APIs
API access for the Trusted Data Observatory (TDO): discovery, harmonised metadata, search endpoints, and machine-to-machine integration.
What are TDO APIs?
TDO APIs provide machine-to-machine access to harmonised, AI‑enabled metadata from trusted data producers. They allow applications, search tools and Large Language Models (LLMs) to retrieve metadata consistently, transparently and efficiently.
All APIs return metadata only — datasets remain fully under the control of their publishers.
API types
1. Metadata Discovery API
Returns harmonised metadata for datasets published by NSOs and IOs. Supports filters such as publisher, theme, country, data type, and more.
2. Dataset Search API
Provides programmatic search across all metadata, including lexical and (later) semantic search.
3. Harvesting API
Allows TDO to automatically ingest metadata from national or international catalogues, or enables publishers to push metadata to the platform.
4. MVM Profile API
Returns the discovery‑oriented Minimum Viable Metadata (MVM) for each dataset.
Formats & Standards
TDO APIs follow international metadata models and support:
- JSON & JSON‑LD
- DCAT‑AP compatible structures
- machine‑readable schemas optimised for LLM ingestion
Future development
- Semantic search across all metadata
- Model Context Protocol (MCP) integration for LLM access