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Overview

Customers interact with your store through the Store API. They can register, log in, manage their profile, and view order history.

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Registration

const { token, user } = await client.customers.create({
  email: 'john@example.com',
  password: 'password123',
  password_confirmation: 'password123',
  first_name: 'John',
  last_name: 'Doe',
})
// token => JWT token for subsequent authenticated requests
// user => { id: "cus_abc123", email: "john@example.com", first_name: "John", ... }
The Store API flow above is customer self-registration — the customer sets a password and gets a JWT back. To create a customer record from the back office (importers, CRM sync, phone orders), use the Admin SDK instead. No password is set, so it’s a managed record rather than a sign-up:
import { createAdminClient } from '@spree/admin-sdk'

const client = createAdminClient({
  baseUrl: 'https://store.example.com',
  secretKey: 'sk_xxx',
})

const customer = await client.customers.create({
  email: 'john@example.com',
  first_name: 'John',
  last_name: 'Doe',
  tags: ['wholesale'],
})

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Login

const { token, user } = await client.auth.login({
  email: 'john@example.com',
  password: 'password123',
})
// Use the token for authenticated requests
The response includes a JWT token and a user object. Pass the token in subsequent requests via the Authorization: Bearer <token> header.

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Token Refresh

Refresh an expiring token to keep the session alive. For how client.auth.login and client.auth.refresh fit into configuring the SDK for guest vs customer (JWT) auth, see the SDK authentication guide: 
const { token, refresh_token } = await client.auth.refresh({
  refresh_token: existingRefreshToken,
})
// Persist the rotated refresh_token for the next refresh

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Password Reset

Password reset is a two-step flow. First, request a reset email. Then, use the token from the email to set a new password.

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Step 1: Request Reset

await client.passwordResets.create({
  email: 'john@example.com',
  redirect_url: 'https://myshop.com/reset-password',
})
// Always returns { message: "..." } — even if the email doesn't exist
// This prevents email enumeration
The optional redirect_url parameter specifies where the password reset link in the email should point to. The token will be appended as a query parameter (e.g., https://myshop.com/reset-password?token=...). If the store has Allowed Origins configured, the redirect_url must match one of them. This fires a customer.password_reset_requested event with the reset token in the payload. If you’re using the spree_emails package, the email is sent automatically. Otherwise, subscribe to this event to send the reset email yourself (see Events).

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Step 2: Reset Password

const { token, user } = await client.passwordResets.update(
  'reset-token-from-email',
  {
    password: 'newsecurepassword',
    password_confirmation: 'newsecurepassword',
  }
)
// Returns JWT token + user (auto-login)
On success, the user is automatically logged in and a JWT token is returned. The reset token expires after 15 minutes (configurable via Spree::Config.customer_password_reset_expires_in) and is single-use (changing the password invalidates it).

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Newsletter Subscriptions

Headless storefronts often need to collect newsletter signups before account creation (footer forms, popup overlays). The Store API exposes a double opt-in subscription flow that mirrors the password reset webhook pattern.

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Step 1: Subscribe

await client.newsletterSubscribers.create({
  email: 'guest@example.com',
  redirect_url: 'https://myshop.com/newsletter/confirm',
})
// Returns the NewsletterSubscriber (verified: false for guests)
The optional redirect_url points at the storefront page that will receive the verification token. It is validated against the store’s Allowed Origins — URLs that do not match are silently dropped from the webhook payload (secure-by-default). This fires a newsletter_subscriber.subscription_requested event whose payload includes email, verification_token, and the validated redirect_url. Subscribe to this event from your storefront’s webhook handler to send the confirmation email — the link in the email should point to <redirect_url>?token=<verification_token>. The bundled spree_emails package also listens to this event and sends a default confirmation email if you’re not running a headless storefront. If the request is authenticated via a customer JWT and the JWT’s email matches the subscribed email, the subscription is auto-verified and no event is fired (the user has already proven email ownership).

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Step 2: Verify

await client.newsletterSubscribers.verify({
  token: 'token-from-email',
})
// Returns the verified NewsletterSubscriber
On success, the subscriber is marked verified. If the subscription is linked to a customer record, that customer’s accepts_email_marketing flag is also set to true. Consent is preserved across registration: if a guest subscribes and later registers with the same email, the existing subscriber is reused — registration won’t accidentally reset their opt-in state.

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Customer Profile

// Get current customer
const customer = await client.customer.get()
// {
//   id: "cus_xxx",
//   email: "john@example.com",
//   first_name: "John",
//   last_name: "Doe",
//   default_shipping_address: { ... },
//   default_billing_address: { ... },
//   addresses: [{ ... }, { ... }],
// }

// Update profile
const updated = await client.customer.update({
  first_name: 'Jonathan',
  accepts_email_marketing: true,
})

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Customer Resources

Authenticated customers have access to these resources:
ResourceDescription
AddressesBilling and shipping addresses with default selection
OrdersPast order history
Credit CardsSaved credit cards for checkout
Payment SourcesOther saved payment methods (PayPal, Klarna, etc.)
Store CreditsBalance assigned by the store, usable at checkout
Gift CardsGift cards owned by or assigned to the customer
WishlistsSaved product lists

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Guest Checkout

Customers don’t need to register to purchase. Guest checkout uses an order token (X-Spree-Token) to identify the cart. See Orders — Cart for details.