D&D 5e API Item Lookup: How to Add Loot in Seconds

Your party just cleared a treasure hoard. The DM says, "You find a +1 Longsword, a Potion of Healing, and a Bag of Holding." Now you're flipping through the Player's Handbook, googling prices, and trying to remember if the Bag of Holding requires attunement. There's a faster way.

What is D&D 5e API Integration?

The D&D 5e API (dnd5eapi.co) is a free database of thousands of items from the 5th Edition System Reference Document (SRD). When integrated into loot tracking tools, it lets you search for items by name and instantly see:

Item costs (no more googling "longsword price 5e")
Rarity levels (Common, Uncommon, Rare, Very Rare, Legendary, Artifact)
Attunement requirements (detected automatically from item descriptions)
Item descriptions (full text from the SRD)
Weight and properties (for encumbrance tracking)

Why Use API Item Lookup?

Save Time

Add items in 5-10 seconds instead of 2-3 minutes manually entering data. That's 95% faster for complex magic items.

100% Accurate

Data comes directly from official 5e SRD. No more typos, wrong prices, or forgetting attunement requirements mid-session.

Stay in Flow

Don't break immersion by pausing to look up items. Keep the game moving with instant item data at your fingertips.

How to Use D&D 5e API Item Lookup

Note: This guide uses D20 Loot Tracker, which has D&D 5e API integration built-in. Other tools with SRD integration work similarly.

Open the Add Item Modal

In your campaign's loot tracker, click "Add Item". You'll see options for manual entry or API search.

💡 Tip: Keyboard shortcut is usually Shift+A for quick access during sessions.

Choose "Search D&D 5e API"

Click the "Search API" button. You'll see two search categories:

Equipment: Weapons, armor, adventuring gear (with official SRD prices)
Magic Items: +1 weapons, Rings of Protection, Wands, etc.

Search for Your Item

Type the item name (e.g., "longsword" or "bag of holding"). The API searches in real-time and shows matching results as you type.

Example searches:

→ "long" → Shows Longbow, Longsword, Longship
→ "potion" → Shows Potion of Healing, Potion of Invisibility, etc.
→ "ring" → Shows Ring of Protection, Ring of Spell Storing, etc.

Review Auto-Populated Data

Click on an item from search results. The system automatically fills in:

Item name (exactly as written in SRD)
Cost (in gold pieces)
Rarity (for magic items)
Attunement (Yes/No, detected from description)
Description (full SRD text)

Customize (If Needed) and Save

You can adjust any auto-filled data:

Change the price (if your DM uses different values)
Add notes (e.g., "Found in the Dragon's Hoard")
Set quantity (adding multiple potions? Change quantity to 3)
Mark as consumable and set charges (for items with limited uses)

Click "Add Item" and it's instantly added to your campaign's loot tracker.

Pro Tips for API Item Lookup

Use Partial Names for Faster Searches

Don't remember if it's "Longsword" or "Long Sword"? Just type "long" and scroll through results. The API searches all item names, so partial matches work great.

Check Equipment First for Common Items

If you're adding basic weapons, armor, or tools, search Equipment instead of Magic Items. Equipment search has official SRD prices for all standard gear.

Double-Check Attunement Requirements

The system detects attunement by parsing item descriptions for "requires attunement." It's 95% accurate, but always verify for critical items (especially homebrew or variant rules).

Use Custom Prices for Homebrew Items

SRD doesn't include pricing for all magic items (some are "varies" or "DM discretion"). The system estimates based on rarity, but you can always override with your DM's prices.

Bookmark Frequently Used Items

Some campaigns use certain items repeatedly (e.g., Potions of Healing). After the first API lookup, consider creating quick-add templates for common consumables.

What's NOT in the D&D 5e API?

SRD Limitations

The D&D 5e API only includes content from the System Reference Document (SRD), which is the free, publicly available subset of D&D 5e rules. It does NOT include:

Items exclusive to published adventures (e.g., Curse of Strahd items)
Book-specific magic items (e.g., Xanathar's Guide or Tasha's Cauldron)
Homebrew or custom items from your campaign
Third-party content or non-official supplements

Solution: Use manual entry for non-SRD items. Most loot trackers let you switch between API search and manual entry seamlessly.

Ready to Try API Item Lookup?

Stop wasting time flipping through rulebooks. Use D&D 5e API integration to add items in seconds, not minutes. Your group will thank you.

No credit card required • Free forever • Search 1000s of SRD items instantly

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the D&D 5e API free to use?▼

Yes! The D&D 5e API (dnd5eapi.co) is completely free and open-source. It contains all System Reference Document (SRD) content, which Wizards of the Coast has made available under the Open Gaming License (OGL). Tools like D20 Loot Tracker integrate with this API at no cost to users.

Can I add homebrew items that aren't in the SRD?▼

Absolutely. API lookup works alongside manual entry. If an item isn't in the SRD (homebrew, adventure-specific, or from supplemental books), you can manually add it with all the same fields. Some tools even let you save custom items as templates for future use.

Does API lookup work offline?▼

Not in real-time. The D&D 5e API requires an internet connection to fetch item data. However, some tools cache frequently searched items or allow offline manual entry as a fallback. Check your loot tracker's offline capabilities for details.

How accurate is the attunement detection?▼

Very accurate for SRD items. The system parses item descriptions for phrases like "requires attunement" and correctly identifies 95%+ of attunement requirements. The remaining edge cases (complex attunement conditions like "requires attunement by a spellcaster") are flagged for manual review.