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A creator code is the second way credit reaches a creator. A link carries credit through a click token or an install match; a code carries it through the customer, who types JANE10 at checkout or into the app. That makes a code the only path that survives word of mouth, podcasts, and screenshots — nothing has to be clicked, and no clipboard has to survive an in-app browser.

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How a code resolves

A code match resolves at 0.9 confidence with resolution_method: "code". It sets no link and credits the code’s creator directly. It is a confirmed, payout-grade method — deterministic, but a notch below a click token because a code can be reshared by someone other than the creator who earned it. When both a clipboard token and a code are present, the token wins. Codes belong to one brand. Another brand’s code never matches, and an inactive code never matches.

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Format

AttributionCode::FORMAT is /\A[A-Z0-9]{3,24}\z/ — 3 to 24 uppercase letters and digits. Customers retype codes with spaces, dashes, and stray case, so codes are normalized identically on write and on lookup: trimmed, upcased, everything outside A-Z0-9 removed, then capped at 24 characters.

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Generation

When an operator creates a code without dictating one, EVO suggests the creator’s first name plus two digits — short, because codes get said out loud.
  • The stem is the normalized first name, trimmed to leave room for the two digits.
  • A name shorter than 3 characters falls back to the stem EVO.
  • Ten attempts look for a free suffix; if all are taken, the code becomes EVO plus 4 random uppercase alphanumerics, then EVO plus 12 as a last resort.
An operator can always dictate the code instead — useful when a creator already says one on camera.

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Automatic codes on deal start

Once a brand uses attribution (it holds a pixel key, a billing connection, a link, or a code), every creator whose deal with that brand goes active is minted a code automatically, in the background, from the same first-name rule. A creator who already holds an active code for the brand gets nothing new. Brands that never set up attribution get no codes.

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Where a customer enters it

Both public endpoints — POST /api/public/attribution/installs and POST /api/public/attribution/events — accept an optional code string. An install resolved by code reports attributed: true with link: null, the matched code, and its creator.

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As the store’s discount code

A creator code can double as a real discount. Create the discount in Shopify or Stripe under the same string (JANE42) and the billing webhook credits the creator on its own; no pixel call is needed for that sale. See billing connectors for what each provider sends.

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Managing codes

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From the client portal

A brand manages its own codes under Results → Sales → Links & codes → Codes:
  • New code picks a creator from the brand’s roster (or none, for a brand-wide code), optionally dictates the code, and saves. Leave the code blank and EVO suggests one from the creator’s first name. A creator outside the roster is refused with creator_not_on_roster.
  • Generate for all creators mints one code per active creator who does not hold one yet. Pressing it twice creates nothing new.
  • Deactivate / Reactivate on a row. Clients cannot delete codes; an inactive code stops matching immediately and keeps every sale it credited.

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From the EVO team console

EVO team, in the admin console under Sales Attribution → Codes (/api/internal/attribution-codes): A code with no creator is a brand-level code that no single creator owns.
Deleting a code that already credited conversions returns code_in_use (409). Deleting it would orphan the ledger rows it credited, so deactivate it instead — an inactive code stops matching immediately and keeps its history.

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Usage counters

Every resolved event bumps the code’s uses_count and last_used_at. A deduplicated retry of the same transaction does not, so the counter never inflates from a double-fired beacon.

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What the brand sees

The client portal lists each brand’s codes read-only under Results → Attribution → Creator codes: Totals exclude sandbox rows, so a test purchase confirms your setup without moving the client-facing numbers.