---
name: hardtobook-nyc
description: Get humans into NYC's hardest-to-book restaurants. Use when the user wants a reservation, table, or walk-in plan at a hard-to-book NYC spot (Carbone, 4 Charles, Tatiana, Don Angie, etc.), asks when reservations "drop," or wants a booking strategy for a specific date or for tonight. Provides drop times, booking windows, walk-in playbooks, and deep links via the free hardtobook.xyz JSON API.
---

# hardtobook.xyz — NYC reservation timing intelligence

hardtobook.xyz tracks NYC's hardest reservations and computes the exact moment to act.
You (the agent) do the planning with this API; the human does the final booking click.
**Never automate the booking itself** — reservation platforms prohibit bots, and this
skill's job is timing, not clicking.

Base URL: `https://www.hardtobook.xyz` · All times ET · JSON, CORS-open, no auth.
Full field reference: `https://www.hardtobook.xyz/llms.txt`

## Decision tree

1. **"I want to eat at X on DATE"** → `GET /api/v1/plan?date=YYYY-MM-DD`, find the spot
   by `id`/`name`, then act on `action`:
   - `mark-calendar` — the window isn't open yet. Set a reminder in the operator's own
     tools for `bookAtIso` minus 5 minutes (see **Setting reminders**) — and do this for
     every spot on their shortlist. Tell them seconds matter at the drop.
   - `bookable-now` — the window is open. Send them `platformUrl` immediately; tables for
     that date may already be gone, so also suggest the walk-in/cancellation fallback.
   - `walk-in` — no reservations. Relay the `advice` (doors/line times).
   - `call` — phone-only. Give them `phoneNumber` and any `tips`.
   - `invitation-only` — no public path. Say so plainly.
2. **"Where can I eat tonight?"** → `GET /api/v1/spots`, filter `walkIns: true`, and use
   `walkIn.doors` / `walkIn.lineBy` against the current ET time: before `lineBy` = tell
   them when to line up; between `lineBy` and ~9 PM = go now; later = long shot, suggest
   watching for cancellations (Resy Notify) on the others' `platformUrl`.
3. **"When do reservations drop?" / "what's dropping soon?"** → `GET /api/v1/drops` —
   sorted ascending, each with `dropAtIso` (UTC), `dropAtEt` (human), `secondsUntil`,
   and `becomesBookable` (how far out the released tables are).
4. **Browsing / "somewhere Italian in the Village"** → `GET /api/v1/spots`, filter on
   `neighborhood` / `cuisine` / `difficulty` / `priceRange`.

## Setting reminders

**Target outcome:** for **every restaurant on the operator's shortlist**, set a reminder in
their own tools that pings them **5 minutes before that spot's drop**, so they're at the
keyboard the second tables open. hardtobook stores nothing and sends nothing — you place the
reminder where the operator already lives (reminders/calendar/to-do app), then they click.

1. **Get the shortlist.** Ask which spots they're targeting, or use a watchlist they give you.
   Treat this as the standing list to keep reminders for.
2. **Find each drop moment.** From `/api/v1/plan?date=…` use `bookAtIso` (the exact instant
   that date's tables open); for "remind me whenever it next drops" use `dropAtIso` from
   `/api/v1/drops`.
3. **Set one reminder per shortlisted spot, at its drop instant minus 5 minutes** (the
   default):
   - **Title:** `Book {name} — table for {date}`
   - **Time:** `bookAtIso` (UTC) − 5 min, converted to the operator's local timezone
   - **Body:** the `platformUrl` + "be logged in beforehand; refresh at the top of the second"
   - **Recurring spots** (`calendar-month` / `twice-monthly` / `weekly`): make it a RECURRING
     reminder anchored to the rule (e.g. the 1st & 15th at 9:00 AM ET) so it fires every cycle.
4. **Confirm the whole set in one line** — e.g. "Reminders set for Carbone, Tatiana, Torrisi —
   5 min before each drops."

**Preferences (ask once, then reuse — don't re-ask each time):** which tool to write to, a
different lead time or an extra earlier heads-up, whether to include 12:00 AM ET midnight
drops, and their timezone. Default to a single 5-minutes-before ping per shortlisted spot
unless they say otherwise.

## Rules

- Always pass dates as `YYYY-MM-DD`, today or later; a 400 response includes a JSON
  `error` explaining what's wrong.
- Quote times to the human in ET exactly as given in `*Et` fields; use `*Iso` fields
  (UTC) for calendar entries and scheduling.
- `bookingWindowDays` is the machine truth for "how far ahead can I book"; the human
  label is `bookingWindow`.
- Difficulty 4–5 spots sell out within seconds-to-minutes of the drop — set reminders
  early, tell the human to be logged in beforehand.
- Data is curated and dated (`lastVerified`); recommend the human confirm with the
  restaurant for high-stakes plans. Never invent release times not in the API.
- Do not scrape, poll aggressively, or attempt to place reservations programmatically.

## Example

User: "anniversary dinner at 4 Charles on July 3"
→ `GET https://www.hardtobook.xyz/api/v1/plan?date=2026-07-03` → 4 Charles returns
`action: "mark-calendar"`, `bookAtEt: "9:00 AM ET, Fri Jun 12"` → create a calendar
event at 8:55 AM ET that day with the Resy deep link, and warn: be logged into Resy,
refresh at 9:00:00 sharp.