Frequently asked questions
How TrueSpec turns the quarterly catalog spreadsheet into one live API for the building trades — for the people who publish catalogs and the people who consume them.
What is TrueSpec?
TrueSpec is a catalog data exchange for the lumber and building materials (LBM) industry. Manufacturers and distributors publish their product catalog once — descriptions, specifications, dimensions, sizes, colors, finishes, and images — and their customers (dealers, lumberyards, ERPs, and eCommerce sites) read it through one live, versioned REST API instead of re-keying emailed spreadsheets.
How do manufacturers share a product catalog with dealers and distributors?
Upload your catalog as a spreadsheet (CSV or Excel), as a PDF, or by connecting a Shopify or WooCommerce store. TrueSpec maps your column names to a standard format, validates every row, and publishes it to your private API. You grant each customer access by invitation, and they pull current data straight from the source — no more emailing 'Catalog_FINAL_v3.xlsx' every quarter.
What is a product catalog API?
A product catalog API is a web service that lets software request up-to-date product data — SKUs, descriptions, specs, attributes, and images — in a structured, machine-readable format (JSON) instead of a spreadsheet or PDF. TrueSpec's catalog API is versioned and REST-based, so a dealer's website or a distributor's ERP can sync a manufacturer's catalog automatically and stay current without manual re-keying.
How do dealers, lumberyards, and ERPs get up-to-date manufacturer product data?
Consumers get one API key that reads every catalog they have been granted access to, merged into a single unified feed across all their vendors. Their website, ERP, or estimating software calls the API and pulls only what changed since the last sync, using incremental updates (an updated_since filter plus ETag and Last-Modified headers). New colors, discontinued items, changed pack quantities, and revised specs flow through automatically.
What catalog file formats can I import?
CSV and Excel (.xlsx) spreadsheets, PDF catalogs (a deterministic, geometry-based extractor — no AI guessing at your data), and live Shopify or WooCommerce storefronts. Every path converges on the same column-mapping and row-validation review, so you see and approve exactly what gets published. Re-uploading an updated file updates products in place — it never creates duplicates.
Does TrueSpec support incremental sync and delta updates?
Yes. Every list endpoint supports an updated_since filter, and responses carry ETag and Last-Modified headers, so an ERP or website syncs only the records that changed since last time instead of pulling the full catalog every run. Incremental sync is a first-class feature — it keeps integrations cheap to run and your consumers' data continuously current.
How is this different from emailing spreadsheets?
A spreadsheet is a snapshot that is stale the moment it is sent, and every dealer downstream re-keys it into their own system. TrueSpec is a live single source of truth: publish once, and every authorized customer always reads current data through the API. When you change a spec or discontinue a color, it propagates immediately — no version-control email threads, no re-keying.
What kinds of building products does TrueSpec support?
The data model is domain-general, with the lumber and building materials industry seeded first — decking, railing, siding, house wrap, roofing, cabinet hardware, panel goods (plywood, MDF, HPL, laminates), fasteners, adhesives and sealants, and more. Product-type-specific attributes live in per-category templates, so any building-product vertical fits without changing the core.
How do I control who can see my catalog data?
You decide who reads your data, by invitation, and you can revoke access at any time. Access is private, vendor-to-consumer — there is no public marketplace dumping your full catalog to scrapers. A public discover page shows only a curated sample if you opt in; the full catalog is API-only and visible solely to the customers you have granted.
Does TrueSpec have a developer API, and will it break my integration when it changes?
Yes — TrueSpec is API-first: a REST API under /v1/ with bearer-token auth, cursor pagination, conditional requests, incremental sync, and auto-generated OpenAPI (Swagger) docs you can read and try in the browser. Published endpoints are a permanent contract: changes are additive within a version, anything breaking ships under a new version path, and public product identifiers stay stable — so a change on our end will not quietly break a connected customer.
How much does TrueSpec cost?
TrueSpec is onboarding early publishers in the lumber and building materials industry. Every API request is metered from day one, but billing is not enabled yet — reach out through the contact page to talk about publishing your catalog or consuming the API.
Still have questions?
Tell us about your catalog, or ask anything about the API.