Developer documentation

Guides, API references, and examples for working with datasets and metadata on Data.CA.gov. Learn how to search, access, and reuse open data programmatically.

Getting started

All data on this portal is accessible through the CKAN Action API at https://ckan.cdt.dev.datopian.com/api/3/action/. No API key is required for read-only access to public datasets.

Example: fetch a dataset's metadata

# Returns metadata and resource list for a dataset
curl "https://ckan.cdt.dev.datopian.com/api/3/action/package_show?id=wildfire-incidents"

Authentication

Read access to public datasets requires no authentication. Publishing organizations that need to create or update datasets authenticate with an API token, passed via the Authorization header.

Authenticated request example

curl "https://ckan.cdt.dev.datopian.com/api/3/action/package_create" \
  -H "Authorization: $CKAN_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type": "application/json" \
  -d '{"name": "new-dataset", "owner_org": "cal-fire"}'

Endpoints

Search datasets

Full-text search across the catalog, with facet filters for format, data type, organization, and topic.

GET/api/3/action/package_search?q=wildfire&fq=organization:cal-fire

Get dataset metadata

Returns full metadata and resource list for a single dataset.

GET/api/3/action/package_show?id={dataset-id}

Query tabular data

Query rows directly from a CSV or XLSX resource that has been loaded into the DataStore.

GET/api/3/action/datastore_search?resource_id={resource-id}&limit=100

List organizations & topics

Enumerate publishing organizations or topic groups, with dataset counts.

GET/api/3/action/organization_list?all_fields=true

GET/api/3/action/group_list?all_fields=true

Data formats

Datasets are published in the format most useful for their content. Common formats across the catalog:

CSVJSONGEOJSONSHAPEFILEXLSXPDFAPI

Rate limits & terms of use

Anonymous API requests are limited to 60 requests per minute per IP address. Bulk or automated use should identify itself with a descriptive User-Agent header. All data is provided under the CA Open Data Terms of Use unless a dataset specifies otherwise – see individual dataset pages for licensing details.

Need higher limits or help integrating? See the CKAN Action API reference.