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Platform basics

Know the ground rules every Paylode integration relies on — hosts, transport, timeouts, and what the platform does and doesn't do for you — before you build on top of them.

None of this is specific to perks, Boost, or gift cards; it's the contract the whole API sits on. Read it once so nothing here surprises you later.

Hosts​

Paylode APIs are served over stable, HTTPS-only hostnames under paylode.com. A few are fixed and worth memorizing:

HostWhat it serves
developers.paylode.comThe API reference (Scalar) — every endpoint and schema.
docs.paylode.comThis documentation portal.
boost.paylode.comThe Boost API and the Boost page embed.
image.paylode.comImages and static assets (logos, banners).

Each API is served from its own *.paylode.com host — for example, the perk collections API lives at perk-collections.paylode.com. The exact host for every operation is listed in its entry on developers.paylode.com; pull the host from there rather than assuming a single shared API domain.

note

Use the host the reference gives you. Don't hardcode a host from memory or copy one between APIs. The reference is the source of truth for which host serves which operation.

Transport​

  • HTTPS only. Every host is HTTPS; plain HTTP isn't served. The minimum accepted TLS version is 1.2.
  • Long request window. Requests can run for up to roughly five minutes before the platform times them out. That headroom is for legitimately slow operations (large reads, order placement) — it's not an invitation to hold connections open. Set your own client timeouts to something sensible for the call you're making.

What the platform does not do​

  • No outbound webhooks, callbacks, or postbacks. Paylode never calls your servers. Every integration is pull or embed: you request data when you need it, or you embed a surface that renders itself. If you need to know when something changed, poll the relevant read endpoint on your own schedule.
  • No SMS or push from Paylode. Where you want to reach your customers in your own channels — email, SMS, push — you generate the content or links and send them yourself (see Send Boost rewards by email).

Rate limits​

Paylode does not publish client-facing rate limits, and the core API does not return 429 for request volume today. Don't read that as "unlimited" — build your integration to back off and retry on transient errors regardless, so a future limit or a slow upstream never turns into a hard failure for your users.

Images and assets​

Images you upload (logos, banners) and images that come back on perks are served from image.paylode.com over HTTPS. Use the asset URLs exactly as the API returns them — the responses give you complete, ready-to-use URLs. Don't construct asset URLs yourself by gluing a path onto the host; the URL format is owned by the platform and building your own can break silently.

Legacy .tech hosts​

Older integrations may reference *.paylode.tech hostnames. Those now 301 redirect to their *.paylode.com equivalents. Redirects will keep existing links working, but update your configuration to the .com hosts — a 301 adds a round trip, and you shouldn't rely on the redirect staying forever. In particular, the Boost page is boost.paylode.com; there is no supported .tech Boost host.

Environments​

Paylode runs a single production environment — there's no separate public sandbox base URL. To test safely against production, use the test affordances built into specific features rather than a different host: for example, Boost supports a test mode that suppresses tracking (see Go live with Boost). Point your integration at the production hosts above from day one, and lean on those per-feature test modes while you develop.