Meh API

shawn shared some links said
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Hey, we’ve got a Meh API now (in beta). That’s an Application Program Interface - which lets you get a JSON feed with data about our daily deal.

Why would you do that? Sure, you can just go to Meh.com to check what we’re selling, or follow us on Facebook or Twitter, but what if you want to see us on Google Plus, Pinterest, ello.co, or whatever the kids are using these days? A developer can use our API to connect Meh.com daily deal data with just about anything.

Maybe you’d like an app on your phone. Or you want to set your Nest thermostat to 98 degrees, flash your Hue lights red and have your Sphero ball race around in circles any time there’s a Fukubukuro for sale. You could probably hack all that together with our API.

Or, you could just be learning how to code and you want to build something beyond Hello World programs. If you hadn’t noticed, we’re about the simplest ecommerce site out there. Coding up a Meh app might be the easiest way to pick up some new skills.

So here’s how it works:

Register your Meh application

Go to https://meh.com/api to register your Meh application and get an API key.

We’re asking for you to register so we can see your app’s API usage, and so we can shut it down if you turn out to be evil. At this time we don’t have any API limits, but do us a favor and don’t hit the API excessively. No more than one request a minute seems reasonable.

Also, if you come up with a good enough idea we’ll likely want to build an official version of it. Registering your app gives us a way to contact you if we’re going to steal your idea.

Get your API key

Once you’ve registered we’ll give you an API key.

Access the Meh API

With your API key you can now make an HTTP GET request to https://meh.com/api/1/current.json?apikey={your-api-key}

Here’s a Gist of the output:

{
"deal": {
"features": "- You get a pair of standard-size shredded memory foam pillows like everybody's talking about these days, to the extent that anyone talks about pillows at all\r\n- Bamboo rayon cover is hypoallergenic because bamboo secretes a substance called \"kun\" that kills microbes dead (seriously, it's true)\r\n- We laid our heads on these and found them plush and supportive, a little on the firm side and softening over time; your head may vary\r\n- Model: **BK1515** (nice little number, but it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that Google uniqueness - search results include a bar sink, an error code, a ball bearing, just about everything but these pillows)",
"id": "a6k310000004DvGAAU",
"items": [
{
"attributes": [
],
"condition": "New",
"id": "105563",
"price": 20,
"photo": "https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/mediocre\/image\/upload\/v1468876208\/huvffpdtsofwqgqt7ebq.png"
}
],
"launches": [
{
"soldOutAt": "2016-07-19T11:09:54.464Z"
},
{
"soldOutAt": "2016-07-19T13:16:47.440Z"
}
],
"photos": [
"https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/mediocre\/image\/upload\/v1468876208\/huvffpdtsofwqgqt7ebq.png",
"https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/mediocre\/image\/upload\/v1468873794\/bgkb71dmccyk2puo0b9j.png",
"https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/mediocre\/image\/upload\/v1468874174\/dfnqzdfnkdszv0qeizey.png",
"https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/mediocre\/image\/upload\/v1468948067\/oaoezhraguwzngu7mjtk.gif"
],
"title": "2-Pack: Bamboo Pillows",
"specifications": "Specs \r\n====\r\n- Model: BK1515\r\n- Condition: New\r\n- Filling: 100% shredded polyurethane memory foam\r\n- Cover: Rayon made from bamboo\r\n- Hypoallergenic and antibacterial materials\r\n- Size: ~ 22\" x 13\" x 7\"\r\n\r\nWhat's in the Box? \r\n====\r\n2x Pillows\r\n\r\nPictures\r\n====\r\n[Packaging](https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/mediocre\/image\/upload\/v1468873794\/bgkb71dmccyk2puo0b9j.png)\r\n[Pillows](https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/mediocre\/image\/upload\/v1468874174\/dfnqzdfnkdszv0qeizey.png)\r\n[Pillow](https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/mediocre\/image\/upload\/v1468874174\/dfnqzdfnkdszv0qeizey.png)\r\n\r\nPrice Comparison\r\n====\r\n[$49.98 (for 2 similar) at Amazon](https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B00OI3V5W2\/?tag=meh0ec-20)\r\n[$79.98 List](http:\/\/www.beautyko.com\/index.php?route=product\/product&product_id=972)\r\n*Find a relevant price comparison? Please share it in a comment in this thread :)*\r\n**Shipping:** $5 or free with **[VMP](http:\/\/bit.ly\/29PL2Wp)**",
"story": {
"title": "Sleep like you're paying for it.",
"body": "It's a dark irony. You can't sleep at night because you're searching for a good night's sleep. You literally can't rest until you've tracked down those excellent pillows from your last hotel stay. Gentle yet firm. Soft yet supportive. You want those pillows. You *need* those pillows.\r\n\r\nThe tags on the pillows was no help about where to buy more: not so much as a web URL. The cleaning lady just rolled her eyes at you. After much irritable sighing, the front desk eventually tracked down a phone number for Jeff at the hotel procurement office. \r\n\r\nJeff's voicemail greeting said he'll be on vacation all summer, but you can call Rachel. You took a day off work to call Rachel, leaving increasingly desperate pleas for those pillows. Somehow you missed her one call back: that she really works better over email.\r\n\r\nShe still hasn't answered your email. You can't go on living this way. But you can't go on living without *those pillows*.\r\n\r\nIt doesn't have to be like this. There is a way out. These shredded memory foam pillows offer hotel-style comfort and a hypoallergenic bamboo rayon cover, all with a legitimate provenance. If you buy three pairs, you can be set for years to come, for less than the cost of a one-night stay in the crappiest motel. Not to mention the emotional cost of waiting for an email that never comes."
},
"theme": {
"accentColor": "#87081b",
"backgroundColor": "#a8d3bd",
"backgroundImage": "https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/mediocre\/image\/upload\/v1468872225\/yxp0mrf5oz09hjksdnwz.jpg",
"foreground": "dark"
},
"url": "https:\/\/meh.com\/deals\/2-pack--bamboo-pillows",
"soldOutAt": "2016-07-19T20:01:05.611Z",
"topic": {
"commentCount": 58,
"createdAt": "2016-07-19T04:00:05.126Z",
"id": "578da5c5a91a0e1004716b33",
"replyCount": 41,
"url": "https:\/\/meh.com\/forum\/topics\/2-pack-bamboo-pillows",
"voteCount": 2
}
},
"poll": {
"answers": [
{
"id": "a6l31000000CiVpAAK-1",
"text": "I refuse to answer on the grounds that it may incriminate me",
"voteCount": 207
},
{
"id": "a6l31000000CiVpAAK-2",
"text": "Yes, but it's been a long time",
"voteCount": 133
},
{
"id": "a6l31000000CiVpAAK-3",
"text": "Only by accident! I swear!",
"voteCount": 58
},
{
"id": "a6l31000000CiVpAAK-4",
"text": "Just, like, packets of coffee or the occasional Kleenex",
"voteCount": 472
},
{
"id": "a6l31000000CiVpAAK-5",
"text": "No, but I've been tempted",
"voteCount": 71
},
{
"id": "a6l31000000CiVpAAK-6",
"text": "Of course not. Who does that?",
"voteCount": 220
}
],
"id": "a6l31000000CiVpAAK",
"startDate": "2016-07-19T04:00:00.000Z",
"title": "Have you ever walked off with anything from a hotel room? Towels, bedding, etc.?",
"topic": {
"commentCount": 22,
"createdAt": "2016-07-19T03:59:59.218Z",
"id": "578da5bfc8463928075e101a",
"replyCount": 19,
"url": "https:\/\/meh.com\/forum\/topics\/have-you-ever-walked-off-with-anything-from-a-hotel-room-towels-bedding-etc-",
"voteCount": 3
}
},
"video": {
"id": "a6l31000000CiVpAAK",
"startDate": "2016-07-19T04:00:00.000Z",
"title": "When a Man Loves a Woman: Mad Ape Den Karaoke",
"url": "https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=k2AA7on_Kfw",
"topic": {
"commentCount": 7,
"createdAt": "2016-07-18T04:00:03.483Z",
"id": "578c5443a33960e40a91a670",
"replyCount": 3,
"url": "https:\/\/meh.com\/forum\/topics\/when-a-man-loves-a-woman-mad-ape-den-karaoke",
"voteCount": 4
}
}
}
view raw meh.json hosted with ❤ by GitHub

The returned JSON data represents the deal, poll, and video currently on the meh.com homepage.

Deal

  • features: The features of the deal in Markdown format.
  • id: The unique identifier of the deal.
  • items: An array of items for this deal. Items represent the individual products available for purchase and contain attributes (key/value pairs such as Color: Georgia Red), condition (New or Refurbished), the item’s unique identifier, the price, and a photo URL.
  • launches: We break the meh.com daily deal into three launches as outlined here. The launches array provides data about the status of these launches.
  • photos: An array of image URLs for the deal.
  • title: The title of the deal.
  • soldOutAt: If the deal has sold out, this field contains a timestamp of when the last item was purchased.
  • specifications: The full product specs of the deal in Markdown format.
  • story: The deal’s story, including the title and the body in Markdown format.
  • theme: The theme for the deal including the accent color, background color, background image, and whether the foreground is light or dark.
  • topic: Data about the forum topic for the deal including how many comments, replies, votes the topic has and the topic’s URL.
  • url: The full permalink of the deal.

Poll

  • answers: An array of possible answers to the poll. Each answer includes a unique identifier, the answer text, and the number of votes that answer has received.
  • id: The unique identifier of the poll.
  • startDate: The timestamp of when the poll started.
  • title: The title of the poll.
  • topic: Data about the forum topic for the poll including how many comments, replies, votes the topic has and the topic’s URL.

Video

  • id: The unique identifier of the video.
  • startDate: The timestamp of when the video started.
  • title: The title of the video.
  • topic: Data about the forum topic for the video including how many comments, replies, votes the topic has and the topic’s URL.
  • url: The URL to the video.

Now go build something awesome

If you manage to get anything working, post about it in the forum so we can all try it out. And if you’re not a coder (but somehow still made it to the end here), post any ideas you have and maybe some enterprising developer can make it happen.