AfterShip
Connect AfterShip to track shipments and delivery dates, manage returns, buy shipping labels, sync orders, and handle protection and warranty claims.
You paste one AfterShip organization API key (it starts with asat_). It works for every product you give it Read or Write access to, and an optional Environment field sends Shipping and Protection calls to AfterShip's sandbox.
Paid plan required before this connector works
No one reviews you, but AfterShip sells API access per product: the Tracking API needs Tracking Premium or Enterprise, the Returns API needs Returns Premium or Enterprise, and the labels and rates APIs need Shipping Pro or Enterprise. AfterShip's help center says Tracking Essentials users cannot create API keys or use the Tracking API.
- Typical wait
- None. A product answers as soon as its plan includes the API.
- Cost
- From AfterShip's pricing pages: Tracking Premium starts at $59/month, Returns Premium at $99/month and Shipping Pro at $69/month. Enterprise tiers are custom.
- Blocked until approved
- Each product separately. Without Tracking Premium the tracking tools fail; without Returns Premium the returns tools fail; without Shipping Pro rate quotes and label purchases fail. Products that are on an API plan keep working with the same key.
- Works meanwhile
- Connect with the products your plans already cover. PopMCP records which products answered at connect time, and you can give the key access to the others once their plans include the API.
Where to apply: No application. Upgrade the product's plan in AfterShip, then create or edit the key under Settings, API keys with Read or Write access for that product.
- AfterShip's help center (August 2026) says the Returns API requires Returns Enterprise, while the current Returns pricing page lists it on Premium. Confirm with AfterShip before buying Premium for API use.
- Tracking Pro used to be the lowest plan with API access and is closed to new users; legacy accounts may still see it.
- Tracking webhooks follow the same tiers and are not available on Tracking Essentials.
- Labels and Protection coverages created on a live connection are billed. Type sandbox in PopMCP's Environment field to test Shipping and Protection without charges.
- Setup time
- 4 min
- Auth
- API credentials
- API base URL
- https://api.aftership.com
- Rate limits
- Tracking API limits are per endpoint: 20 requests a second to create trackings, 6 to list them, 5 for most single-tracking calls and 3 for courier detection. Shipping and Returns allow 10 requests a second per organization. Over a limit AfterShip answers 429 TooManyRequests; Enterprise plans can get custom limits.
Before you begin
- An AfterShip plan that includes the API for each product you want: Tracking API and webhooks come with Tracking Premium or Enterprise, the Returns API with Returns Premium or Enterprise, and the labels and rates APIs with Shipping Pro or Enterprise.
- An AfterShip member role that can view and edit API keys in your organization
- A short list of the products the AI should use (Tracking, Returns, Shipping, Protection, Parser, Commerce, Organization), because you grant Read or Write per product
Get your credentials
Open API keys
Sign in to AfterShip and open Settings, API keys, or go straight to organization.automizely.com/api-keys. Keys made here belong to the whole organization and work across every AfterShip product.
API keys
Organization API keys, sent in the as-api-key header.
| Name | Signature header | Created |
|---|---|---|
| Shopify syncasat_****1c07 | API key | Feb 20, 2026 |
| Warehouse WMSasat_****9e44 | AES | Jun 5, 2026 |
AfterShip recommends deleting keys nobody uses. Check a key is unused before you delete it.
Name the key and keep the signature header on API key
Click Create API key and enter a name such as PopMCP. For the signature header, keep API key. AES and RSA keys require every request to be signed, which PopMCP does not do, so they fail with 401.
Create API key
Name the key, choose its signature header and set its permissions.
With the API key option, the key alone in the as-api-key header authenticates each call.
Grant Read or Write per product, then save
Set each product the AI should use to Read or Write: Tracking, Returns, Shipping, Protection, Parser, Commerce and Organization. Read lets the AI look; Write also lets it create trackings, act on returns, buy labels or insure orders. Leave the rest without access, then click Save.
Create API key
Name the key, choose its signature header and set its permissions.
A product left without access answers 403, even if your plan includes it.
Copy the key
Copy the new key's value. It starts with asat_.
PopMCP
Organization API key
- API key
- asat_a76e************************23d5
- Signature header
- API key
- Permissions
- Tracking, Returns: Write · Shipping, Commerce, Organization: Read
The same key works against AfterShip's sandbox for Shipping and Protection. No second key is needed.
Paste the key into PopMCP
In PopMCP, paste the key into API key. Leave Environment (optional) blank for your live account, or type sandbox to send Shipping and Protection calls to AfterShip's test environment, where labels are free test labels and coverages are not charged. Click Connect AfterShip.
Connect in PopMCP
Open your workspace, choose AfterShip in the marketplace, and fill in the connect dialog:
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| API keysecret | AfterShip → Settings → API keys (https://organization.automizely.com/api-keys) → Create an API key. Keep the signature header on "API key" and tick Read or Write for Tracking, Returns, Shipping, Protection, Parser, Commerce and Organization as needed. Sent as the as-api-key header; stored encrypted.Encrypted with AES-256-GCM on save and never shown again. |
| Environment (optional)text | Leave blank for your live account. Enter "sandbox" to send Shipping and Protection calls to AfterShip's test environment (free test labels, no coverage charges). The same key works in both. |
PopMCP verifies the credential against AfterShip immediately. On success the connection flips to Verified and its MCP tools are provisioned.
Verify it worked
PopMCP shows AfterShip as Verified (or AfterShip (sandbox)), and the connection profile lists which products the key could read at connect time. Asking the AI which parcels hit a delivery exception this week returns real trackings.
Troubleshooting
401 `The API key is invalid.`
Why: The key was copied incompletely or deleted, or its signature header is AES or RSA, which needs signed requests.
Fix: Create a key with the signature header set to API key, copy it in full, and reconnect.
AfterShip accepted this key, but it can't read Tracking, Returns, Shipping, Commerce, Protection, Warranty or Organization data
Why: Every product on the key is set to no access, or the organization has no plan that includes the API for those products.
Fix: Edit the key under Settings, API keys and give Read or Write to the products you use, then connect again.
Some products answer 403 while others work
Why: That product is set to no access on the key, or its plan does not include the API (for example Tracking Essentials).
Fix: Grant the product Read or Write on the key, or move that product to a plan with API access. The connection profile shows which products answered at connect time.
Commerce tools ask which store to use
Why: AfterShip needs the Commerce store in an as-store-id header, and your organization has more than one store.
Fix: Pick a store id from the list in the error, or ask the AI to run list_stores first. With a single store PopMCP fills it in.
Labels made in sandbox are missing from the live account
Why: Sandbox shipper accounts and labels are separate from live ones. Only Shipping and Protection use the sandbox; every other product stays live.
Fix: Reconnect with Environment left blank when you are ready to buy real labels.
429 TooManyRequests
Why: Tracking limits each endpoint separately (listing trackings allows 6 requests a second, courier detection 3), and Shipping and Returns allow 10 requests a second per organization.
Fix: Slow down and retry. List trackings with filters such as tracking_numbers or a date range instead of paging through everything.
Environment must be production or sandbox
Why: The Environment field contains something other than those two values.
Fix: Leave it blank for your live account, or type sandbox.