diff --git a/catalogedit/views.py b/catalogedit/views.py
index 4bd7b65..9fa4c6a 100644
--- a/catalogedit/views.py
+++ b/catalogedit/views.py
@@ -3,12 +3,19 @@ from django.http import HttpResponseRedirect, HttpResponse, JsonResponse
 from django.shortcuts import render, get_object_or_404
 from django.urls import reverse
 from django.utils.translation import gettext as _
+from django.views.decorators.csrf import csrf_exempt
+from django.views.decorators.http import require_http_methods
+
+import json
+import logging
 
 from lazysignup.decorators import allow_lazy_user
 from account.decorators import login_required
 
 from procat2.models import Catalog, Season, Region
 
+log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
 
 @login_required
 def catalogedit(request, id=0):
@@ -26,3 +33,36 @@ def catalogedit(request, id=0):
 def get_catalog(request, id):
     cat = get_object_or_404(Catalog, id=id)
     return JsonResponse(cat.data, safe=False)
+
+
+@csrf_exempt
+@login_required
+@require_http_methods(["POST"])
+def save_catalog(request):
+    body = request.body
+    if not body or len(body) < 1:
+        return HttpResponse('Bad request: no data', status=400)
+
+    data = json.loads(body.decode('utf-8'))
+
+    id = data.get('id')
+
+    if id:
+        log.debug('saving existing catalog, id {}'.format(id))
+        cat = get_object_or_404(Catalog, id=id, owner=request.user)
+    else:
+        season = Season.objects.get(id=data.get('season'))
+        region = Region.objects.get(id=data.get('region'))
+        cat = Catalog(owner=request.user, season=season, region=region)
+        log.debug('saving new catalog, season {}, region {}'.format(season, region))
+
+    cat.data = data
+    cat.update_metadata()
+    cat.save()
+
+    if not id:
+        # new catalog: update id in json and resave
+        cat.data['id'] = cat.id
+        cat.save()
+
+    return JsonResponse(cat.data, safe=False)
diff --git a/procat2/models.py b/procat2/models.py
index 77a73d2..a059302 100644
--- a/procat2/models.py
+++ b/procat2/models.py
@@ -1,9 +1,14 @@
+import datetime
+import json
+import logging
+import os.path
+import re
+
 from django.conf import settings
 from django.contrib.postgres.fields import JSONField
 from django.db import models
-import datetime
-import os.path
-import re
+
+log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 
 class Season(models.Model):
@@ -106,3 +111,41 @@ class Catalog(models.Model):
             'build_progress': self.build_progress,
             'pdf': self.pdf_url(),
         }
+
+    def update_metadata(self):
+        """Update meta properties from what's in 'data'"""
+        if not self.data or len(self.data) < 1:
+            log.warning('no data in update_metadata()')
+            return
+
+        data = self.data
+
+        self.name = data.get('name', '(No name)')
+
+        self.season = Season.objects.get(id=data.get('season'))
+        self.region = Region.objects.get(id=data.get('region'))
+
+        self.public = data.get('public', False)
+        self.master = data.get('master', False)
+        self.show_prices = data.get('show_prices', False)
+
+        # NOTE 'is_utility' in the json data is not exposed to the
+        # django model or placed in a separate postgres column.
+
+        # reset until pdf is made
+        self.build_progress = 0
+
+        # calculate some properties
+        sections = 0
+        pages = 0
+        materials = 0
+        for section in data.get('sections'):
+            sections += 1
+            for page in section.get('pages'):
+                pages += 1
+                for block in page:
+                    materials += len(block.get('ids', []))
+
+        self.sections = sections
+        self.pages = pages
+        self.materials = materials
diff --git a/procat2/urls.py b/procat2/urls.py
index 4a20f8a..9edb71c 100644
--- a/procat2/urls.py
+++ b/procat2/urls.py
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ from lazysignup.views import convert
 
 from dashboard.views import dashboard
 from cataloglist.views import cataloglist, my_catalogs, public_catalogs
-from catalogedit.views import catalogedit, get_catalog
+from catalogedit.views import catalogedit, get_catalog, save_catalog
 
 from .forms import UserCreationForm
 from .views import login_guest, lazy_convert_done
@@ -38,7 +38,8 @@ urlpatterns = [
 
     path('catalog/new', catalogedit, name='catalogedit'),
     path('catalog/edit/<int:id>', catalogedit, name='catalogedit'),
-    path('api/v1/catalogs/id/<int:id>', get_catalog, name='catalog'),
+    path('api/v1/catalogs/id/<int:id>', get_catalog, name='get_catalog'),
+    path('api/v1/catalogs/save', save_catalog, name='save_catalog'),
 
     path('admin/', admin.site.urls),
     path("account/", include("account.urls")),