The following process outlines the steps that you can complete to begin using the Taxonomy API methods:

  1. Set up OAuth access tokens. All eBay REST APIs use the OAuth 2.0 protocol for application and user authorization. Before you can begin to use the Taxonomy API, you must generate these OAuth tokens. See Using OAuth to access eBay APIs for details.
  2. Initiate the getDefaultCategoryTreeId API method. The response from this method will help you understand the category tree ID for a given marketplace. This may only be needed once, as category tree IDs do not change.
  3. Initiate the getCategoryTree API method. The response from this method returns all categories for the specified marketplace. You can use the getCategorySubtree method for a given category node to retrieve all of the sub-categories under it. You can also use the getCategorySuggestions method to retrieve the leaf category suggestions based on the keyword supplied.
  4. Initiate the getItemAspectsForCategory API method. Once you have the category ID, you can use this method to retrieve all of the aspects that apply to that specific category. The response of this method also emphasizes the recommended, required, and optional values of the aspects, as well as the date after which the aspect will be required.
  5. Initiate the fetchItemAspects API method. Developers can regularly use this method to get a bulk download of the latest aspects for all leaf categories in a marketplace.

Note: Using the Taxonomy SDK with the fetchItemAspects response is very useful and helps to understand and update only the changed aspects for the leaf categories of interest.