TCGdex API

Beginner's Pick Games & Comics / No Auth Required Beginner HTTPS CORS
Free to Use
80 A
Measured Score 0 50 100 Speed 21/30 Consistency 20/20 Security 20/20 Browser access 15/15 Transparency 4/15 TESTED 2026-08-10

Overview

TCGdex is a free, multi-language Pokémon Trading Card Game API that provides detailed card, set, and series information. It covers cards from all generations and supports multiple languages including English, French, and German. Perfect for beginners wanting to explore a rich dataset without any authentication setup.

Beginner Tip

No API key is required — just send a GET request to retrieve Pokémon card data right away. Start with a simple card endpoint to explore the JSON structure before building more complex queries.

Measurement Record

What actually happened when we called this API from our own infrastructure. Every value below was recorded by the request, not copied from the provider's documentation.

Request
GET https://api.tcgdex.net/v2/en/cards/swsh3-1
Result
HTTP 200 · application/json · 1,888 bytes
Response time
103 ms (median of 3) · fastest 101 ms
Transport
TLSv1.3 · TLS_AES_128_GCM_SHA256 · certificate issued by Let's Encrypt
Browser CORS
Allowed — Access-Control-Allow-Origin: *
Recorded
2026-08-10

Fields Returned

Top-level fields present in the response we captured, with the type and value we actually received.

Field Type Value received
category string Pokemon
id string swsh3-1
illustrator string Saki Hayashiro
image string (url) https://assets.tcgdex.net/en/swsh/swsh3/1
localId string 1
name string Butterfree V
rarity string Holo Rare V
set object {5 fields}
variants object {5 fields}
variants_detailed array [1 item]
dexId array [1 item]
hp integer 190
types array [1 item]
stage string Basic

Captured Response

Captured from a real request to https://api.tcgdex.net/v2/en/cards/swsh3-1 on 2026-08-10. Long arrays and nested objects are truncated to keep the shape readable.

JSON Response · Captured
{
  "category": "Pokemon",
  "id": "swsh3-1",
  "illustrator": "Saki Hayashiro",
  "image": "https://assets.tcgdex.net/en/swsh/swsh3/1",
  "localId": "1",
  "name": "Butterfree V",
  "rarity": "Holo Rare V",
  "set": {
    "cardCount": {
      "official": 189,
      "total": 201
    },
    "id": "swsh3",
    "logo": "https://assets.tcgdex.net/en/swsh/swsh3/logo",
    "name": "Darkness Ablaze",
    "symbol": "https://assets.tcgdex.net/univ/swsh/swsh3/symbol"
  },
  "variants": {
    "firstEdition": false,
    "holo": true,
    "normal": false,
    "reverse": false,
    "wPromo": false
  },
  "variants_detailed": [
    {
      "type": "holo",
      "size": "standard",
      "variantId": "jr7oetx1mqug9",
      "pricing": {
        "…": "(2 more fields)"
      }
    }
  ],
  "dexId": [
    12
  ],
  "hp": 190,
  "types": [
    "Grass"
  ],
  "stage": "Basic",
  "…": "(8 more fields)"
}

Field Reference

id Unique card identifier in format SetCode-Number, e.g. swsh3-1.
name Name of the Pokemon or card in the requested language.
set Set information including id, name, and series the card belongs to.
rarity Card rarity classification such as Common, Uncommon, or Rare.
hp Hit points of the Pokemon printed on the card.
types List of Pokemon energy types such as Fire, Water, or Psychic.

Implementation Example

Calls a real endpoint of this API. Replace any placeholder credentials with your own key.

Request
const url = "https://api.tcgdex.net/v2/en/cards/swsh3-1";
const response = await fetch(url);
if (!response.ok) throw new Error(`Request failed: ${response.status}`);
const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);

What Can You Build?

Note: These code examples are AI-generated and unverified. Always refer to the official API documentation for accurate usage.

How This API Fails

We deliberately sent this API a broken request and recorded exactly what came back on 2026-08-10. Knowing the shape of an error before you hit it makes error handling much easier to write.

HTTP 404 Requesting a path that does not exist application/json
{
  "type": "https://tcgdex.dev/errors/not-found",
  "title": "The resource you are trying to reach does not exists",
  "status": 404,
  "endpoint": "/en/cards/swsh3-1/apisscore-nonexistent-path",
  "method": "GET"
}

Common Errors & Troubleshooting

Generated guidance based on this API's documentation, not observed by us. Treat it as a starting point and check against the provider's own error reference.

404 Not Found The card ID or set code does not exist in the database.
Check the TCGdex docs for valid set IDs and card numbers, e.g. swsh3-1.
Empty response body Requesting a language that is not yet translated for that card.
Switch to "en" (English) which has the most complete data coverage.
CORS error in browser Browser security policy blocking the request from localhost.
TCGdex supports CORS so ensure you are calling api.tcgdex.net (not the docs URL) directly.

Measured Score Breakdown

Live HTTP request to the API endpoint

Speed 21/30
Consistency 20/20
Security 20/20
Browser access 15/15
Transparency 4/15
Endpoint Response Time 103ms

Fully tested on Aug 10, 2026

Technical Specifications

Auth No Auth
HTTPS REQUIRED
CORS YES
Category Games & Comics
Difficulty Beginner
Endpoint last called: 2026-08-10

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