Efficient Data Syncing is Here: Introducing the `updated_after` Parameter

Previously, keeping your local database in sync with market prices often meant re-fetching entire sets just to catch the cards that moved. That burns your CPU cycles, eats up your bandwidth, and drains your API quota faster than necessary.

We heard your feedback (shout out to the developers in our support tickets!), and we’re excited to roll out a powerful solution for delta synchronization: the updated_after parameter.

What is it? #

The updated_after parameter is a new filter available on both our GET /cards and POST /cards (Batch) endpoints. It accepts a standard Unix timestamp (in seconds).

When you include this parameter, the API ignores static data and returns only the card variants that have had a pricing update at or after the time you specify.

The Use Case: Smarter Syncing #

Instead of brute-forcing updates, you can now build a lightweight polling mechanism.

The Old Way:

1. Fetch all ~200 cards in The First Chapter.
2. Loop through every single one.
3. Compare prices to your database.
4. Write changes.

The JustTCG Way:

1. Store the timestamp of your last successful sync.
2. Request /cards?game=disney-lorcana&set=the-first-chapter-disney-lorcana&updated_after=[YOUR_TIMESTAMP].
3. Receive only the 15 cards that actually had updates.
4. Update just those records.

This allows you to keep your application’s pricing data “fresh” with a fraction of the API calls.

Quick Example #

Here is how it looks in a standard cURL request:

curl -X GET "https://api.justtcg.com/v1/cards?game=disney-lorcana&updated_after=1721848600" \  
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"

Reliability Guide: Mastering Pagination #

To ensure this feature is reliable, we need to talk about architecture for a second.

The JustTCG API uses OFFSET pagination. In the world of databases, if you are paging through results (Page 1, Page 2, Page 3) while the underlying data is actively changing sort order or being added/removed, you run the risk of “drift” (missing a record or seeing a duplicate).

To solve this, our system updates prices in predictable, stable intervals (roughly every 6–7 hours per game).

Here is the best practice pattern for rock-solid syncing:

• Monitor the **/games** endpoint. Check the last_updated timestamp for your target game.
• Wait for the change. Once you see that timestamp update, it means our batch processing for that game is complete.
• Trigger your sync. Immediately fire your request using updated_after with the timestamp from your previous sync.

By coordinating your pulls with our update cycle, you ensure you are paginating over a static dataset. This guarantees you get every single price change without duplicates or skipped records.

What’s Next? #

This feature is a massive step toward more efficient data handling, but we aren’t stopping here. We know the “holy grail” for many of you is a full webhook system that pushes changes to you automatically. That is on our long-term roadmap.

In the meantime, updated_after gives you the power to build fast, responsive, and quota-friendly applications today.

Check out the **API Reference** for full details.

Happy building!

— The JustTCG Team