Glossary
What is DIRECT vs RESELLER?
Also called: DIRECT, RESELLER, ads.txt relationship
DIRECT and RESELLER are the ads.txt relationship values: DIRECT means you control the seller account yourself, RESELLER means a partner sells for you.
हिंदी में पढ़ेंEvery ads.txt and app-ads.txt line states a relationship. DIRECT means the publisher holds the account with that ad system itself. RESELLER means another company is authorised to sell the inventory on the publisher’s behalf, through its own account. Case does not matter, so reseller is fine, but spelling does. A value such as PUBLISHER belongs in sellers.json, not ads.txt.
Buyers cross-check the label. A DIRECT line should match a PUBLISHER entry in that ad system’s sellers.json, and the sellers.json domain should match your OWNERDOMAIN. In IAB guidance, a seller whose domain matches neither OWNERDOMAIN nor MANAGERDOMAIN reads as a reseller, even if your file says DIRECT.
Resellers are not wrong in themselves: listed resellers are authorised, and unlisted sellers are the real problem. But in supply path optimisation buyers often prefer direct paths, so every RESELLER line should be one you can explain.
Example
A CTV app sells through 5 SSPs directly and through 9 resellers, so its app-ads.txt has 5 DIRECT lines and 9 RESELLER lines, 14 in all. If each reseller plugs into several SSPs, the paths to one ad break multiply, and buyers may keep the 5 direct paths and drop many of the rest.
Why it matters to publishers
The label shapes how buyers score your path. A DIRECT line that does not match sellers.json can be read as resold, and resold paths are often the first to be cut.