, streaming TV, Amazon DSP, Amazon Marketing Cloud, Amazon Marketing Stream |
| Who maintains the pipeline | Commerce Spine | You, if you build on it directly |
When is the Amazon Ads API the better pick?
Pick Amazon's API when your software has to change something. Amazon lists automatic bid and keyword optimization and always-on budget optimization among the things it enables. Commerce Spine's API is read-only, so it cannot pause a campaign or move a bid. [amz-ads] [cs]
It is also the route if you are building a tool to license to other advertisers. Amazon's partner route, through the Amazon Ads Partner Network, is the way in for that. [amz-ads] [cs]
If you only want bulk edits without code, Amazon points to its bulk operations feature for sponsored ads and Amazon DSP. Sellers reach it in Seller Central and vendors in the advertising console. [amz-ads]
What does a first ad data query look like?
A first query takes four calls. Run amazonAccounts to get the account ID. Run dataFreshness to see the latest report date. Then send keywordPerformance with that account ID, a date range and a page size. When pageInfo says there is a next page, send the endCursor back as after. [cs]
The API tells you plainly when a request is wrong. A date range longer than 90 days returns DATE_RANGE_TOO_LARGE, so you split the period. An account outside your scope returns FORBIDDEN_ACCOUNT_SCOPE, and a missing or invalid token returns UNAUTHENTICATED. [cs]
Claude Desktop and Claude Code use the official Commerce Spine plugin. Codex, Cursor, custom agents and scripts call the same read-only API directly with a scoped token. If you are weighing the seller side too, read SP-API vs Commerce Spine and the guide to Amazon data for AI agents. [cs-site]
Frequently asked questions
Do I need Amazon Ads API access to use Commerce Spine?
No. You authorize your Ads account through Amazon's own flow, and Commerce Spine already carries the approved marketplace application. Amazon itself says advertisers who work with a third-party tool built on its API do not need to request access. You can revoke the authorization in Amazon at any time.
Is the Amazon Ads API free?
Amazon Ads charges no additional fee to use the API. You still pay the standard account fees to sell on Amazon and the cost of the campaigns you run. Amazon offers test accounts for development, where ads do not show on Amazon and no fees apply. The engineering work is the cost you carry.
Can Commerce Spine change my bids or budgets?
No. The Commerce Spine API is read-only, so it reports on campaigns, keywords, search terms, product targets and advertised products without changing any of them. To change bids or budgets in code you need Amazon's own Ads API. For bulk edits without code, Amazon offers bulk operations in Seller Central.
How far back can one query reach?
One query covers up to 90 days on a paid plan and 30 days on the free plan. A range longer than 90 days returns DATE_RANGE_TOO_LARGE, so you split it into smaller windows. The first sync backfills 30 days on every plan, and everything from that day forward is kept.
Sources
Want more of this in your Google results? Add Commerce Spine as a preferred source.