Configuration

1. Endpoint credentials (CS-Cart)

Open Orders > ShipStation > Connection.

• URL to custom XML page: the address ShipStation calls, for example https://shop.example/index.php?dispatch=kv_shipstation.endpoint&c=0. Copy it as shown.
• Click Generate new credentials. The username and a 24-character password are shown once; copy both. Or type your own username (4 to 64 characters) and password (12 to 128 characters) and click Save.
• The password is stored encrypted and is never shown again. To change it, type a new one or generate new credentials (ShipStation then needs the new ones too).
• Status Disabled stops this ShipStation store from importing (and from sending notices) without deleting the credentials.

Which store you are setting up:

Edition	Stores
CS-Cart (Ultimate)	one per storefront; choose the storefront at the top of the admin. c= is the storefront id and the URL is on that storefront’s own address: use exactly the URL shown for each storefront.
Multi-Vendor, owner mode on (default)	one for the whole marketplace (c=0), receives every vendor order.
Multi-Vendor, owner mode off	each vendor sets up their own under Orders > ShipStation > Connection in the vendor panel (c= = vendor id). Orders of vendors without their own store still go to the marketplace store (c=0).

2. Order status map (CS-Cart)

On the same page, choose a ShipStation group for every order status (one map for the whole store; only administrators of the whole store see it). The add-on sends one of these five words as the order status:

Group in ShipStation	Word sent	Default CS-Cart statuses
Awaiting payment (Unpaid Status)	unpaid	Open
Awaiting shipment (Paid Status)	paid	Processed
Shipped (Shipped Status)	shipped	Complete
Cancelled (Cancelled Status)	cancelled	Failed, Declined, Cancelled
On hold (On-Hold Status)	on_hold	Backordered, Awaiting call
not sent	-	Incomplete and every custom status until you choose a group

If your store uses Complete for “paid, not shipped yet”, map Complete to paid.

3. Custom Store (ShipStation)

1. In ShipStation open Account Settings, then Selling Channels > Store Setup, and click Connect a Store or Marketplace.
2. Choose Custom Store.
3. Paste the endpoint URL into URL to custom XML page and enter the username and password from CS-Cart.
4. Type the words exactly as shown (they are case-sensitive): Unpaid Status unpaid, Paid Status paid, Shipped Status shipped, Cancelled Status cancelled, On-Hold Status on_hold.
5. Click Test Connection, then Connect.
6. Import orders with Update Stores in ShipStation, or turn on automatic store updates there. ShipStation decides how often it imports.

Multi-Vendor with owner mode off: each vendor adds their own Custom Store in their own ShipStation account.

4. Add-on settings

Add-ons > Manage add-ons > ShipStation Connector > Settings:

Setting	Default	Meaning
Enable	on	Off: ShipStation can no longer import orders. Shipment notices for labels that already exist are still applied.
Marketplace owner mode	on	Multi-Vendor only, see the table in section 1.
Order status when all items are shipped	Complete	Set when the last unshipped items are reported. “Do not change” keeps the status. Orders that are cancelled, declined, failed, in a status that returns stock (e.g. a custom Refunded) or in a status mapped to cancelled are never changed.
Order status when some items are shipped	Do not change	For partial shipments, e.g. a custom “Partly shipped” status.
Shipment e-mail from CS-Cart	Automatic	ShipStation can e-mail the customer itself. Automatic sends CS-Cart’s shipment and status e-mails only when ShipStation’s notice says NotifyCustomer = true; Always / Never override it.
Orders per import page	100	10 to 500. Lower it if the import times out on a slow server.
Import window overlap (hours)	12	Added before the start of each import window so no order is missed when clocks or time zones differ. Orders sent twice are just updated in ShipStation.
Tracking URLs	empty	Extra or replacement tracking links, one per line: code = https://carrier.example/track?n={tracking}. A family name from Developer notes (e.g. royal_mail) replaces that family’s link; any other ShipStation carrier code (e.g. my_courier, aramex_au_walleted) adds a carrier with its own link, up to 10. Keep the order of the lines and add new ones at the end. Only https:// links are accepted. The link appears on the order pages and in CS-Cart’s shipment e-mail.
Debug log	off	Also logs empty imports.
Log retention (days)	90	Older log lines are removed by the cron run.

Cron

A shipment notice that cannot be applied at once (for example while someone edits the order) is stored and retried. Run the queue every 5 to 15 minutes with the console command or the secret URL shown under Settings > Cron:

php /path/to/store/admin.php --dispatch=kv_shipstation.cron

Without cron, use Orders > ShipStation > Retry queue > Run now, or Apply again on the order’s ShipStation tab.