Resellers

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Terms

  • Reseller – Ace Stream user who has got rights to sell paid Ace Stream options
  • User key - Ace Stream user's ID
  • Option - additional service / software service of Ace Stream, which can be activated for a specific user key
  • App - reseller's product (site, mobile or desktop application), which is used to sell options

How to become a reseller

API for Resellers

API for resellers allows you to activate different additional options for users of your apps.

A common scheme of work of API for resellers looks like this:

  • to activate a required option for a user your app (site, mobile or desktop app) sends a request to Ace Stream server, in which specifies user's id, option and activation period
  • the cost of specified option for the specified period is charged from your balance in Ace Stream system
  • specified option is activated for the user whose id you specified in the request

Full description of API for resellers you can find here.

To work with API you will need the following two identifiers:

  • API key - string, used for reseller's ID in API requests
  • API secret - secret key, used for a digital signature of API requests

You can find these identifiers in section Reseller -> API settings in a left menu. The reseller can change a secret key by themselves (button "Edit API settings").

Creating apps

To start working with API for resellers you have to create at least one app. To do this click button "Create a new application" in section Reseller -> Applications in the left menu. After this you will be proposed to fill fields "Name" (mandatory) and "Application's site"(optional).

All your apps can be seen in section Reseller -> Applications in a table with the following fields:

  • Name - app's name that you specified when created the app
  • APP_ID - app's identifier (it is used in API requests)
  • Edit - edit the app (you can change app's name and site)
  • OAuth - edit settings OAuth of this app
  • API - open API-console of this app

You will need OAuth settings only if you plan to identify users using OAuth2 technology (usually, it is necessary for sites' owners).

API-console allows you to send requests on behalf of your application directly from site. The console is intended primarily to demonstrate the formation of requests to API (each request and response appear in text fields at the bottom of the page).

Attention! API-console is not an emulator of requests - all requests are real and are sent to production-servers. It means that when some paid option is activated from console money will be withdrawn from your balance. If you would like to work with API for resellers in a test mode, use sandbox.

Options activation reminder

App engine can notice user about missing options. Notification method depends on API you choose:

  • more about Engine API here
  • more about HTTP API here

Activation of options for users

To activate the option for user reseller has to call API method activateService with the following data:

  • API key
  • APP_ID (application identifier)
  • user key
  • option ID
  • ID of period for which an option has to be activated

If the request was successful a certain amount of money will be charged from reseller's balance, and the option for the requested period will be activated.

If a specified option is already activated at this moment, then validation period of the option will continue for a stated period.

API Key and APP_ID you can find out on the site in section Reseller.

Identifiers of options and periods are described here

As it is seen from the description, to activate options reseller has to know user key. This key can be obtained in two ways: either via OAuth2 protocol, or to create a new key using API for resellers. The first method is more suitable for sites' owners. The second - for apps' developers. Both methods are described below.

Work scheme for sites' owners

Sites' owners can get user key using OAuth2 protocol. To do this they have to do the following steps:

  • reseller places on his site a button "Log in with Ace Stream"
  • after pressing this button everything goes according to OAuth2:
    • user is redirected to Ace Stream site
    • if he's not registered, he registers
    • if he's registered, but not logged in, he logs in
    • if user logs in to reseller's site via Ace Stream OAuth2 at the first time, he agrees to provide some of his personal data to reseller's site (email and user key)
    • user goes back to reseller's site
    • reseller's site receives email and user key according to OAuth2
  • now user is authorized at reseller's site, and the reseller has user key, by which he can activate the option for user

More detailed information about OAuth2 is here.

Work scheme for apps' developers

Apps' developers usually have access to Engine service API. It gives them ability to upload user keys directly to Ace Stream Engine and activate options without direct user intervention.

We propose the following work scheme:

Described scheme assumes that reseller's app and Ace Stream Engine are run on the same device.