Targeting Key service

The targeting-key service works in conjunction with the targeting-value service to allow you to define your own key/value combinations for use in targeting on line items, campaigns, and so on. See Custom Key Value Targeting for more information.

REST API

HTTP Method	Endpoint	Description
`POST`	`https://api.appnexus.com/targeting-key` (`create_target_key` JSON)	Add a new targeting key.
`PUT`	`https://api.appnexus.com/targeting-key?id=TARGETING_KEY_ID` (`update_targeting_key` JSON)	Modify a targeting key.
`GET`	`https://api.appnexus.com/targeting-key`	View all targeting keys.
`GET`	`https://api.appnexus.com/targeting-key?id=TARGETING_KEY_ID`	View a specific targeting key.
`GET`	`https://api.appnexus.com/targeting-key?name=TARGETING_KEY_NAME1,TARGETING_KEY_NAME2,TARGETING_KEY_NAME3`	View a set of targeting keys by name.
`DELETE`	`https://api.appnexus.com/targeting-key?id=TARGETING_KEY_ID`	Delete a targeting key.

JSON fields

General

Field	Type (Length)	Description
`id`	int	The ID of the targeting key. Default: Auto-generated number Required On: `PUT`/ `DELETE`, in query string
`type`	enum	The data type of the key and its associated values. Must be one of the following values: - `string` - `numeric` Required On: `POST`
`name`	string	The name of the targeting key. The value must be one word, with no spaces. This name must be unique within your member. Required On: `POST`
`label`	string	A label for the key, to be used for reporting. This value is not required, but if you do include a value, it must be unique within your member. Label can be a maximum of 190 characters.
`state`	enum	The state of the targeting key. Possible values are `active` and `inactive`. Default: `active`
`created_on`	date	Read-only. The date and time the targeting key was created.
`last_modified`	date	Read-only. The date and time the targeting key was last modified.

Key requirements

Number of keys

You can have up to 500 active keys at one time.
You can have up to 100,000 values per key.
You can have up to 2,500,000 total active values at one time.

Key naming

Key names are not case-sensitive.
Maximum key name length is 50 characters.
Key names must be one word, with no whitespace.
Key names cannot contain any of the following special characters:
- " (double quotes)
- ' (apostrophe)
- = (equal sign)
- ! (exclamation point)
- + (plus sign)
- # (hashtag)
- * (asterisk)
- ~ (tilde)
- ; (semicolon)
- ^ (caret)
- () (parentheses)
- < > (angle brackets)
- [ ] (square brackets)
- , (comma)
- & (ampersand)
- @ (at)
- : (colon)
- ? (question mark)
- % (percent sign)
- / (forward slash)

Examples

View all targeting keys

$ curl -b cookies 'https://api.appnexus.com/targeting-key'

{
    "targeting-keys": [
        {
            "id": 7,
            "type": "string",
            "name": "key1",
            "label": null,
            "state": "active",
            "created_on": "2016-08-26 06:29:29",
            "last_modified": "2016-08-26 06:29:29"
        },
        {
            "id": 11,
            "type": "string",
            "name": "testkey",
            "label": null,
            "state": "active",
            "created_on": "2016-08-26 06:30:37",
            "last_modified": "2016-08-26 06:30:37"
        },
        {
            "id": 12,
            "type": "string",
            "name": "testkey3",
            "label": "This is a test",
            "state": "active",
            "created_on": "2016-08-26 08:04:42",
            "last_modified": "2016-08-26 08:15:02"
        }
    ]...
}

View a specific targeting key

$ curl -b cookies 'https://api.appnexus.com/targeting-key?id=12'
 
{
    "targeting-key": {
        "id": 12,
        "type": "string",
        "name": "testkey3",
        "label": "This is a test",
        "state": "active",
        "created_on": "2016-08-26 08:04:42",
        "last_modified": "2016-08-26 08:15:02"
    }...
}

Add a targeting key

$ cat create_targeting_key.json
{
    "targeting-key": {
        "name": "testkey4",
        "type": "string"
    } 
}
 
$ curl -b cookies -H "Content-Type:application/json" -X POST -d '@create_targeting_key.json' 'https://api.appnexus.com/targeting-key'

Modify a targeting key

$ cat update_targeting_key.json
{
    "targeting-key": {
        "name": "newtestkey3",
        "label": "This is a test"
    } 
}
 
$ curl -b cookies -H "Content-Type:application/json" -X PUT -d @update_target_key.json 'https://api.appnexus.com/targeting-key?id=12'

Filter targeting keys by name

$ curl -b cookies 'https://api.appnexus.com/targeting-key?name=key1,key2'

{
    "targeting-keys": [
        {
            "id": 7,
            "type": "string",
            "name": "key1",
            "label": null,
            "state": "active",
            "created_on": "2016-08-26 06:29:29",
            "last_modified": "2016-08-26 06:29:29"
        },
        {
            "id": 8,
            "type": "string",
            "name": "key2",
            "label": null,
            "state": "active",
            "created_on": "2016-08-26 06:30:37",
            "last_modified": "2016-08-26 06:30:37"
        }
    ]...
}

Search within a name or label

This example searches for the string "car" anywhere within the name or label fields.

$ curl -b cookies 'https://api.appnexus.com/targeting-key?search=car'

{
    "targeting-keys": [
        {
            "id": 1,
            "type": "string",
            "name": "bluecar",
            "label": null,
            "state": "active",
            "created_on": "2016-08-26 06:29:29",
            "last_modified": "2016-08-26 06:29:29"
        },
        {
            "id": 2,
            "type": "string",
            "name": "key5",
            "label": "Scary values",
            "state": "active",
            "created_on": "2016-08-26 06:29:29",
            "last_modified": "2016-08-26 06:29:29"
        },
        {
            "id": 3,
            "type": "string",
            "name": "car",
            "label": null,
            "state": "active",
            "created_on": "2016-08-26 06:30:37",
            "last_modified": "2016-08-26 06:30:37"
        }
    ]...
}

Sort by last modified date

You can sort your results by id, name, label, created_on, or last_modified. You can sort in ascending (asc) or descending (desc) order.

$ curl -b cookies 'https://api.appnexus.com/targeting-key?sort=last_modified.asc'

{
    "targeting-keys": [
        {
            "id": 7,
            "type": "string",
            "name": "key1",
            "label": null,
            "state": "active",
            "created_on": "2016-08-26 06:29:29",
            "last_modified": "2016-08-26 06:29:29"
        },
        {
            "id": 10,
            "type": "string",
            "name": "akey",
            "label": null,
            "state": "active",
            "created_on": "2016-08-26 04:45:07",
            "last_modified": "2016-08-26 12:52:29"
        },
        {
            "id": 8,
            "type": "string",
            "name": "key2",
            "label": null,
            "state": "active",
            "created_on": "2016-08-26 06:30:37",
            "last_modified": "2016-08-30 10:34:37"
        }
    ]...
}

Delete a targeting key

Deleting a targeting key will automatically delete all values under that key.

$ curl -b cookies -X DELETE 'https://api.appnexus.com/targeting-key?id=12'

Last updated on 2025-10-22

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