magic-api is a Magic: The Gathering card database and API for PHP.
MtG card information is available from the official Gatherer reference, but it doesn't provide an API. magic-api requests cards from Gatherer, strips the page down to the card data, and caches it in a MySQL database. If the user's search string is new and unique, that is also cached (in a seperate table known as the 'map'), so we can route future searches directly to the DB entry for a card.
The Scry front-end is also included in this repo. This is the name given to my personal installation, Scry.me.uk, which you can freely re-brand and re-publish (preferably using a different service name).
Scry is my pet installation of magic-api. It has learnt that "Tajic", and "Blade of the legion" both unambiguously refer to 'Tajic, blade of the legion'. Here, you can simulate a user search for "Tajic": http://scry.me.uk/api.php?metrics=1&name=Tajic
- Search for cards by name
- Returns JSON object of card (see API)
- Provides autocomplete for front-end development
- 2-10 seconds to initially fetch a card from Wizards' Gatherer
- About 0.01 seconds to return a cached card
Requires PHP5 and a php.ini with allow_url_fopen
Put your database connection information in db.php and install all the files together in a directory. api.php is the linker; check out the required files in there.
Run the create scripts from the /sql folder on your MySQL DB.
If you change the table names from the defaults, alter the table name variables at the top of DAL.php. Map records have a datetime -- if you want to use a timezone other than UTC, alter the $db_now variable in DAL.php
Parameters: name, metrics
Example: http://scry.me.uk/api.php?name=Forest or http://scry.me.uk/api.php?name=Forest&metrics=1
N.b. metrics is really lazy... if you specify anything that can be loosely interpreted as true then it will activate.
A JSON object. I recommend JSONview for Firefox or Chrome to view the returned values from magic-api. Fields with no value will not appear in the returned object:
name,
mana_cost,
converted_mana_cost,
types,
card_text,
flavor_text,
watermark,
power_toughness,
expansion,
rarity,
card_number,
artist,
request_time
When metrics is on, there will be an additional caching field which can contain: 'found in map', 'added to map', 'mapping failed', 'added to cache and map', 'cache or map failed'.
error,
request_time
Error text is user-friendly and can be output as-is.
Anything represented with an icon on Gatherer (such as Mana and Tap/Untap) will be parsed using the original alt-text, and placed in {braces}. Single-coloured mana is shortened to a single letter: W/U/B/R/G (U is blue). The icon 'Variable colorless' is shorted to {X} as it appears on cards. Multi-coloured mana is represented like {Red or White} and is not shortened. Phyrexian mana comes out like {Phyrexian Green}.
Lines of card text are delimited by an underscore flanked by spaces, for example:
"card_text": "Flying _ Lifelink (Damage dealt by this creature also causes you to gain that much life.)"
You can easily split/explode the strings on '_' to get seperate lines.
Quotes are escaped with backslashes:
"flavor_text": "\"One day every pillar will be a tree and every hall a glade.\"—Trostani"
People occassionally email me for help and advice on setting up an MtG related website. Feel free to send any queries to github@stegriff.co.uk. If you would like me to host a private magic-api node to power your mobile app or something, I can arrange that for £1 per month ($1.70).
Amaze such magic? so web? wow plz send much dogecoin: DUPMGGzzZYr1qihXy7EhYtPjxaevAjvsEc
Stephen Griffiths - @SteGriff - github@stegriff.co.uk