Response format

HIOBuy Public API supports two response shapes on selected POST routes. Pass optional response_format in the JSON body.

At a glance

Default is standard. Omit response_format or set "response_format": "standard".

standard (recommended)upstream
What you getHIOBuy unified models — same JSON shape across channelsRaw JSON from the upstream provider (1688 Open API, Taobao IOP, …)
Field mappingDone by HIOBuy Gateway (names, nesting, units)None — fields match the vendor’s official docs
1688 vs TaobaoOne interface → one structure; switch channel without rewriting parsersEach channel returns different vendor JSON
When to useProduction integrations, multi-channel appsDebug against vendor docs, legacy migration
How to requestDefault — no extra field needed"response_format": "upstream"

Recommendation: Integrate against standard. HIOBuy maintains cross-channel compatibility in unified models. Use upstream only when you intentionally need the vendor’s native payload.

Auth, channel OAuth, quotas, and rate limits are the same for both modes.

Modes

ValueDescription
standard (default)Normalized HIOBuy types — same request, same response shape whether channel is 1688 or taobao.
upstreamProvider passthrough — official 1688 / Taobao JSON returned in upstream without HIOBuy field mapping.

Upstream envelope

When response_format is upstream:

{
  "channel": "1688",
  "response_format": "upstream",
  "upstream_api": "com.alibaba.fenxiao.crossborder/product.search.keywordQuery",
  "upstream": {
    "result": {
      "success": true
    }
  },
  "upstream_steps": [],
  "request_id": "req_abc123"
}
  • upstream_api — primary vendor API identifier (1688 path or Taobao IOP route)
  • upstream — raw HTTP JSON body from that call
  • upstream_steps — optional prior calls (e.g. image upload before image search)

Standard preview response {#standard-preview}

POST /v1/orders/preview (1688 and Taobao) returns StandardOrderPreviewResult in standard mode. Amounts are in fen (CNY cents). Field reference: Procurement orders.

{
  "channel": "taobao",
  "success": true,
  "total": {
    "payment": {
      "amount": 12900,
      "currency": "CNY"
    },
    "shipping": {
      "amount": 0,
      "currency": "CNY"
    }
  },
  "unavailable_lines": [],
  "sellers": [
    {
      "seller_id": "...",
      "lines": [
        {
          "offer_id": "...",
          "spec_id": "...",
          "quantity": 5
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "request_id": "req_..."
}

1688 adds trade_types, pay_channels, and promotions. With response_format: "upstream", preview returns raw vendor JSON instead.

Product routes

EndpointChannelsUpstream API (examples)
POST /v1/products/detail1688, taobaoqueryProductDetail / /traffic/item/get
POST /v1/products/search1688, taobaokeywordQuery / /traffic/item/search
POST /v1/products/search-by-image1688, taobaoupload + imageQuery / upload + /traffic/item/imgsearch

POST /v1/products/parse always returns standard only. POST /v1/products/freight/estimate uses the same body as order preview and returns shipping only.

Order routes (1688 & Taobao)

EndpointStandardUpstream API (examples)
POST /v1/orders/listalibaba.trade.getBuyerOrderList
POST /v1/orders/1688/previewalibaba.createOrder.preview
POST /v1/orders/1688/createalibaba.trade.createCrossOrder
POST /v1/orders/previewDispatches by channel (1688 / taobao)
POST /v1/orders/createDispatches by channel
POST /v1/orders/taobao/preview/purchase/order/render
POST /v1/orders/taobao/create/purchase/order/create
POST /v1/orders/cancelalibaba.trade.cancel
POST /v1/orders/payDispatches by channel
POST /v1/orders/detailOrder detail by order_id
POST /v1/orders/logistics/traceDomestic logistics trace
POST /v1/orders/purchase/queryTaobao purchase list
curl https://api.hiobuy.com/v1/products/search \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer hio_live_xxx" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "response_format": "upstream",
    "channel": "1688",
    "keyword": "phone case",
    "page": 1,
    "page_size": 10,
    "language": "en"
  }'

Validation

Invalid values (e.g. vendor_raw) return HTTP 400 with VALIDATION_ERROR. See Errors.

OpenAPI

Machine-readable spec: openapi.json  (schemas UpstreamApiResponse, UpstreamStep).

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