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USPS Web Tools API retired — this package no longer works #92

Description

@jtalk22

USPS officially retired the Web Tools API on January 25, 2026. The XML endpoints at secure.shippingapis.com and production.shippingapis.com no longer respond, which means this package is non-functional for all users.

What changed:

Web Tools (old) v3 REST (new)
Auth API key in query string OAuth 2.0 client_credentials
Format XML JSON
Endpoint ShippingAPI.dll?API=Verify apis.usps.com/addresses/v3/address
Rate limit Effectively unlimited 40–60 req/hour
Credentials Single user ID Consumer Key + Secret from developer.usps.com

The new OAuth tokens expire hourly and requesting a new token revokes the previous one, so any migration needs to handle token caching and serialized refresh.

For anyone looking for a working Node.js alternative, I maintain an MIT-licensed SDK that wraps the new v3 endpoints:

npm install usps-v3

It handles OAuth token lifecycle, endpoint mapping, and has TypeScript definitions. Source: https://github.com/revereveal/usps-v3-node

If managing USPS OAuth and rate limits isn't worth the overhead, there's also a managed proxy at https://revaddress.com that handles it behind a simple API key.

Migration guide with endpoint mapping: https://revaddress.com/blog/usps-web-tools-migration-checklist

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