> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.narrative.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Delivering First-Party Audiences to The Trade Desk via the API
> Upload an audience to Narrative and deliver it into an advertiser's own Trade Desk seat over the API
This guide shows you how to build an unattended integration that uploads an audience to Narrative and delivers it into one advertiser's own seat at The Trade Desk (TTD). A person signs in once to create an API key, and the integration uses that key from then on.
First-party delivery needs no taxonomy and no review by TTD. To list an audience in TTD's marketplace instead, see [Third-party delivery via the API](/guides/connector-apis/the-trade-desk/third-party-delivery-api). [First-party and third-party delivery](/reference/connectors/the-trade-desk#overview) compares the two models.
Before you start, complete the [prerequisites](/guides/connector-apis/the-trade-desk#prerequisites) and [set up API access](/guides/connector-apis/the-trade-desk#set-up-api-access).
## 1. Create the dataset
Your schema decides whether The Trade Desk will accept the audience, so settle it before you upload anything.
The dataset must carry at least one identifier the connector recognizes, and each one is an object with a `value` property inside it. See [Supported identifiers](/reference/connectors/the-trade-desk#supported-identifiers) for the full list.
```bash theme={null}
curl -X POST https://api.narrative.io/datasets \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $NIO_API_TOKEN" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"name": "Q3 In-Market Auto",
"description": "Audience for The Trade Desk",
"write_mode": "overwrite",
"schema": {
"file_config": { "type": "json" },
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"android_advertising_id": {
"type": "object",
"display_name": "Android Advertising ID",
"properties": {
"value": { "type": "string", "display_name": "Value" }
}
}
}
}
}'
```
`write_mode` is `overwrite` or `append`. `file_config.type` is `json` for JSON Lines, `parquet`, or `flat` for CSV. Both fields are required.
The dataset comes back `pending`. Record its ID.
You do not need to supply UID2. The connector generates UID2 tokens from hashed email addresses automatically.
## 2. Activate the dataset
```bash theme={null}
curl -X POST https://api.narrative.io/datasets/{dataset_id}/activate \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $NIO_API_TOKEN"
```
Activation locks the schema. You cannot change it afterward, so activate only once the shape is settled.
## 3. Upload your file
Request an upload URL, then send the file straight to storage:
```bash theme={null}
curl -X POST https://api.narrative.io/uploads/audiences/q3-auto.json \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $NIO_API_TOKEN"
# → {"path": "a1b2c3....json", "url": "https://...", "expiry": "..."}
curl -X PUT "" --upload-file ./q3-auto.json
```
The upload URL is valid for 30 minutes and carries its own signature, so send no authorization header with the `PUT`.
A signed-URL upload supports a single file of up to 3 GB. For larger files, or for files that another system delivers on a schedule, write them to a managed bucket instead: see [Ingesting Files from a Managed S3 Bucket](/guides/ingestion/ingesting-files-from-a-managed-s3-bucket). That replaces this step and the next one.
Keep the `path` from the response. Narrative assigns its own storage path, which will not match the one you requested, and the next step needs Narrative's path rather than yours.
## 4. Ingest the file
```bash theme={null}
curl -X POST https://api.narrative.io/datasets/{dataset_id}/upload \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $NIO_API_TOKEN" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"source_file": "a1b2c3....json"}'
```
Ingestion runs in the background. Watch the record count on the dataset to know when it has finished:
```bash theme={null}
curl -s https://api.narrative.io/datasets/{dataset_id} \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $NIO_API_TOKEN"
# → .stats.active_dataset_stored_records
```
The count moves from zero to your row count, typically within a couple of minutes.
## 5. Confirm The Trade Desk accepts the dataset
```bash theme={null}
curl -s https://api.narrative.io/datasets/{dataset_id}/interfaces \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $NIO_API_TOKEN"
```
Look for The Trade Desk (`"app_id": 11`) in the accepted list, under the interface your delivery model uses: `first_party` for first-party, `third_party_v2` for third-party. See [Delivery interfaces](/reference/connectors/the-trade-desk#delivery-interfaces) for what each interface does.
If The Trade Desk appears under rejected instead, the response tells you what is missing:
```json theme={null}
{
"app_id": 11,
"interface_id": "third_party_v2",
"details": {
"valid": false,
"errors": { "required": "required property 'android_advertising_id' not found" }
}
}
```
That is a schema problem. Because the schema is locked at activation, fixing it means creating a new dataset.
This endpoint returns `404` until the dataset is activated.
### Mapping identifiers
Mapping your identifier column to a [Rosetta Stone](/concepts/rosetta-stone/overview) attribute is **not required** for The Trade Desk to accept the dataset. Acceptance is decided by your schema alone. Map anyway: normalized attributes make the dataset usable across other destinations and Narrative features.
Mapping needs a data sample first:
```bash theme={null}
curl -X POST https://api.narrative.io/datasets/{dataset_id}/request-sample \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $NIO_API_TOKEN"
# poll https://api.narrative.io/jobs?dataset_id={dataset_id}
# until the datasets_sample job completes (roughly 8 minutes)
curl -X POST https://api.narrative.io/mappings/companies/{company_id} \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $NIO_API_TOKEN" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"dataset_id": 12345,
"attribute_id": 70,
"mapping": {
"type": "object_mapping",
"property_mappings": [
{ "path": "value", "expression": "android_advertising_id.\"value\"" }
]
}
}'
```
`value` is a [reserved keyword](/nql/general/reserved-keywords) in mapping expressions, so quote it.
Attribute IDs for the common mobile identifiers: `mobile_id_unique_identifier` is 68, `apple_idfa` is 69, `android_advertising_id` is 70.
## 6. Find your connector profile
Your profile holds your Brand ID and backs every delivery.
```bash theme={null}
curl -s "https://api.narrative.io/installations?app_categories=destination_connector" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $NIO_API_TOKEN"
# find the record with "app_id": 11 and note its "id"
curl -s https://api.narrative.io/installations/{installation_id}/profiles \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $NIO_API_TOKEN"
# → [{"id": "f692fb18-...", "status": "enabled", ...}]
```
Record the profile ID. Its status must be `enabled`. If you have no profile yet, create one in the Narrative UI under **Objects → Installed Apps → Trade Desk Connector** and enter your Brand ID there.
## 7. Register the advertiser
Register each receiving advertiser once. The registration holds the credentials the connector uses to deliver into that advertiser's seat.
```bash theme={null}
curl -X POST https://thetradedesk.narrativeconnectors.com/advertisers \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $NIO_API_TOKEN" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"name": "Acme Motors",
"ttd_id": "",
"secret": ""
}'
```
`ttd_id` is the advertiser's ID in The Trade Desk. You use the same value in the next step.
## 8. Deliver the audience
Create a connection joining the dataset, the profile, and the advertiser:
```bash theme={null}
curl -X POST https://api.narrative.io/v2/connections \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $NIO_API_TOKEN" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"type": "connections_dataset",
"dataset_id": 12345,
"profile_id": "f692fb18-9d47-4c2a-b1e6-3c5f8a0b7d21",
"quick_settings": {
"type": "first_party",
"first_party_data_type": "first_party_external",
"advertiser_ids": [""],
"data_segment_names": ["In-Market Auto Q3"],
"targeting_time_to_live_in_minutes": 129600,
"historical_data_enabled": true
}
}'
```
Both `type` fields are required. The outer one identifies what you are connecting, and the inner one selects the delivery interface. Always send them.
`advertiser_ids` takes the advertiser's **Trade Desk** ID, the value you registered as `ttd_id`, not the identifier Narrative returns for the registration record. A delivery to an advertiser the connector cannot resolve fails with an error naming that advertiser.
`data_segment_names` is the name the segment carries in the advertiser's seat. It is free text, not a taxonomy element.
`targeting_time_to_live_in_minutes` is how long a delivered identifier stays active in TTD before expiring, and it defaults to 90 days. The clock rides on every record, so each delivery renews it. See [Audience membership duration](/reference/connectors/the-trade-desk#audience-membership-duration) for the full behavior.
`historical_data_enabled` decides whether data already in the dataset is delivered or only rows written after the connection is created. It cannot be changed once the connection exists.
See [First-party connection settings](/reference/connectors/the-trade-desk#first-party) for every field.
## 9. Confirm the connection
```bash theme={null}
curl -s "https://api.narrative.io/v2/connections?dataset_id=12345" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $NIO_API_TOKEN"
```
The response lists the `first_party` connection you created. Once delivery runs, the segment appears in the advertiser's seat under the name you gave it in `data_segment_names`, as though the advertiser had uploaded it themselves.
## Keeping the audience current
Write new data to the dataset. The connection keeps running, so new rows reach the advertiser's seat without further calls.
Refresh the dataset more often than the membership duration. Members that no delivery renews expire after `targeting_time_to_live_in_minutes`, and your source dataset must refresh at least every 90 days.
`advertiser_ids` takes a list, so one connection can deliver the audience to several registered advertisers.
## Troubleshooting
### Dataset and upload problems
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
| - | - | - |
| `403` on `/company-info/whoami` | The key was not created under **Settings → API Keys** | Create one there. Application credentials do not work with this flow |
| `400 Missing required field .write_mode` or `.schema.file_config` | Both are required on dataset creation | Add them |
| `400 file not found` on ingest | You sent the path you requested rather than the one Narrative returned | Use the `path` from the upload response |
| Record count stays at zero | The file did not match the schema | Check that the format matches `file_config.type` and that field names match your schema exactly |
| `404` on `/datasets/{id}/interfaces` | The dataset is not activated yet | Activate it first |
| The Trade Desk listed as rejected | The schema has no recognized identifier in the expected shape | Read `details.errors`, then create a new dataset with a corrected schema |
| `400 No sample is available` on mapping | Mapping needs a data sample | `POST /datasets/{id}/request-sample`, wait for the job, retry |
### Delivery problems
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
| - | - | - |
| Delivery fails with an error naming an advertiser | The ID in `advertiser_ids` is not a registered TTD advertiser ID | Register the advertiser with `POST /advertisers`, and use its `ttd_id` in `advertiser_ids` |
| Members disappear from the segment | No delivery renewed them within the membership duration | Refresh the dataset more often than `targeting_time_to_live_in_minutes` |
## Getting help
Contact your Narrative relationship manager with your company ID, the dataset ID, and the failing request and response. For questions about the advertiser's seat or credentials, the advertiser's TTD account representative is the faster path.
***
## Related content
List an audience in TTD's marketplace instead
Full settings reference, identifiers, and status vocabularies
Why a dataset connects to an interface rather than a connector
Create and rotate keys for programmatic access