This is the flagship automation. Paid orders push to ShipStation, you (or your warehouse) buy labels there, and the shipment and tracking number come back to ILLUMA and on to the marketplace the order came from, with no manual data entry.
ℹ️ Before you start: you need a ShipStation account and its API keys, found in ShipStation under Settings → Account → API Settings. ShipStation has two separate credentials: a V2 API key (inventory, tracking and labels) and a V1 API key and secret (pushing orders). The V1 pair is not needed if you do not send orders to ShipStation. Have a paid test order ready so you can check the whole loop.
How the integration works
Order paid ─▶ Flow ─▶ ShipStation ─▶ Label bought ─▶ ShipStation tells ILLUMA ─▶ Shipment + tracking
(any channel) (push) (pick, pack, ship) recorded, sent to the
marketplace
- Outbound: a flow pushes each paid order to ShipStation as a shippable order.
- Inbound: when ShipStation reports an item shipped, ILLUMA records the shipment and its tracking number, deducts the stock, marks the order Fulfilled once everything has shipped, and confirms the shipment with tracking to Amazon, eBay or Walmart for orders from those marketplaces. Your own storefront customers get a shipping email only if your Shipping Confirmation to Customer notification is switched on; marketplace buyers are never emailed by ILLUMA. See Labels & tracking.
- ShipStation-direct channels: some channels (for example Amazon with Buy Shipping) are imported by ShipStation itself. ILLUMA does not push those orders. It links them to the ShipStation order instead. See ShipStation-direct orders below.
⚠️ Warning: The inbound half runs through a flow ILLUMA sets up for your account, named shipstation-shipment-received. Connecting ShipStation does not add it by itself. Before your first live order, check on the Flows page that it is there and Active, and if it is not, ask ILLUMA support to add it. Without it, orders still push to ShipStation but shipments and tracking never come back.
1. Connect ShipStation
- Open the ShipStation page. Click Flows in the sidebar, then ShipStation. (You can also reach it from the ShipStation card on Channel Hub → Overview.) On the Connection tab, click Connect ShipStation.
- Paste the webhook URL into ShipStation. ILLUMA shows a secure webhook URL. Copy it, then in ShipStation go to Settings → Integrations → Webhooks and add it for On Items Shipped. This is how ILLUMA hears about shipments.
- Enter your API keys. Paste the V2 API key, and the V1 API key and V1 API secret, then click Save credentials. The page then shows “Credentials saved”.
- Choose your settings, then click Save settings.
- ShipStation-direct channels: tick the channels ShipStation imports orders from itself, such as Amazon with Buy Shipping. ILLUMA will not push those orders or confirm their tracking a second time.
- Send pickup orders to ShipStation: off by default, because pickup orders are fulfilled in the store.
- Send orders to ShipStation and Create labels in ILLUMA (order page): leave the first on if you work orders in ShipStation. Turn the second on if you want to buy labels from the order page instead.
📸 Screenshot placeholder: Flows → ShipStation → Connection tab with a test connection: the webhook URL box, the API key fields (leave them empty or already saved, never show keys), the ShipStation-direct channel checkboxes and the Save settings button.
The status badge at the top reads Waiting for first event… until ShipStation sends something, then Connected. Regenerate URL makes a new webhook URL (paste it into ShipStation again), and Disconnect removes the connection.
2. Map channels and locations
Open the Mapping tab.
- Channels → ShipStation stores: for each channel ILLUMA sends orders for, pick the ShipStation store that should receive them (for example a manual store you created called “ILLUMA eBay”). Pushed orders carry that store. Amazon and Google Shopping are not mapped: Amazon orders go straight into ShipStation, and Google Shopping purchases arrive as storefront orders.
- Locations → ShipStation warehouses: pick the ShipStation ship-from warehouse for each ILLUMA location. Orders are pushed from the warehouse mapped to the location ILLUMA routes them to.
- Inventory stock → ShipStation and Push product details to ShipStation: one-time and catch-up tools that send your stock counts, and your product names, barcodes, weights and dimensions, to ShipStation.
⚠️ Warning: Map a warehouse for every location you ship from. A location with no warehouse cannot have its ShipStation-direct orders looked up or given the right ship-from.
📸 Screenshot placeholder: Flows → ShipStation → Mapping tab: the “Channels → ShipStation stores” list with the store dropdowns, and the “Locations → ShipStation warehouses” list below it.
3. Add the auto-push flow
- Open the Flows tab on the ShipStation page. Under Add a recipe, find Push paid orders to ShipStation and click Add. (Choose Push to ShipStation (location-routed) instead if you ship from several locations and want ILLUMA to pick the ship-from first.)
- Check it in Shadow. New recipes are added in Shadow, which records what the flow would do without pushing anything. Open Flows → View runs and confirm the runs match your orders.
- Go live. Back on the Flows tab, click Activate.
📸 Screenshot placeholder: Flows → ShipStation → Flows tab with the Push paid orders to ShipStation recipe listed under “Active flows” with a Shadow badge and an Activate button.
The recipe is the same as building it yourself: When Order paid, Then Push order to ShipStation. It pushes every paid order except channels you marked ShipStation-direct, and it leaves out pickup and drop-ship lines. See Flow basics.
4. Verify end to end
- Place a paid test order on your storefront.
- Check the push. On the Activity tab, the order appears under Pushed to ShipStation. On the Orders page it carries a ShipStation tag, and the order shows In ShipStation with its ShipStation number.
- Buy a label in ShipStation as usual.
- Check the way back. The shipment appears under Ship events received on the Activity tab. The order gets a shipment with the carrier and tracking number, and its Fulfillment becomes Fulfilled.
✅ When the shipment and tracking appear on the order after you buy a label, the loop is closed. Every future paid order flows through without anyone touching it.
You can also push an order yourself: use Push to ShipStation (or Re-push) on the order page, or the Push to ShipStation bulk action on the Orders page.
ShipStation-direct orders
An order from a channel you ticked as ShipStation-direct is never pushed. ShipStation imports it on its own, and ILLUMA links the two:
- Every hour, ILLUMA checks ShipStation for direct orders that are not linked yet and links them by order number. The number must match exactly (capital letters and spaces aside), so a similar number is never linked by mistake.
- On the order page, a direct order that is not linked yet says that ShipStation imports it itself, and shows a Re-check in ShipStation button instead of Push. Click it to look the order up straight away.
| Re-check says | Meaning | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Found in ShipStation and linked | The order is linked, and its ShipStation ship-from warehouse is set to the order’s location in ILLUMA | Nothing |
| ShipStation has not imported this order yet | ShipStation has not pulled it from the channel yet | Wait a few minutes and re-check, or check the channel’s connection in ShipStation |
| This order’s location has no ShipStation warehouse set | ILLUMA cannot look the order up without a warehouse | Map the location on the Mapping tab, then re-check |
The Activity tab
The Activity tab lists orders pushed, ship events received, and Inbound webhooks: every webhook ShipStation sent, including any ILLUMA could not process. Those show an error status and a reason instead of being dropped. Review them now and then. They are usually an order that has not reached ILLUMA yet or a number that does not match.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Orders are not appearing in ShipStation | The flow is in Shadow or Paused, the channel is ShipStation-direct, or the order is pickup or drop-ship | Set the flow to Active, check the ShipStation-direct list, or use Push to ShipStation on the order |
| An order shows Push failed | ShipStation refused the order. The reason is shown on the order | Fix the cause (for example the address or the keys), then click Re-push |
| An order shows Not pushed | It is paid but was never sent | Activate the flow, or push it by hand |
| A ShipStation-direct order is not showing In ShipStation | ShipStation has not imported it yet, or its location has no warehouse mapped | Click Re-check in ShipStation on the order and follow the message |
| Orders land in the wrong store | A channel is mapped to the wrong store, or not mapped | Fix it on the Mapping tab |
| Tracking is not coming back | The shipstation-shipment-received flow is missing or not Active, the webhook is missing or points to an old URL, or the update could not be matched to an order | Check the flow on the Flows page (ask ILLUMA support if it is missing), check the On Items Shipped webhook in ShipStation, then look at the Activity tab |
| Credentials are rejected | Wrong or revoked API keys | Copy fresh keys from ShipStation’s API Settings. The key form only shows when no keys are saved, so Disconnect, connect again and paste the new webhook URL into ShipStation |
Next: Flow recipes.