# How long is the delay when updating metadata?

**URL:** <https://community.crossref.org/t/how-long-is-the-delay-when-updating-metadata/12315>\
**Category:** Metadata Retrieval\
**Tags:** rest-api, metadata-retrieval, xml\_api\
**Created:** [3 October 2024 15:53 UTC](https://community.crossref.org/t/how-long-is-the-delay-when-updating-metadata/12315 "2024-10-03T15:53:54Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![MTP](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bbce88/32.png) [@MTP](https://community.crossref.org/u/MTP)\
**Post date:** [3 October 2024 15:53 UTC](https://community.crossref.org/t/how-long-is-the-delay-when-updating-metadata/12315/1 "2024-10-03T15:53:54Z")

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About an hour or two ago, I successfully submitted an update to a DOI via an XML deposit. The update was the addition of a fourth editor which had accidentally been left out in the initial deposit (myself, as it happens).

When I retrieve the title [via the XML API](https://doi.crossref.org/search/doi?pid=support@crossref.org&format=unixsd&doi=10.55069%2Ftiu87004) now, I get the correct output, with four editors.

However, when I retrieve it [via the REST API](https://api.crossref.org/works/10.55069%2Ftiu87004?mailto=support@crossref.org), and also [via search.crossref.org](https://search.crossref.org/search/works?q=10.55069%2Ftiu87004&from_ui=yes), I still get the old metadata with only three editors.

I’ve been scouring the documentation and help pages to find any mention of how long it generally takes for updated metadata to propagate throughout so that it appears in the REST API and the search tool, but I haven’t been able to find anything. Is there a general rule of thumb as to how long you should expect it to take?

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**Author:** ![ifarley](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/community.crossref.org/ifarley/32/44_2.png) [@ifarley](https://community.crossref.org/u/ifarley)\
**Post date:** [3 October 2024 16:15 UTC](https://community.crossref.org/t/how-long-is-the-delay-when-updating-metadata/12315/2 "2024-10-03T16:15:33Z")

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Hello @MTP ,

Yes, there are indexing lags after a successful submission. The XML API indexing is quicker than the REST API indexing. The XML API usually takes two hours or so to index newly registered or updated works.

The REST API and [search.crossref.org](http://search.crossref.org) (powered by the REST API) can take up to 24 hours.

You can read more about this here: [Ticket of the month - September 2023 - A DOI-namic timeline](https://community.crossref.org/t/ticket-of-the-month-september-2023-a-doi-namic-timeline/4143)

Warm regards,  
Isaac

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**Author:** ![MTP](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bbce88/32.png) [@MTP](https://community.crossref.org/u/MTP)\
**Post date:** [3 October 2024 16:32 UTC](https://community.crossref.org/t/how-long-is-the-delay-when-updating-metadata/12315/3 "2024-10-03T16:32:03Z")

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Thank you, that was exactly what I was looking for!