Our API

What is an API?

An API, or application programming interface, is a set of instructions and protocols that allows different software programs to communicate with each other. It acts as a bridge between different systems and allows them to share data and functionality.

Why an API for Open Data?

An API for open data allows people to easily access and use large sets of data. This can be helpful for researchers, developers, and other people who want to use the data for their own projects. API also allows a better way to share data with other people as they can easily access it, instead of downloading large data sets. It also allows the data to be updated in real-time, so people always have access to the most up-to-date information.

How to use our API?

These examples can be executed on the Windows, the Unix / Linux command line using

$ curl https://<hostname-of-this-site>/...

or paste the URL in your browser.

Example 1:

Get all datasets from this portal: /api/3/action/package_list)

Example 2:

Show details of dataset `monitoring_of_thunderstorms`:
/api/3/action/package_show?id=monitoring_of_thunderstorms

Example 3:

Get all datasets in RDF representation to use in your AI (artificial intelligence) software: /catalog.rdf

To learn all about RDF representation see the [W3C docs about RDF](https://www.w3.org/RDF/).

Full documentation

The richt API is fully described in the CKAN documentation at https://docs.ckan.org/en/2.9/api

Your help is recommended

If you have built a publicly accessible application using our API we love to share this with our users as App/Showcase.

Do you need help with the API? Please do not hesitate to contact us.