> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.influship.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Creators vs Profiles

> Understand when to use creator IDs and when to use platform usernames

# Creators vs Profiles

The API separates the person from their social accounts. Understanding this split helps you pick the right endpoint and avoid redundant lookups.

* A **creator** is the person or brand.
* A **profile** is one social account on one platform.

One creator can have many profiles.

```mermaid theme={null}
graph TD
    A[Creator: Priya Sharma]
    A --> B[Instagram Profile: @priya_fitness]
    A --> C[TikTok Profile: @priyafitness]
    A --> D[YouTube Profile: @PriyaFitnessTV]
```

## Which Endpoint to Use

| You know\...                              | Use...                                   | Why                                   |
| ----------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------- |
| A search idea                             | `POST /v1/search`                        | Find creators across platforms        |
| One exact social account                  | `GET /v1/profiles/{platform}/{username}` | Resolve a known profile               |
| Many exact social accounts                | `POST /v1/profiles/lookup`               | Batch known platform + username pairs |
| A creator ID                              | `GET /v1/creators/{id}`                  | Fetch the creator record              |
| A creator ID and want linked profiles too | `GET /v1/creators/{id}?include=profiles` | Expand a creator into linked accounts |

## Typical Workflow

If you start from a known username:

1. Call `GET /v1/profiles/{platform}/{username}` or `POST /v1/profiles/lookup`.
2. Read the returned `creator_id`.
3. Call `GET /v1/creators/{id}?include=profiles` to see the creator and all their linked accounts together.

If you start from discovery:

1. Call `POST /v1/search`.
2. Pick a creator from the response.
3. Call `GET /v1/creators/{id}?include=profiles` to get the full picture.

## Why the Split Exists

Creators and profiles answer different questions.

| Question                                     | Object                |
| -------------------------------------------- | --------------------- |
| "Who is this person or brand?"               | Creator               |
| "What is their Instagram username?"          | Profile               |
| "What platforms are linked to this creator?" | Creator with profiles |
| "Does this exact account exist?"             | Profile               |

Keeping them separate means you can look up a single social account without pulling in everything about the creator, and you can fetch a creator without needing to know which platform they're on.

## Common Patterns

### Search and then expand

Use `POST /v1/search` to find relevant creators, then open one by ID when you want more detail. This keeps the search response lightweight while still giving you a path to full creator data.

### Verify a single account

Use `GET /v1/profiles/{platform}/{username}` when you already know the platform and username. This is the fastest way to check whether an account exists in the system and grab its `creator_id`.

### Batch known accounts

Use `POST /v1/profiles/lookup` when you have a list of accounts to resolve. This saves you from making individual profile requests and returns all the `creator_id` mappings in one call.