Signup Is Open While Founding Slots Last

Signup for the Trading Card API is open while founding slots last. Until they're gone, anyone can create an account, start a 14-day free trial, and make a first request against the catalog in a few minutes. No invite, no credit card.

I'm Josh, and I built this because getting clean, structured trading card data was always harder than it should have been. Here is where the catalog stands and how to get started.

What's in the catalog

As of November 8, 2026, the API serves:

• 373,901 cards
• 5,241 sets
• 16,948 players
• 3,247 teams

Since the start of May the catalog has grown by 914 sets and more than 81,000 cards. Every one of those records has a stable ID, so whatever you build on top of it does not break when we add more.

You can watch the live numbers on the data coverage page.

Your first request

Create an account, generate your API credentials, exchange them for an access token as described in the authentication guide, and then:

curl -X GET "https://api.tradingcardapi.com/v1/cards?per_page=5" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN" \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.api+json"

That returns five cards as JSON:API resources. From there, Making Your First Request walks through filtering, sorting, pagination, and pulling in related sets and players with include.

The free trial

Every paid plan starts with a 14-day free trial, and you don't need a credit card to begin one. Use it to build something real against the full catalog, and decide on a plan when you know whether it fits. The pricing page has the details.

Founding slots, then the waitlist

The first customers get founding access, and there is a limited number of founding slots. While founding slots last, sign up to claim one. If the last slot is taken while you're signing up, you land on the waitlist instead, and the signup page tells you which happened. When they're gone, the signup page switches to a waitlist, and you can join the founding list so you hear first when access expands.

I'm not going to quote a number here, because it changes as people sign up. The signup page always reads the live count.

Let's talk

If you're building something with card data, I'd like to hear about it. Whether it's a collection app, a price tracker, a marketplace, or something I haven't thought of, I'm happy to get on a short call, answer questions, and hear what you need from the API. Email me at [email protected] and we'll find a time.

Thanks for reading, and I'm looking forward to seeing what you build.