# Smile.io setup for PopMCP

You paste one value into PopMCP: an API key made under Settings, Developer tools in Smile Admin. It needs a Smile Plus or Enterprise plan.

- Auth: API credentials
- Setup time: 2 min
- API base URL: https://api.smile.io/v1
- Credentials screen: https://app.smile.io/settings/developer-tools
- Provider docs: https://help.smile.io/en/articles/11328240-manage-api-keys

## Approval required before this works

No one reviews you, but Smile only offers API keys on its Plus and Enterprise plans.

- Typical wait: None once the account is on Plus or Enterprise: a key is made in about a minute
- Cost: Per smile.io/pricing (September 2026): Plus is $999 a month billed annually, and Enterprise is custom. Free, Essential, Standard and Growth do not include API access.
- Blocked until approved: Everything. On the lower plans Smile does not offer API keys, so there is nothing to paste.
- Works meanwhile: You can read Smile's API docs at dev.smile.io and set up your program in Smile Admin on any plan.

## Before you begin

- A Smile.io account on the Plus or Enterprise plan, the plans that include API access
- Access to Smile Admin at app.smile.io
- No app, redirect URL or review is needed: the key is the whole setup

## Get your credentials

### 1. Open Developer tools in Smile Admin

Sign in at app.smile.io, then open Settings and Developer tools. Find the card titled Manage API keys. Ignore the Publishable key card on the same page: that key starts with `pub_` and only works in a storefront.

Screen: https://app.smile.io/settings/developer-tools

### 2. Name the key and tick its scopes

Click Generate new API key. Call it PopMCP and tick the scopes. Tick every scope so all the tools work: `customer:read`, `earning_rule:read`, `points_product:read`, `points_settings:read`, `points_transaction:read`, `referral_settings:read`, `reward_fulfillment:read`, `vip_tier:read`, `points_transaction:write`, `points_purchase:write` and `activity:write`. For a key that can only look, tick just the ones ending in `:read`. A key's name and scopes cannot be changed later. Click Generate.

Screen: https://app.smile.io/settings/developer-tools

### 3. Copy the key

Smile shows the new key, which starts with `api_`. Copy it now: you cannot see it again. If you lose it, make a new one and delete the old one.

Screen: https://app.smile.io/settings/developer-tools

### 4. Paste the key into PopMCP

In PopMCP, paste the key into API key and connect. PopMCP checks it right away and tells you if it cannot read part of your program, so you can make a new key with those scopes.

## Fields PopMCP asks for

- API key (apiKey) [required]: In Smile Admin open Settings, then Developer tools. In Manage API keys click Generate new API key, name it PopMCP, tick the scopes and click Generate. Smile shows the key once. Stored encrypted.

## Verify

PopMCP marks the Smile.io connection Verified, and lists anything the key cannot read. Ask the AI for a customer's points balance or to summarize your loyalty program, and it answers from your account.

## Troubleshooting

### "Smile.io did not accept this API key."

Cause: The key was copied only in part or was deleted, or it is an old private key, which Smile stopped accepting in January 2026.

Fix: Generate a new API key under **Settings**, **Developer tools**, copy the whole value and connect again.

### "That is your publishable key"

Cause: You copied the `pub_` key from the Publishable key card, which only works in a storefront.

Fix: Use **Generate new API key** in the **Manage API keys** card instead. Its value starts with `api_`.

### There is no way to generate an API key

Cause: API access is part of the Plus and Enterprise plans only.

Fix: Upgrade the plan in Smile Admin. Lower plans cannot make API keys.

### A tool fails with a 403 that names a scope

Cause: The key was made without that scope, and a key's scopes cannot be edited.

Fix: Generate a new key with that scope ticked and connect again, then delete the old key.

### Points settings or referral settings answer that nothing is set up

Cause: Smile answers 404 when that program is not active on the account.

Fix: Nothing is wrong. Turn the program on in Smile Admin if you want it.

### An activity was recorded but the customer got no points

Cause: Smile works out rewards after recording an activity, and it only rewards one that matches a way to earn.

Fix: Wait a moment, then check that a way to earn exists for that custom activity type in Smile Admin.

### "Smile.io only allows this on a connection made by signing in"

Cause: Smile refuses to create customer identities with an API key.

Fix: A customer appears in Smile on their own when they sign up in your store, so most stores never need this.

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Source: https://www.docs.popmcp.com/docs/integrations/smile-io/