Sample - Plaid API
POST/item/import

Import an Item for a customer

Creates an Item for a customer identified by your persistent user identifier and returns a long-lived access token. Supply user_auth.user_id; repeated requests for the same identifier return the same token, and Plaid begins extracting data through the configured provider APIs after creation.

  • RetriesRetries up to 2×, 500ms backoff, 30s timeout.

6 body fields

Customer authentication and optional legacy or internal configuration for importing an Item.

client_idstringoptional
Your Plaid API `client_id`. The `client_id` is required and may be provided either in the `PLAID-CLIENT-ID` header or as part of a request body.
secretstringoptional
Your Plaid API `secret`. The `secret` is required and may be provided either in the `PLAID-SECRET` header or as part of a request body.
institution_idstringoptional
The Plaid Institution ID associated with the Item. Most callers omit this field; Plaid resolves your institution automatically. If your organization has multiple institutions, contact Plaid to determine whether you should send it.
productsarray<Products>optional
Array of product strings. Sent only by a Plaid-internal caller, the Data Partner Dashboard validation tool; external callers never need it. Not required for Permissions Manager callers, who authenticate with `user_auth.user_id`.
user_authobjectrequired
Object of user ID and auth token pair, permitting Plaid to aggregate a user's accounts
optionsobjectdeprecatedoptional
An optional object to configure `/item/import` request. Retained for the legacy Plaid Exchange integration; not required for Permissions Manager callers.

2 status codes
200Returns the long-lived `access_token` associated with the imported Item and a unique `request_id`.
access_tokenstringrequired
The access token associated with the Item for which data is being requested.
request_idstringrequired
A unique identifier for the request, which can be used for troubleshooting. This identifier, like all Plaid identifiers, is case sensitive.
defaultError response
error_typestringrequired
A broad categorization of the error. Safe for programmatic use.
Allowed:INVALID_REQUESTINVALID_RESULTINVALID_INPUTINSTITUTION_ERRORRATE_LIMIT_EXCEEDEDAPI_ERRORITEM_ERRORASSET_REPORT_ERRORBASE_REPORT_ERRORRECAPTCHA_ERROROAUTH_ERRORPAYMENT_ERROR
error_codestringrequired
The particular error code. Safe for programmatic use.
error_code_reasonstringoptional
The specific reason for the error code. Currently, reasons are only supported for OAuth-based item errors; `null` will be returned otherwise. Safe for programmatic use. Possible values: `OAUTH_INVALID_TOKEN`: The user's OAuth connection to this institution has been invalidated. `OAUTH_CONSENT_EXPIRED`: The user's access consent for this OAuth connection to this institution has expired. `OAUTH_USER_REVOKED`: The user's OAuth connection to this institution is invalid because the user revoked their connection.
error_messagestringrequired
A developer-friendly representation of the error code. This may change over time and is not safe for programmatic use.
display_messagestringrequired
A user-friendly representation of the error code. `null` if the error is not related to user action. This may change over time and is not safe for programmatic use.
request_idstringoptional
A unique ID identifying the request, to be used for troubleshooting purposes. This field will be omitted in errors provided by webhooks.
causesarrayoptional
In this product, a request can pertain to more than one Item. If an error is returned for such a request, `causes` will return an array of errors containing a breakdown of these errors on the individual Item level, if any can be identified. `causes` will be provided for the `error_type` `ASSET_REPORT_ERROR` or `CHECK_REPORT_ERROR`. `causes` will also not be populated inside an error nested within a `warning` object.
statusintegeroptional
The HTTP status code associated with the error. This will only be returned in the response body when the error information is provided via a webhook.
documentation_urlstringoptional
The URL of a Plaid documentation page with more information about the error
suggested_actionstringoptional
Suggested steps for resolving the error
required_account_subtypesarray<string>optional
A list of the account subtypes that were requested via the `account_filters` parameter in `/link/token/create`. Currently only populated for `NO_ACCOUNTS` errors from Items with `investments_auth` as an enabled product.
provided_account_subtypesarray<string>optional
A list of the account subtypes that were extracted but did not match the requested subtypes via the `account_filters` parameter in `/link/token/create`. Currently only populated for `NO_ACCOUNTS` errors from Items with `investments_auth` as an enabled product.

Error handling

user_auth and its user_id are required, and user_id must be your persistent unique identifier for the customer. If supplied, products must contain at least one supported product; auth_token and options are retained only for the legacy Exchange integration.