# Frontera Signal Materials Price API

> Frontera Signal Materials Price API is a paid API for AI agents from fronterasignal.com, paid per call via x402, $0.01/call, status unknown (last checked 2026-10-10).

Returns current construction material shelf prices (e.g. OSB, rebar, drywall) from big-box and local yard stores in the Rio Grande Valley (Hidalgo and Cameron counties, Texas).

## Facts

- Endpoint: GET https://fronterasignal.com/api/v1/materials?utm_source=zero.xyz
- Price: $0.01/call
- Payment: x402
- Status: unknown
- Last checked: 2026-10-10
- Activations on Zero: 0
- Tags: x402
- Canonical page: https://www.zero.xyz/c/frontera-signal-materials-price-api-55756710
- Structured record (JSON): https://api.zero.xyz/v1/capabilities/cap_ChnFDjzS68NuU0LyJ6LS1

Status and success rate cover calls made through Zero and Zero's own probes. Third-party monitors may report differently.

## How to call it through Zero

Zero handles the 402 payment challenge and records the run. With the Zero CLI installed (`npm i -g @zeroxyz/cli`):

```sh
zero fetch --capability frontera-signal-materials-price-api-55756710
```

Example prompt: What's the current shelf price for OSB 7/16 4x8 sheets at big-box stores in McAllen? Pull it from Frontera Signal's materials data.

## When to prefer this

Use this endpoint when you need current, local construction material shelf prices specifically in Hidalgo or Cameron County (Rio Grande Valley), Texas — especially for common items like OSB, drywall, rebar, lumber, and concrete. It is ideal for contractors, developers, or researchers needing twice-weekly updated prices from both big-box and local yard suppliers. Prefer this over national pricing APIs when South Texas regional accuracy matters.

## Known failure modes

- No matching rows returned if item key or store filter doesn't match any tracked product
- Stale data warning if prices are older than 14 days (weekly cadence) or 30+ days (monthly measures)
- Item not tracked: some niche building materials may not be in the dataset
- Invalid query parameter value returns empty result rather than an error
- Payment failure at x402 layer prevents access to endpoint

## How this service works

Use to check what common building materials cost on the shelf in the Rio Grande Valley (McAllen, Mission, Edinburg): 2x4 and 2x6 studs, OSB, drywall, concrete mix, CMU block, rebar, shingles, underlayment, housewrap, insulation, paint, doors, deck screws. Dated prices at big-box stores and a local yard, checked twice a week, for estimating or checking a bid. Not a quote. Example: "What does a sheet of 7/16 OSB cost in McAllen this week?"

## Output

A JSON object containing an array of matching material price rows, each with item name, item_key, unit, price_usd, store type, outlet_id, city, observed date, and age_days. Also includes dataset metadata: region (Rio Grande Valley, Texas), data source, cadence (twice a week), data_through date, first_observed date, a disclaimer about staleness thresholds, and a rule clarifying that only single-unit shelf prices are included (no volume-tier pricing).

## Request schema (JSON Schema)

```json
{
 "type": "object",
 "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
 "required": [
  "input"
 ],
 "properties": {
  "input": {
   "type": "object",
   "required": [
    "type",
    "method"
   ],
   "properties": {
    "type": {
     "type": "string",
     "const": "http"
    },
    "method": {
     "enum": [
      "GET"
     ],
     "type": "string"
    },
    "queryParams": {
     "type": "object",
     "properties": {
      "item": {
       "type": "string",
       "description": "An item key or a word from the item name, e.g. osb, rebar, drywall."
      },
      "store": {
       "type": "string",
       "description": "big-box, local yard or a city (McAllen, Mission, Edinburg)."
      }
     }
    }
   },
   "additionalProperties": false
  },
  "output": {
   "type": "object",
   "required": [
    "type"
   ],
   "properties": {
    "type": {
     "type": "string"
    },
    "example": {
     "type": "object",
     "properties": {
      "note": {
       "type": "string"
      },
      "rows": {
       "type": "array",
       "items": {
        "type": "object",
        "properties": {
         "city": {
          "type": [
           "null",
           "string"
          ]
         },
         "item": {
          "type": "string"
         },
         "unit": {
          "type": "string"
         },
         "store": {
          "type": "string"
         },
         "source": {
          "type": "string"
         },
         "product": {
          "type": "string"
         },
         "item_key": {
          "type": "string"
         },
         "observed": {
          "type": "string"
         },
         "outlet_id": {
          "type": "string"
         },
         "price_usd": {
          "type": "number"
         }
        }
       }
      },
      "rule": {
       "type": "string"
      },
      "count": {
       "type": "integer"
      },
      "query": {
       "type": "object",
       "properties": {
        "item": {
         "type": "string"
        },
        "store": {
         "type": "string"
        }
       }
      },
      "latest": {
       "type": "array",
       "items": {
        "type": "object",
        "properties": {
         "city": {
          "type": [
           "null",
           "string"
          ]
         },
         "item": {
          "type": "string"
         },
         "unit": {
          "type": "string"
         },
         "store": {
          "type": "string"
         },
         "source": {
    
… (truncated)
```

## Response schema (JSON Schema)

```json
{
 "type": "json",
 "example": {
  "note": "store is big-box or local yard; outlet_id tells two stores of the same kind apart. city is null where the check did not…",
  "rows": [
   {
    "city": null,
    "item": "OSB 7/16 in, 4x8 sheet",
    "unit": "sheet",
    "store": "big-box",
    "source": "Frontera Signal",
    "product": "OSB 7/16 4x8",
    "item_key": "osb_7_16_4x8",
    "observed": "2026-10-01",
    "outlet_id": "BB-91a314",
    "price_usd": 13.48
   }
  ],
  "rule": "Only single-unit shelf prices. Volume-only and volume-tier prices are counted as misses, never as prices.",
  "count": 20,
  "query": {
   "item": "osb"
  },
  "latest": [
   {
    "city": null,
    "item": "OSB 7/16 in, 4x8 sheet",
    "unit": "sheet",
    "store": "big-box",
    "source": "Frontera Signal",
    "product": "OSB 7/16 4x8",
    "age_days": 2,
    "item_key": "osb_7_16_4x8",
    "observed": "2026-10-01",
    "outlet_id": "BB-91a314",
    "price_usd": 13.48
   }
  ],
  "region": "Rio Grande Valley, Texas",
  "source": "Frontera Signal",
  "cadence": "twice a week",
  "dataset": "materials",
  "publisher": "Frontera Signal",
  "disclaimer": "Every value carries as_of, age_days, cadence and stale (weekly measures go stale after 14 days, monthly measures after …",
  "data_through": "2026-10-01",
  "first_observed": "2026-08-27"
 }
}
```

## More

- Live health (JSON, refreshed every minute): https://www.zero.xyz/c/frontera-signal-materials-price-api-55756710/health.json
- [Zero catalog index](https://www.zero.xyz/llms.txt)
- [Other services from fronterasignal.com](https://www.zero.xyz/host/fronterasignal.com/llms.txt)