Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about data freshness, credits, API keys, and billing.

How long is data cached?

Keyword search results, ranking order, and difficulty are refreshed after one hour. Live popularity data and app-detail lookups are refreshed after eight hours.

If Apple is temporarily unavailable during a refresh, ASO Skill may return the last successful result marked as stale. Search rankings are never served stale after they are 24 hours old.

Search app summaries are reused across keywords for eight hours. If Apple throttles that optional enrichment, fresh ranked results may contain fewer optional rating, category, or artwork fields instead of failing completely.

Does a cached response use a credit?

Yes. Each successful data endpoint call uses one credit, whether the response is a cache hit, a refresh, or a stale fallback.

Do failed calls use a credit?

No. Invalid requests, requests rejected before processing, and calls that fail because ASO Skill or an upstream provider returns an error do not consume a credit. If a credit is reserved before a failure, it is restored automatically.

How should I handle rate limits and temporary errors?

A rejected request with HTTP 429 does not consume a credit. If the response includes a Retry-After header, wait that many seconds. Otherwise, retry with exponential backoff and a little random jitter so concurrent workers do not all retry together.

An HTTP 503 is also temporary and does not consume a credit. Retry it after the supplied delay, when present. MCP errors state the delay and refund behavior in their tool result. The public OpenAPI specification documents the response codes for every customer-facing endpoint.

Is there an OpenAPI specification?

Yes. The public OpenAPI specification covers keyword search, popularity, app lookup, credits, billing, authentication, and error responses. It can also be imported into compatible API clients and code generators.

How long do API keys remain valid?

Dashboard keys remain valid until you revoke them unless you choose an expiry. Browser-connected agent credentials expire after 90 days by default. Keep keys in the operating-system credential store, on your server, or in a secret manager, and never expose them in browser code or a public repository.

Can I try ASO Skill without a credit card?

Yes. Create an account to receive 20 free credits and make your first API calls without entering payment details. A credit card is required only when you choose to buy more credits.

Where can I get help with billing or an account?

See the contact page for support details. Refund and consumer-withdrawal information is available in the Refund and Withdrawal Policy.