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I apologise in advance if this question has been asked elsewhere or if it's a stupid question, but I'm desperate!

My goal

Create a POC which connects to a facebook sandbox ad account and tests what features are exposed in the API, such as uploading new video ads or creating ad campaigns.

The problem

I am following facebooks own getting started example for connecting with nodejs:
https://developers.facebook.com/docs/business-sdk/getting-started/#js

When i try to read from the AdAccount i get the following error:
(#278) Reading advertisements requires an access token with the extended permission ads_read

Under Marketing API -> Settings, it is possible to submit a request to be granted access. I think..? This part confuses me a lot.
In order for me to grant my access token the right to make calls requiring the ads_read permission, a human person at facebook must first grant me the right to grant this right to my access token?? (Please tell me if I got this wrong, it feels like that has to be wrong).

Chicken and the Egg?

As part of this proces i have to provide detailed instructions on reproducing the required need for permissions and a screencast of the process.

However all i have at this point is the sample code provided by facebooks example. And i don't plan on developing anything for this until i can at least get their sample working, which i can't without being granted access to ads_read it would seem.

I must have misunderstood something

It seems obvious that i must have misunderstood something, but what?

  • Am i not supposed to follow the example from facebook called getting started? I that not the right example for getting started?
  • Or am I trying to unlock the permission in the wrong place?
  • Is the error just misleading?
  • Or should i just complete the submission steps for ads_read and provide an empty screencast and say I'm just getting started?

Any help, clues, or link to guides that address this issue would be greatly appreciated. (Again i apologise if this question is very basic but I'm at the end of my rope here, thanks in advance)

Søren Ullidtz
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    You should configure the required permission of your created app in the marketing api tool section, check the url like: https://developers.facebook.com/apps//marketing-api/tools/ – Matteo Dec 04 '18 at 11:04
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    I tried to get this working all day and 10 mins after i post the question i found the issue. The URL you posted is where I found a button called 'connect-to-business' which i could have sworn wasn't there earlier (Maybe i didn't have a business at the time). It had me create a user, link it to the business and link that to the sandbox account and then create a token for the user with explicit permissions. I'm done for today but I'll try to post a full guide on how to get the correct token to make the getting started sample work. If I can manage to make it though that maze once again. Thank you – Søren Ullidtz Dec 04 '18 at 11:17
  • I'm just getting started with `marketing-api` & *Sandbox Ad Account* appears *overpromised and underdelivered*. Guides / documentation are scarce, there's no shortage of issues ([link1](https://stackoverflow.com/q/61728093/3679900), [link2](https://stackoverflow.com/q/60977462/3679900), [link3](https://stackoverflow.com/q/40468891/3679900), [link4](https://stackoverflow.com/a/52336814/3679900)) and community support is [puny](https://developers.facebook.com/community/search?text=marketing-api) – y2k-shubham May 11 '20 at 19:02

2 Answers2

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In case anyone else is having the same problem i was, I feel it's appropriate to post how I managed to get the right token.

First off there is nothing wrong with the tutorial code here:
https://developers.facebook.com/docs/business-sdk/getting-started/#js

The hard part is to find the right token and give it access to make the calls used in the tutorial.

Assuming that you already have managed to create a Sandbox Ad Account you need to connect it to your business account here:
https://developers.facebook.com/apps/[APP-ID]/marketing-api/tools/?business_id=[BUSINESS-ID]

On this page there should be 4 buttons next to where the sandbox account is listed. One of them is a key with the caption "Get Access Token". This is the WRONG access token. (If anyone can elaborate on how/why please feel free). In order to get the access token you need to run the "Getting Started" sample you will need the ads_read permission.

Among the 4 buttons there should also be a suitcase with the caption "Connect to Business". If you do not see this button it either means you have no business or that you haven't attached a system user to your business (I think).

If the button is not there
Go to: https://business.facebook.com/settings/system-users?business_id=[BUSINESS-ID]
Create a system user and connect it to your App. Don't forget to set the permissions for that user.

If the button is there
Click the button and select your system user in the dropdown. Then go to:
https://business.facebook.com/settings/system-users/[SYSTEM-USER-ID]?business_id=[BUSINESS-ID]

And click the Generate New Token button. Again don't forget to set the permissions for the token.

It may seem like a silly issue but it cost me almost a whole day myself so hopefully this could save someone else the time.

EDIT: I came across an access token debugger which could prove helpful to others with access token problems:
https://developers.facebook.com/tools/debug/accesstoken/

Søren Ullidtz
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    yes! This worked for me! BTW, this whole process is such a complicated disaster! Took me a long time to find this post as well! – Friendly Genius Aug 08 '19 at 23:14
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    I keep getting an oops message at the popup of Connecting Sandbox Ad Account to Your Business. Any idea why? I have followed and generated all tokes – Jalpesh Mar 13 '20 at 05:50
  • @Jalpesh It's hard for me to speculate with only "oops message" to go on. If you post the full error message in a comment, or create a new question, then someone may be able to help. – Søren Ullidtz Mar 18 '20 at 06:30
  • Actually here are more details of the issue https://developers.facebook.com/support/bugs/642464889620108/ If you check the screenshot attached, you will see the UI message only says oops and nothing more. I checked my network console, and did not get any other error. – Jalpesh Mar 18 '20 at 10:03
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    Regarding the "oops message": disabling my ad-blocker (and in Firefox, the activity blocker) did the trick. I manage to connect my sandbox account with my business. This also allowed other parts in Business Manager to work. – daco Jan 25 '21 at 09:10
  • for anyone following this issue Facebook support closed the aforementioned bug report and a new one was opened (w/o a solution yet) here: https://developers.facebook.com/support/bugs/2859862384334378/?join_id=f30d80c2a741288 – itay_alon Sep 22 '21 at 09:04
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Its in your app tools at the url https://developers.facebook.com/apps/APPID/marketing-api/tools/

If you don't have an app, create a test app

froggomad
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