Scheduling product availability lets merchandisers control when a product appears in and disappears from Constructor results. For example, you can coordinate a product launch campaign, comply with a manufacturer's release restrictions, or remove a product when a brand contract ends.

Define the availability window in your regular catalog upload. You don't need to time another upload or configure a rule when the product should launch or expire.

Schedule product availability

Use one or both of these fields in item or variation metadata. You can send them through the HTTPS Catalog Management API or an FTPS catalog feed.

Scheduled expiration requires expired-item filtering to be enabled for your account. Contact Constructor support before using __cnstrc_expiration_time in production.

Items with no variations

Add the applicable fields directly to the item's metadata. Don't add them to the facets object.

{
  "id": "limited-edition-shoe",
  "name": "Limited Edition Shoe",
  "data": {
    "__cnstrc_release_time": "2026-08-01T00:00:00+10:00",
    "__cnstrc_expiration_time": "2026-09-01T00:00:00+10:00"
  }
}

This item is hidden before the release time, returned during the availability window, and hidden at and after the expiration time.

Items with variations

Use item-level fields to schedule the whole product. To schedule individual variations independently, add the applicable fields directly to each variation's metadata.

{
  "id": "limited-edition-shoe-red-8",
  "item_id": "limited-edition-shoe",
  "name": "Limited Edition Shoe - Red - Size 8",
  "data": {
    "__cnstrc_release_time": "2026-08-01T00:00:00+10:00",
    "__cnstrc_expiration_time": "2026-09-01T00:00:00+10:00"
  }
}

An item-level expiration hides the entire product. A variation-level expiration hides only that variation. If a variation release time isn't specified, it defaults to when the variation first synced to the catalog. If a variation expiration time isn't specified, the variation doesn't have a scheduled expiration.

Timestamp format

Each value can be either:

• An ISO 8601 date and time string, preferably with a UTC offset, such as 2026-08-01T00:00:00+10:00
• A Unix epoch timestamp, such as 1785513600

Incorrectly formatted entries will result in a failed catalog upload with an error message containing relevant information. An entry with a missing timezone specification is assumed to be UTC.

Times are supported to the hour. Constructor truncates minutes and seconds from the submitted time. A product is returned when its release hour is reached and stops being returned when its expiration hour is reached.

Verify scheduled availability

After the catalog upload succeeds, verify the product before and after its scheduled transition.

Via the API

Add the now parameter to Search or Browse requests to override the current time with a future Unix epoch timestamp. This returns the results that shoppers would see at that time.

For example, search for "shoes" using a future timestamp:

https://ac.cnstrc.com/search/shoes?key=[API key]&now=1785513600

• The now parameter requires a Unix epoch timestamp
• This query requires an API token in addition to an API key
• The now parameter can only be set to a future time

Run the request with timestamps inside and after the availability window. The product should be returned inside the window and absent at or after its expiration time.

Via Interact

In Interact, select the Search or Browse context that contains the product. Use the future-date control to preview a time inside the availability window and a time at or after expiration.

Via the dashboard

Release and expiration dates can be viewed in the Indexes tab of the Constructor dashboard. Select the section containing the product (usually "Products"), search for the product, and select its information icon to view the stored attributes.