# Intro Welcome to the Musement partner API documentation! This documentation is for partners who want to set up an API integration to sell activities from the Musement catalog. We are always looking for new partners to work with and have designed our system to meet multiple needs. Whether you're looking for a fully featured tours and activities booking application or a simple catalog browser, this resource contains all the information you need to get started. It includes an API reference and multiple examples for testing. Enjoy! ## Types of integrations Musement partners can choose between two types of API integrations: **merchant** or **affiliate**. Both types of integrations can use the Musement API to retrieve activity details, look up availability, create carts, place orders, check booking statuses and use post-booking functionalities. The key difference between the two options lies in payment. ### Merchant Merchant partners integrate with the entire Musement API to sell our catalog directly on their own platforms. For [payment](/api/booking-flow/payment) at the end of the [booking flow](/api/booking-flow/intro), partners act as *merchants of record* and use the so-called *no-payment* flow. Access to this flow requires special authorization. To get set up, contact [business-support@musement.com](mailto:business-support@musement.com). As merchant of record, partners are expected to calculate and apply country-based taxes, take care of all monetary transactions with their customers, provide customer support, process cancellations/refunds and manage communication between suppliers and customers. ### Affiliate Affiliate partners do not manage payments: they use the so-called [*payment flow*](/api/booking-flow/payment) to connect with the Musement payment gateway [Stripe](https://stripe.com/docs/payments). In this case Musement acts as the *merchant of record*. Affiliates can opt for a full or partial API integration. In a full integration, the whole user experience takes place on the affiliate’s platform, including payments to Musement via API. In a partial API integration, affiliates will integrate APIs related to [searching the catalog](/api/catalog/activities/searching) only. After picking the activity, users will be redirected to the Musement platform for payment. ## Getting access to the API Access to the Musement API, even for simple testing, requires going through a few official procedures. ### 1. Sign a contract Start by contacting our *Strategic partnerships* team at [business@musement.com](mailto:business@musement.com) to begin negotiating a contract. ### 2. Get sandbox environment access When your contract is finally signed, our *API distribution* team will provide your own sandbox [authentication credentials](/api/getting-started/authentication) and [application value](/api/getting-started/headers/application). ### 3. Test in sandbox environment Once you have both your authentication credentials and application value, you can begin exploring our sandbox environment and [testing](/api/testing/quality-checklist) your integration. ### 4. Request production environment access When your testing is complete, contact our *Strategic partnerships* and *API distribution* teams to request access to our production environment. ### 5. Complete the go-live checklist Before you receive access to our production environment, you will be asked to complete a checklist of requirements and recommendations, based on our [quality checklist](/api/testing/quality-checklist). ### 6. Organize a demo Organize a demonstration of your integration with our *Strategic partnerships* and *API distribution* teams. ### 7. Receive production environment access If your checklist and demo are accepted, you will receive production credentials and an application value from our *API distribution* team.