---
title: Refresh Cycle
product: tide
doc_type: guide
version: master
source: git2docs (code-derived, validation-filtered)
canonical: https://git2docs.com/wabam/docs/tide/tide-capital-pressure-observatory/refresh-cycle
---

# Refresh Cycle

_Manual and automated data refresh_

## Overview

This page explains how TIDE keeps its 19 indicators current — both when you want to trigger a refresh yourself and when you want the system to handle it automatically. Because different data sources publish on different schedules (daily, weekly, monthly, or quarterly), TIDE separates the refresh cycle into three idempotent commands you can run by hand and two scheduled cron jobs that fire automatically after market close. Understanding this cycle tells you exactly how fresh each reading is and what to do when something has not updated as expected.

## Prerequisites

Before working with the refresh cycle, make sure you have the following in place:

- **Python ≥ 3.10** installed and available in your virtual environment
- **Node.js and npm** (required if you are also running the frontend)
- **`make`** available in your shell
- **A FRED API key** exported as the `FRED_API_KEY` environment variable — obtain one free at [fred.stlouisfed.org](https://fred.stlouisfed.org)
- **An active internet connection** — all upstream sources (FRED, Yahoo Finance query endpoint, CFTC, FINRA, Treasury) are remote
- **TIDE dependencies installed** — run `make install` if you have not done so already
- **The database initialised** — run `make init-db` once before the first ingest