# How to Retrieve the Actual Creation Time of a Square Catalog Item?

**URL:** <https://developer.squareup.com/forums/t/how-to-retrieve-the-actual-creation-time-of-a-square-catalog-item/25539>\
**Category:** Questions\
**Tags:** catalog-api\
**Created:** [March 9, 2026, 6:30am UTC](https://developer.squareup.com/forums/t/how-to-retrieve-the-actual-creation-time-of-a-square-catalog-item/25539 "2026-03-09T06:30:48Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![murphyzhang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/fbc32d/32.png) [@murphyzhang](https://developer.squareup.com/forums/u/murphyzhang)\
**Post date:** [March 9, 2026, 6:30am UTC](https://developer.squareup.com/forums/t/how-to-retrieve-the-actual-creation-time-of-a-square-catalog-item/25539/1 "2026-03-09T06:30:48Z")

</div>

Hi Square Team:

**I’m trying to retrieve the creation timestamp of a Square catalog item, but I couldn’t find the `created_at` field in the Catalog API documentation.**

We need the product creation time for analytics reporting. Could you advise whether there is a way to obtain the actual creation time of a catalog item?

If the Catalog API does not expose this field, is there an alternative method to retrieve or approximate the original creation timestamp?

Thanks,

Murphy

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![PMOLENDA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecd19e/32.png) [@PMOLENDA](https://developer.squareup.com/forums/u/PMOLENDA)\
**Post date:** [March 12, 2026, 6:20pm UTC](https://developer.squareup.com/forums/t/how-to-retrieve-the-actual-creation-time-of-a-square-catalog-item/25539/2 "2026-03-12T18:20:20Z")

</div>

I’m fairly new to Square API so for these types of questions I use Microsoft Copilot. It helped me build a SquareAPI Explorer, that lists out the structure of things like Catalog Items, payments, inventory, Orders. When I ran it for Catalog Items, it listed the below data out with created\_at being the 4th on the list. Ask Copilot to write you a routine.

| JSON Path |
| --- |
| objects.[x].type |
| objects.[x].id |
| objects.[x].updated\_at |
| objects.[x].created\_at |
| objects.[x].version |
| objects.[x].is\_deleted |
| objects.[x].present\_at\_all\_locations |
| objects.[x].item\_data.name |
| objects.[x].item\_data.is\_taxable |
| objects.[x].item\_data.tax\_ids.[x] |
| objects.[x].item\_data.variations.[x].type |
| objects.[x].item\_data.variations.[x].id |
| objects.[x].item\_data.variations.[x].updated\_at |
| objects.[x].item\_data.variations.[x].created\_at |
| objects.[x].item\_data.variations.[x].version |
| objects.[x].item\_data.variations.[x].is\_deleted |
| objects.[x].item\_data.variations.[x].present\_at\_all\_locations |
| objects.[x].item\_data.variations.[x].item\_variation\_data.item\_id |
| objects.[x].item\_data.variations.[x].item\_variation\_data.name |
| objects.[x].item\_data.variations.[x].item\_variation\_data.sku |
| objects.[x].item\_data.variations.[x].item\_variation\_data.pricing\_type |
| objects.[x].item\_data.variations.[x].item\_variation\_data.price\_money.amount |
| objects.[x].item\_data.variations.[x].item\_variation\_data.price\_money.currency |
| objects.[x].item\_data.variations.[x].item\_variation\_data.track\_inventory |
| objects.[x].item\_data.variations.[x].item\_variation\_data.sellable |
| objects.[x].item\_data.variations.[x].item\_variation\_data.stockable |
| objects.[x].item\_data.variations.[x].item\_variation\_data.channels.[x] |
| objects.[x].item\_data.product\_type |
| objects.[x].item\_data.ecom\_visibility |
| objects.[x].item\_data.channels.[x] |
| objects.[x].item\_data.is\_archived |

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![murphyzhang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/fbc32d/32.png) [@murphyzhang](https://developer.squareup.com/forums/u/murphyzhang)\
**Post date:** [March 16, 2026, 2:16am UTC](https://developer.squareup.com/forums/t/how-to-retrieve-the-actual-creation-time-of-a-square-catalog-item/25539/3 "2026-03-16T02:16:14Z")

</div>

Thank you very much for your guidance. However, it is a pity that the Square API does not actually return the “created\_at” field.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![PMOLENDA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecd19e/32.png) [@PMOLENDA](https://developer.squareup.com/forums/u/PMOLENDA)\
**Post date:** [March 16, 2026, 2:34am UTC](https://developer.squareup.com/forums/t/how-to-retrieve-the-actual-creation-time-of-a-square-catalog-item/25539/4 "2026-03-16T02:34:29Z")

</div>

Also, I just worked with AI Copilot for the last two days trying to get the variation quantity, with no luck. Seemed like such a simple thing to retrieve. Copilot finally advised me that Square API won’t provide this without purchasing “Inventory Plus”. You might look into that if you need it.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![murphyzhang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/fbc32d/32.png) [@murphyzhang](https://developer.squareup.com/forums/u/murphyzhang)\
**Post date:** [May 6, 2026, 9:53am UTC](https://developer.squareup.com/forums/t/how-to-retrieve-the-actual-creation-time-of-a-square-catalog-item/25539/5 "2026-05-06T09:53:24Z")

</div>

Thank you very much for your suggestion.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![rsata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/57b2e6/32.png) [@rsata](https://developer.squareup.com/forums/u/rsata)\
**Post date:** [May 6, 2026, 7:37pm UTC](https://developer.squareup.com/forums/t/how-to-retrieve-the-actual-creation-time-of-a-square-catalog-item/25539/6 "2026-05-06T19:37:46Z")

</div>

@murphyzhang thanks for reaching out. How are you querying the Catalog API? The response should include a `created_at` field that is the actual creation time of the item returned.  
@PMOLENDA you can track inventory counts using the inventory API: [https://developer.squareup.com/reference/square/inventory-api/batch-retrieve-inventory-counts](https://developer.squareup.com/reference/square/inventory-api/batch-retrieve-inventory-counts)