Service list

Service list is the catalogue the services action returns, one entry per service, carrying the ID, name, category, rate and quantity limits a panel is currently prepared to accept orders against.

Each entry normally holds the service ID, which is the number an order has to name; the name and category, which are written by whoever built the catalogue and carry no standard meaning; the rate, which is the rate per 1000 in whatever currency the balance is held in; and the minimum and maximum quantity. Many entries also carry a type, which tells software what extra fields an order for that service needs, and flags for whether refill and cancel are supported. Field names and the set of types differ between panels, so read the panel's API page rather than assuming.

The list changes without notice. Rates move when a panel's providers move theirs, limits are adjusted, services are switched off, and the supply behind an existing ID can be pointed at a different provider while the number and the name stay exactly as they were. Nothing announces any of this, and an order placed against a stored copy is accepted on the terms the service carries now, not the ones you recorded.

So treat a stored copy as a cache with a short life. Pull the list fresh before a large order or a batch, and compare the rate, the minimum, the maximum and the name against what you had. A rate that moved is the obvious catch. A service that has vanished at least fails loudly, while one that was quietly repointed does not fail at all, which makes the name and the rate together the more useful thing to watch.

Who wrote the list

The list is an offer, not a description of what arrives. It states what the panel will accept and what it will charge, and every word in it was written by the seller, and nothing on the list shows that anyone outside the panel checked it.