> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://spreecommerce.org/docs/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Get a category > Returns a single category by permalink or prefix ID ## OpenAPI ````yaml /api-reference/store.yaml get /api/v3/store/categories/{id} openapi: 3.0.3 info: title: Store API contact: name: Spree Commerce url: https://spreecommerce.org email: hello@spreecommerce.org description: > Spree Store API v3 - Customer-facing storefront API for building headless commerce experiences. ## Authentication The Store API uses two authentication methods: ### API Key (Required) All requests must include a publishable API key in the `x-spree-api-key` header. ### JWT Bearer Token (For authenticated customers) After login, include the JWT token in the `Authorization: Bearer ` header. ### Order Token (For guest checkout) When creating an order, a `token` is returned. Include this in the `x-spree-token` header for guest access to that specific order. ## Response Format All responses are JSON. List endpoints return paginated responses with `data` and `meta` keys. ## Error Handling Errors return a consistent format: ```json { "error": { "code": "record_not_found", "message": "Product not found" } } ``` version: v3 servers: - url: http://{defaultHost} variables: defaultHost: default: localhost:3000 security: [] tags: - name: Authentication description: Customer authentication (login, logout, token refresh) - name: Product Catalog description: Products and categories - name: Carts description: Shopping cart management - name: Orders description: Order lookup - name: Customers description: Customer account, addresses, saved payment methods, and order history - name: Markets description: Markets, countries, currencies, and locales - name: Wishlists description: Customer wishlists - name: Policies description: Store policies (return policy, privacy policy, terms of service) - name: Digitals description: Digital product downloads paths: /api/v3/store/categories/{id}: get: tags: - Product Catalog summary: Get a category description: Returns a single category by permalink or prefix ID parameters: - name: x-spree-api-key in: header required: true schema: type: string - name: id in: path required: true description: >- Category permalink (e.g., clothing/shirts) or prefix ID (e.g., ctg_abc123) schema: type: string - name: expand in: query required: false description: Expand associations (children, parent, ancestors, custom_fields) schema: type: string - name: fields in: query required: false description: >- Comma-separated list of fields to include (e.g., name,slug,price). id is always included. schema: type: string responses: '200': description: category found by prefix ID content: application/json: example: id: ctg_gbHJdmfrXB name: taxon_10 permalink: taxonomy-7/taxon-10 position: 0 depth: 1 meta_title: null meta_description: null meta_keywords: null children_count: 1 parent_id: ctg_UkLWZg9DAJ description: '' description_html: '' image_url: null square_image_url: null is_root: false is_child: true is_leaf: false schema: $ref: '#/components/schemas/Category' '401': description: unauthorized content: application/json: example: error: code: invalid_token message: Valid API key required schema: $ref: '#/components/schemas/ErrorResponse' '404': description: category from other store not accessible content: application/json: example: error: code: record_not_found message: Category not found schema: $ref: '#/components/schemas/ErrorResponse' security: - api_key: [] x-codeSamples: - lang: javascript label: Spree SDK source: >- import { createClient } from '@spree/sdk' const client = createClient({ baseUrl: 'https://your-store.com', publishableKey: '', }) const category = await client.categories.get('categories/clothing/shirts', { expand: 'children', }) components: schemas: Category: type: object properties: id: type: string name: type: string permalink: type: string position: type: number depth: type: number meta_title: type: string nullable: true meta_description: type: string nullable: true meta_keywords: type: string nullable: true children_count: type: number parent_id: type: string nullable: true description: type: string description_html: type: string image_url: type: string nullable: true square_image_url: type: string nullable: true is_root: type: boolean is_child: type: boolean is_leaf: type: boolean parent: $ref: '#/components/schemas/Category' children: type: array items: $ref: '#/components/schemas/Category' ancestors: type: array items: $ref: '#/components/schemas/Category' custom_fields: type: array items: $ref: '#/components/schemas/CustomField' required: - id - name - permalink - position - depth - meta_title - meta_description - meta_keywords - children_count - parent_id - description - description_html - image_url - square_image_url - is_root - is_child - is_leaf x-typelizer: true ErrorResponse: type: object properties: error: type: object properties: code: type: string example: record_not_found message: type: string example: Record not found details: type: object description: Field-specific validation errors nullable: true example: name: - is too short - is required email: - is invalid required: - code - message required: - error example: error: code: validation_error message: Validation failed details: name: - is too short email: - is invalid CustomField: type: object properties: id: type: string label: type: string type: type: string deprecated: true field_type: type: string enum: - short_text - long_text - rich_text - number - boolean - json key: type: string value: type: object required: - id - label - type - field_type - key - value x-typelizer: true securitySchemes: api_key: type: apiKey name: x-spree-api-key in: header description: Publishable API key for store access ````