UniPixel needs two things from you: your Pixel ID and an access token. That’s it. But getting those two things from Meta can be confusing — so here’s what you need in place first.
You need all of these. Each one connects to the others — if one is missing, the rest won’t work properly. Meta has evolved its ad centre to depend on all sorts of profiles, pages, accounts, data sets etc. But! Stick with it, just go through the process if you don’t already have these, you’ll benefit from them later.
So you’ll need (just in order to get an API token for Server-side events for UniPixel):
Have a Business Account? Go to business.facebook.com. If you’re in, you have one.
Have a Page? Check Settings > Accounts > Pages in Business Manager. It needs to be connected to this Business Account — not just a Page you admin personally.
Have an Ad Account? Check Settings > Accounts > Ad Accounts. Same thing — it needs to be connected here.
Have a Pixel/Dataset? Go to Events Manager. If you see a dataset listed, you have one. Note the Pixel ID — that’s the first thing UniPixel needs.
Have a System User and token? This is the one most people are missing. Check Settings > Users > System Users. If it’s empty, you need to create one.
Go to business.facebook.com and create one if you don’t have it. This is the hub everything else connects to.
If you don’t have a Page for your business, create one. Then make sure it’s connected to your Business Account under Settings > Accounts > Pages.
If you don’t have one, create it under Settings > Accounts > Ad Accounts. If you have a personal one, you can migrate it into your Business Account.
Go to Events Manager. Click Connect Data Sources. Choose Web. Meta will walk you through creating a dataset — this is your pixel. It may suggest integration options and partner setups. Ignore those for now. You just need the dataset created.
Once it exists, note the Pixel ID. That’s the first thing UniPixel needs.
This is where it gets buried.
Go to Business Settings > Users > System Users. Click Add. Give it a name (e.g. “UniPixel”). Set the role to Admin.
Then you need to assign it access to your Dataset. Click Add Assets > Datasets > select yours > toggle full control.
Still on the System User screen. Click Generate New Token. Select the permissions it asks for. Copy the token.
This is the second thing UniPixel needs. The Pixel ID and this token. That’s all.
Meta’s setup wizards will try to get you to:
Skip all of it. You don’t need any of that. You need a Dataset, a System User, and a token.
No. You don’t need the dataset code, the base pixel code, or any tag snippet from Meta. UniPixel handles all of this. You don’t need to paste any code into your site header, your theme, or a tag manager.
All you need is the Pixel ID and the access token. UniPixel does the rest — client-side and server-side. But there’s options to bring your own pixel tracking codes too – you choose!
For Meta, Google and TikTok — yes. You don’t need to paste any tracking codes, scripts, or snippets into your site header, footer, theme, or page builder. UniPixel handles the client-side pixel code and the server-side API calls for these platforms from inside the plugin. Just connect your credentials and it’s firing. But there’s also the option to simply use your own pixel codes if you’re more comfortable doing that.
When you look at Events Manager, Meta presents options to create and configure custom events on their side. You don’t need any of that. Create your events in UniPixel — Meta will receive them automatically. They’ll just start popping up in Meta – “look, no hands”. Meta’s documentation and UI is tailored to complicated technical setups. UniPixel solves a a lot of this for you.
The only thing you need to do in Meta is approve the events once they start appearing. They’ll show up as unverified custom events in Events Manager. Confirm you recognise them and they’re available for campaign optimisation. That’s it.
All event creation and management happens in UniPixel. Not in Meta.
Once you’ve entered your Pixel ID and access token in UniPixel and events start firing:
Expect a delay. Meta can take up to 2 hours to recognise your Pixel ID as receiving events. During this time Events Manager may show nothing. The pixel may not appear as available in your campaign tracking settings. This is normal. Don’t change anything. Give it time.
After that window, you should see events appearing in Events Manager. From there you can set up custom events in UniPixel and start tracking what matters.