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# Admin REST APIs

Server-side REST APIs for managing store data and operations. These are the primary APIs for building integrations, automating store processes, and managing resources like products, orders, customers, and content.

## Authentication

Admin APIs authenticate with an `X-Auth-Token` header using a store-level or app-level API account access token. All requests use the following base URL pattern:

**`Admin API request format`**

```http title="Admin API request format" showLineNumbers={false}
GET https://api.bigcommerce.com/stores/{store_hash}/v3/{endpoint}
X-Auth-Token: {access_token}
Accept: application/json
Content-Type: application/json
```

To create an access token, set up an API account in your store's control panel under **Settings > API > API accounts**, or use the [Authentication APIs](/developer/api-reference/rest/admin/authentication-apis) to manage tokens programmatically.

For full details, see [Authentication overview](/developer/docs/overview/api-fundamentals/api-accounts#access-tokens) and [API Accounts](/developer/docs/overview/api-fundamentals/api-accounts#api-accounts).

## What's inside

* **Authentication** — Create and manage API accounts and access tokens
* **Catalog** — Brands, Categories, Category Trees, Products, Product Modifiers, Product Variants
* **Content** — Pages, Page Widgets, Themes, Widgets, Widget Regions, Widget Templates, Email Templates
* **Management** — Orders, Customers, Shipping, Store Information, Store Logs, Channels, Sites, Segments, Tax, Inventory, Locations, Pickup
* **Payments** — Payment processing, payment methods, payment access tokens
* **Webhooks** — Subscribe to real-time event notifications

## Common use cases

* Product catalog management and synchronization
* Order processing and fulfillment automation
* Store configuration and setup
* Content management and page creation
* Payment processing
* Real-time event notifications via webhooks