This improvement was released to all users on May 22, 2026.
On-demand refresh ("just-in-time") is a new plugin sync strategy that ensures your TRMNL always displays the latest information. For a deeper dive, check out how refresh rates work.
How it Works
The concept is simple. Plugins are automatically refreshed right before they are shown on the TRMNL.
That's it. That's the whole shebang. The cadence of data sync is determined entirely by the device.
The upshot of this approach is that your TRMNL always displays the latest information, not from 15 minutes or 4 hours ago.
Compared To Before
Previously, the plugin refresh rate determined how often your data would be updated, regardless of what was happening with your device. Content would be updated on regularly-scheduled intervals (for the nerds: a cron job).
Now that setting has been repurposed to have a new meaning: it's the minimum plugin refresh rate. The plugin will refresh as often as needed to display fresh data your device, but never faster than your preference.
Limitations
On-demand refresh works best when the TRMNL naturally advances to the next screen. If you use the button or touch bar to navigate through the playlist out of order, those screens may not have the latest content.
A Note to Plugin Authors
If your plugin fetches data from an API, this change may have an impact on the frequency and cadence of API requests. Our metrics indicate that this should not result in a significant change to the number of overall requests, but the usage patterns may vary more widely between plugin installs.