collection.syncCatalog

Starts a product-feed sync for an existing catalog or flipbook.

Starts a sync for an existing catalog or flipbook that has a connected product feed. Use this after products.create or products.update to apply the latest product data — prices, descriptions, images, SKUs — to the catalog content.

The call returns as soon as the sync is queued. collectionStatus becomes processing.

Sync updates the stored catalog. Live readers keep serving the previously published catalog until you republish with collection.update.

Note: Requests must be made to https://api.flipsnack.com/v1/ using GET. A POST request returns 40 - Bad Request.

Supported collections

Works for any flipbook with at least one connected product feed (sourceHash linked through Automation):

• Catalogs created with collection.createCatalog

• Catalog-generator catalogs created in the Flipsnack app

• Flipbooks that had a product feed applied in the editor

Collections with no connected feed — for example a PDF uploaded with collection.create — are rejected with code 40 and message Catalog has no associated product feed.

While the sync is running

• collection.getCollection and collection.getList report collectionStatus: processing

• collection.update and collection.downloadHTML are unavailable for this collection

• Calling collection.syncCatalog again before the current sync or publish finishes returns code 38

When the sync completes, collectionStatus returns to its previous value (public, editable, unlisted, and so on). Poll collection.getCollection until collectionStatus is no longer processing.

Request parameters

Name	Type	Description
apiKey (required)	string	The API key provided for your user. Omission returns 30 - Missing mandatory parameter. An invalid key returns 41 - Invalid credentials.
signature (required)	string	Request signature. See How to sign a request. Omission returns 30. An invalid signature returns 44.
action (required)	string	Must be collection.syncCatalog.
collectionHash (required)	string	Hash of the catalog or flipbook to re-sync. A missing hash returns 30. An unknown hash returns 46. A hash from another workspace returns 43.

Response parameters

A successful request queues the sync and returns immediately.

Name	Type	Description
collectionHash	string	Hash of the catalog the sync was started for.
collectionStatus	string	Always processing on success.
syncStartedDate	date	UTC timestamp when the sync was triggered, formatted as YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS.

Error codes

See API status codes for all error codes.

Code	Status	When
30	Missing mandatory parameter	apiKey, signature, action, or collectionHash is missing.
38	Collection is in progress	A sync or publish is already running for this collection. Poll collection.getCollection.
40	Bad Request	Wrong HTTP method (must be GET), or the collection has no connected product feed.
41	Invalid credentials	The API key is invalid.
43	Forbidden	The collection was deleted or belongs to another user.
44	Invalid signature	The request signature is invalid.
46	Invalid collection hash	The collection hash does not exist.
50	Operation failed	The sync could not be started. Retry after a few seconds.

A missing product feed includes data.message:

{
  "code": 40,
  "status": "Bad Request",
  "data": {
    "message": "Catalog has no associated product feed"
  }
}

Recommended workflow

1

Update the product feed

Call products.create or products.update with the feed's sourceHash.

2

Start the catalog sync

Call collection.syncCatalog with the collectionHash of the catalog linked to that feed.

3

Wait until processing finishes

Poll collection.getCollection until collectionStatus is no longer processing.

4

Republish so readers see the data

Call collection.update with the collection's current collectionStatus (public, unlisted, or editable) to republish.

Sync behavior

• API catalogs created with collection.createCatalog: the catalog is regenerated from the saved catalog sections, the same way as the initial create.

• Other flipbooks with a connected feed: product data is synced onto the existing pages.

Examples

Request

cURL

# GET
curl -X GET \
     -G \
     https://api.flipsnack.com/v1/ \
     -d action=collection.syncCatalog \
     -d apiKey=<YOUR-API-KEY> \
     -d signature=<YOUR-REQUEST-SIGNATURE> \
     -d collectionHash=<COLLECTION-HASH>

HTML

<form method="get" action="https://api.flipsnack.com/v1/">
    <input type="hidden" name="action" value="collection.syncCatalog">
    <input type="hidden" name="apiKey" value="<YOUR-API-KEY>">
    <input type="hidden" name="signature" value="<YOUR-REQUEST-SIGNATURE>">
    <input type="hidden" name="collectionHash" value="<COLLECTION-HASH>">
    <button type="submit">Submit</button>
</form>

Response

Success

{
  "code": 20,
  "status": "OK",
  "data": {
    "collectionHash": "d3m0h45h",
    "collectionStatus": "processing",
    "syncStartedDate": "2026-07-29 09:41:00"
  }
}

Error

{
  "code": 38,
  "status": "Collection is in progress. Please try again later"
}