The Products sub-API lets you programmatically manage your product inventory
in Google Merchant Center. You can create, retrieve, update, and delete
products, giving you the flexibility to integrate your systems directly with
Google.

A key concept in Merchant API is the distinction between the data you submit and
the final product that Google uses. This separation provides a clearer model of
the product data lifecycle and gives you more precise control over your product
information. The API reflects this with two main resources:

- **[`ProductInput`](https://developers.google.com/merchant/api/reference/rest/products_v1/accounts.productInputs#ProductInput):**
  This represents the raw product data you submit to a specific data source.
  Think of this as the row you upload in a feed file or the data you submit
  with an API call before any Merchant Center processing happens. You use
  this resource for all **write** operations (`insert`, `patch`, `delete`).

- **[`Product`](https://developers.google.com/merchant/api/reference/rest/products_v1/accounts.products#Product):**
  This is a read-only resource that represents the final, processed product as
  it appears in Merchant Center and on Google surfaces. It is built from
  one primary `ProductInput` and zero or more supplemental `ProductInput`
  resources after all feed rules and processing have been applied. This
  resource includes the product's final status and any data quality issues.
  You use this resource for all **read** operations (`get`, `list`).

The format and requirements for all product attributes submitted using the
`ProductInput` resource are defined in the
[Product data specification](https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/7052112).

## What you can do with the Products sub-API

The Products sub-API lets you to perform the following key tasks. Explore
the guides for detailed instructions and code samples for each use case.

- [Add and manage products](https://developers.google.com/merchant/api/guides/products/add-manage): Learn how to add new products to your account, provide supplemental data for existing ones, and delete products you no longer sell.
- [Make frequent updates to your
  products](https://developers.google.com/merchant/api/guides/products/frequent-updates): Discover how to make efficient, partial updates to product attributes that change often, such as price and availability.
- [List your products data and product
  issues](https://developers.google.com/merchant/api/guides/products/list-products-data-issues): Find out how to retrieve your processed products, check their approval status for different destinations, and identify any data quality issues that may be affecting their visibility.

## Before you begin

Before using the Products sub-API, you must create at least one API data
source in your Merchant Center account. The Products sub-API can only
insert or update products in data sources of type `API`. For instructions, see
the [Manage API data sources for product uploads](https://developers.google.com/merchant/api/guides/data-sources/api-sources) guide.