Delivering Third-Party Audiences to The Trade Desk via the API

This guide shows you how to build an unattended integration that uploads an audience to Narrative and delivers it to The Trade Desk (TTD) marketplace, where buyers you choose can purchase it. A person signs in once to create an API key, and the integration uses that key from then on. Third-party audiences are sold from a taxonomy that TTD reviews before anything activates. This guide attaches your data to that taxonomy and delivers it. To build and price the taxonomy itself, see Managing your taxonomy via the API. To deliver into one advertiser’s own seat instead, see First-party delivery via the API. Before you start, complete the prerequisites and 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 for the full list.

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

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:

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 "<url from the response>" --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. 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

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:

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

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 for what each interface does. If The Trade Desk appears under rejected instead, the response tells you what is missing:

{
  "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 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:

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 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.

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. Attach the dataset to a taxonomy element

Every audience you sell is a buyable taxonomy element with your dataset in its datasets list. For a new audience, create the element with your dataset ID in datasets, as shown in Create an audience. For an element that already exists, send it back with your dataset added. PUT replaces the whole element, so send every field, including the rates it already has:

curl -X PUT https://thetradedesk.narrativeconnectors.com/taxonomies/elements/{element_id} \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NIO_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "display_name": "In-Market Auto Q3",
    "description": "Households showing auto purchase intent",
    "parent_element_id": "6f0c1e94-2b3a-4d51-9c7e-5a8b0d2f1e33",
    "buyable": true,
    "datasets": [12345],
    "data_rates": [
      {
        "type": "create_data_rate_system",
        "rate_type": "hybrid",
        "cpm_rate": 2.50,
        "percent_of_media_cost_rate": 0.15
      }
    ]
  }'

The connector checks the dataset’s schema against The Trade Desk when you attach it, and rejects a dataset TTD would not accept.

8. Synchronize

Attaching a dataset records the link in Narrative. Synchronizing sends it to The Trade Desk and creates the delivery connection for you.

curl -X POST https://thetradedesk.narrativeconnectors.com/taxonomies/synchronization-requests \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NIO_API_TOKEN"

# then poll
curl -s https://thetradedesk.narrativeconnectors.com/taxonomies/synchronization-requests \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NIO_API_TOKEN"

The request moves through pending and in_progress to completed or failed. Its jobs.create_connections counts report the delivery connections it created. Each connection it creates uses the third_party_v2 interface, a membership duration of 90 days, and delivers the data already in the dataset as well as new rows. To choose different values, see Creating the connection yourself. A synchronization publishes every draft in your account, not only the element you changed, and only one can run at a time. See Synchronize for both rules.

The audience sells only once its element is active and TTD has approved it. See Wait for approval.

9. Confirm delivery

Check that the connection exists:

curl -s "https://api.narrative.io/v2/connections?dataset_id=12345" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NIO_API_TOKEN"

Then watch the element’s delivery statistics:

curl -s https://thetradedesk.narrativeconnectors.com/taxonomies \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NIO_API_TOKEN"

Each element reports a statistics object, which is null while the element is still a draft:

Field	Meaning
`received_ids_count`	Identifiers Narrative sent
`active_ids_count`	The subset The Trade Desk matched
`audience_size`	The audience size The Trade Desk reports

The ratio of active_ids_count to received_ids_count is your match rate.

Creating the connection yourself

The connection that synchronization creates always uses a 90-day membership duration and delivers existing data. To set targeting_time_to_live_in_minutes or historical_data_enabled yourself, leave the dataset off the element and create the connection once the element is active:

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": "third_party_v2",
      "third_party_data_type": "third_party",
      "provider_elements": [
        {
          "provider_element_id": "8c3d5b21-7e4f-4a90-b6c2-1f9a0e7d4b58",
          "display_name": "In-Market Auto Q3"
        }
      ],
      "targeting_time_to_live_in_minutes": 43200,
      "historical_data_enabled": false
    }
  }'

Both type fields are required. The outer one identifies what you are connecting, and the inner one selects the delivery interface. Always send them. targeting_time_to_live_in_minutes is how long a delivered identifier stays active in TTD before expiring. The clock rides on every record, so each delivery renews it. See 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 Third-party v2 connection settings for every field.

Keeping the audience current

Write new data to the dataset. The connection keeps running, so new rows reach The Trade Desk without further calls, and you do not touch the element or its price. Refresh the dataset more often than the membership duration, or members lapse between deliveries. Your source dataset must refresh at least every 90 days. To add another audience, repeat steps 1 through 8. Attach several datasets before you synchronize, so one synchronization publishes all of them.

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
Attaching the dataset is rejected	The dataset’s schema does not meet TTD’s requirements	Check step 5, then create a new dataset with a corrected schema
Synchronization is refused for a missing brand ID	The connector profile has no Brand ID	Add your Brand ID to the profile
Synchronization is rejected as already in progress	Only one runs at a time	Wait for the running one to finish
No connection appears after synchronizing	The dataset was not in the element’s `datasets` list when you synchronized	Attach it with `PUT`, then synchronize again
A connection you create yourself is rejected	The element is not `active` yet	Wait for the element to go live, or attach the dataset to it instead
`statistics` is `null`	The element is still a draft	Synchronize it

Getting help

Contact your Narrative relationship manager with your company ID, the dataset ID, the element ID, and the failing request and response. For Trade Desk review status and Brand ID questions, your TTD account representative is the faster path.

Managing your taxonomy via the API

Build, price, and maintain the elements audiences are sold from

First-party delivery via the API

Deliver into one advertiser’s own seat instead

The Trade Desk Connector

Full settings reference, identifiers, and status vocabularies

API Keys

Create and rotate keys for programmatic access

Overview

Platform

Data Ingestion

Data Planes

Querying with NQL

Data Collaboration

Identity Resolution

Data Activation

Audience Studio

Connectors

Connector APIs

Compliance

Rosetta Stone

Account Settings

Workflows

Webhooks

Data Collaboration MCP Server

Tools

SDKs

Delivering Third-Party Audiences to The Trade Desk via the API

1. Create the dataset

2. Activate the dataset

3. Upload your file

4. Ingest the file

5. Confirm The Trade Desk accepts the dataset

Mapping identifiers

6. Find your connector profile

7. Attach the dataset to a taxonomy element

8. Synchronize

9. Confirm delivery

Creating the connection yourself

Keeping the audience current

Troubleshooting

Dataset and upload problems

Delivery problems

Getting help

Managing your taxonomy via the API

First-party delivery via the API

The Trade Desk Connector

API Keys

​1. Create the dataset

​2. Activate the dataset

​3. Upload your file

​4. Ingest the file

​5. Confirm The Trade Desk accepts the dataset

​Mapping identifiers

​6. Find your connector profile

​7. Attach the dataset to a taxonomy element

​8. Synchronize

​9. Confirm delivery

​Creating the connection yourself

​Keeping the audience current

​Troubleshooting

​Dataset and upload problems

​Delivery problems

​Getting help

​Related content

Managing your taxonomy via the API

First-party delivery via the API

The Trade Desk Connector

API Keys

1. Create the dataset

2. Activate the dataset

3. Upload your file

4. Ingest the file

5. Confirm The Trade Desk accepts the dataset

Mapping identifiers

6. Find your connector profile

7. Attach the dataset to a taxonomy element

8. Synchronize

9. Confirm delivery

Creating the connection yourself

Keeping the audience current

Troubleshooting

Dataset and upload problems

Delivery problems

Getting help

Related content