Register an OLX developer app, step by step

It takes about ten minutes to fill in the form, and then you wait for OLX. Start this before anything else, because the waiting is the part you cannot speed up. This page is the whole path, with the traps we know about.

How do I register an OLX developer app?

All six portals describe the same four steps: log in, connect an application, wait for the status “waiting for acceptance”, then collect the Client ID and Client Secret once OLX has approved it.

Which portal do I use?

Use the portal of the country where you sell. Each country has its own, and an app made on one does not work on another.

Country	Developer portal
Bulgaria	developer.olx.bg
Poland	developer.olx.pl
Romania	developer.olx.ro
Portugal	developer.olx.pt
Ukraine	developer.olx.ua
Kazakhstan	developer.olx.kz

Every portal also has its own article on getting access, for example the Bulgarian one and the Polish one. If OLX changes the form, those pages win over this one.

What are the steps?

1. Log in with the OLX account you sell from. The first time, OLX asks you to allow the portal to use your account.
2. Choose to connect a new application.
3. Fill in the form. Give it a name and describe honestly what it does, for example: “publishes the products of my shop as OLX adverts”. OLX checks the description against its terms, so do not make it vague.
4. Enter the redirect URI. Use exactly the address your plugin shows you. It must match character for character. Avoid addresses that contain & or #. If you need several, separate them with spaces.
5. Choose the scopes: read, write and v2.
6. Submit and wait. The status reads “waiting for acceptance”.
7. When OLX approves, you get an e-mail and the portal shows the Client ID and the Client Secret. Keep the secret private. It belongs to your shop alone.

In Tidelist the Connect screen shows the redirect address and the scopes for you, so you copy them instead of typing them. The matching steps inside the plugin are in Connect your OLX account.

How long does approval take?

OLX does not say. Approval is manual, there is no published time and no published criteria. Plan for it as you would for any outside approval: register early, and do not set a launch date for your OLX adverts until the e-mail has arrived.

What should I know before I submit?

• One application serves one country. For a second country you need an OLX account there and a new application.
• Business or private account? The portals do not state that a business account is required. Shops normally sell with a business account because it has its own limits and packages on OLX. Tidelist works with both and shows you which type your account is.
• Do not share the secret. OLX’s terms say the key belongs to one application and must not be shared with third parties. Do not e-mail it to a freelancer or to a plugin vendor. Paste it into your own site.

How do I handle a staging or local site?

OLX does not accept localhost or other test addresses. On a staging or local copy, register the address of your live site as the redirect URI. After you log in to OLX, the browser opens that address; the page may look blank or show an error, which is expected. Copy the full address from the browser bar, paste it into the field on the Connect screen of the plugin and press Finish connecting within ten minutes.

What do I do once the e-mail arrives?

Open your app on the developer portal and copy the Client ID and the Client Secret. Paste both into the Connect screen of your plugin, save, and press the button that connects your OLX account. OLX shows a page asking you to allow access; accept it. The plugin then keeps the connection alive by itself: the access token is renewed when needed, and the refresh token lasts about a month and renews on use. If the connection is ever lost, Tidelist shows a Reconnect notice in the WordPress admin, and until you reconnect, adverts are not taken down or updated.

Do not publish anything yet. Keep dry-run on and follow Getting started to map categories and preview a few products first.

What if something does not work?

Most failures are a redirect address that is not exactly the one the plugin shows, or a missing scope. Compare both with the form on the portal. Troubleshooting lists the common messages. For the bigger picture of how the API works, read the OLX Partner API explained.

Tidelist is not affiliated with OLX Group.