VAST macros / Ad and pod

[ADCOUNT] VAST macro

Short answer: The position of this ad within an ad pod. Introduced in VAST 4.1.

What it means

Resolves to the sequential index of the ad inside a pod, used for pod-level reporting and pacing.

Example value

After the player substitutes the macro, [ADCOUNT] becomes something like:

2

2

Where it is valid

Impression and tracking URLs in ad pods.

Macros are case-sensitive and substituted only inside URL fields. A macro written in the wrong case, or placed where it has no defined value, is sent to the server as literal text instead of a value.

Using it in a tag

<Impression><![CDATA[https://t.example.com/i?val=[ADCOUNT]&cb=[CACHEBUSTING]]]></Impression>

<Impression><![CDATA[https://t.example.com/i?val=[ADCOUNT]&cb=[CACHEBUSTING]]]></Impression>

Related vastlint rules

• VAST-2.0-macro-unknown: URL contains a [MACRO] that is not a recognised IAB VAST macro
• VAST-2.0-macro-lowercase: Recognised macro is not uppercase — players match macro names case-sensitively

Related macros

• [PODSEQUENCE]: The sequence number of the ad within its pod.
• [BREAKPOSITION]: The position of the ad break: pre-roll, mid-roll, or post-roll.
• [ADTYPE]: The type of ad: video, audio, or hybrid.

Validate your macros

vastlint flags unknown, mis-cased, deprecated, out-of-context, and unencoded macros in any tracking, click, error, impression, or media URL:

# CLI: exits non-zero on errors, ideal for pipelines
vastlint check creative.xml

# CLI: exits non-zero on errors, ideal for pipelines
vastlint check creative.xml

Further reading

• All VAST macros
• Unknown macro rule
• VAST error codes
• Common VAST errors and how to fix them