CKAN (data.gov.uk) API

Free CKAN API with no key: search and download thousands of government open datasets. The same API powers data.gov.uk and hundreds of portals. Tested example.

No API key requiredHTTPSFree tier

Endpoint tested and returned HTTP 200 on 19 Aug 2026

What is the CKAN (data.gov.uk) API?

CKAN is the open-source data portal software behind data.gov.uk and hundreds of other government open data catalogues. Its API is free and key-free for reading, letting you search datasets and retrieve their metadata and download URLs.

Learning the CKAN API is unusually good value, because the same endpoints work across hundreds of portals worldwide — data.gov.uk, many EU national portals, and countless city and research catalogues all run CKAN.

The pattern is consistent: `/api/3/action/<action>` with actions like `package_list`, `package_search` and `package_show`. Once you can query one CKAN instance you can query them all by swapping the hostname.

Quick facts

Base URL: https://ckan.publishing.service.gov.uk/api/3/action
Authentication: No key needed for reading public datasets. Writing requires an API token.
Rate limit: Varies by instance; no published limit on data.gov.uk.
Pricing: Free open data, licence varies per dataset.
CORS: Not enabled — call it from your server
Official docs: Read the docs

How to use the CKAN (data.gov.uk) API

Every request below was executed against the live API on 19 Aug 2026, and the response shown is the real body it returned — not an illustration.

1. List available datasets

GET https://ckan.publishing.service.gov.uk/api/3/action/package_list

curl

curl 'https://ckan.publishing.service.gov.uk/api/3/action/package_list'

JavaScript (fetch)

const res = await fetch("https://ckan.publishing.service.gov.uk/api/3/action/package_list");
if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`Request failed: ${res.status}`);
const data = await res.json();
console.log(data);

Python (requests)

import requests

res = requests.get("https://ckan.publishing.service.gov.uk/api/3/action/package_list", timeout=20)
res.raise_for_status()
print(res.json())

Response — HTTP 200 (truncated)

{
  "help": "https://ckan.publishing.service.gov.uk/api/3/action/help_show?name=package_list",
  "success": true,
  "result": [
    "0-1-annual-probability-extents14",
    "0-1-annual-probability-extents-with-30-climate-change-adjustment15",
    "0-1-annual-probability-outputs13",
    "0-1-annual-probability-outputs-with-30-climate-change-adjustment16",
    "02p-expenditure-over-25k-apr-19",
    "02p-expenditure-over-25k-apr-20",
    "02p-expenditure-over-25k-apr-21",
    "02p-expenditure-over-25k-aug-20",
    "02p-expenditure-over-25k-aug-21",
    "02p-expenditure-over-25k-dec-20",
    "02p-expenditure-over-25k-dec-21",
    "02p-expenditure-over-25k-feb-20",
    "02p-expenditure-over-25k-feb-21",
    "02p-expenditure-over-25k-feb-22",
    "02p-expenditure-over-25k-jan-21",
    "02p-expenditure-over-25k-jul-20a",
    "02p-expenditure-over-25k-jul-21",
    "02p-expenditure-over-25k-jun-20",
    "02p-expenditure-over-25k-jun-21",
    "02p-expenditure-over-25k-jun-22",
    "02p-expenditure-over-25k-jun-22a",
    "02p-expenditure-over-25k-mar-19",
    "02p-expenditure-over-25k-mar-20",
    "02p-expenditure-over-25k-mar-21",
    "02p-expenditure-over-25k-mar-22",
    "02p-expenditure-over-25k-may-20",
    "02p-expenditure-over-25k-may-21",
    "02p-expenditure-over-25k-may-22",
    "02p-expenditure-over-25k-nov-19",
    "02p-expenditure-over-25k-nov-20",
    "02p-expenditure-over-25k-nov-21",
    "02p-expenditure-over-25k-oct-20",
    "02p-expenditure-over-25k-oct-21",
    "02p-expenditure-over-25k-sep-19",
    "02p-expenditure-over-25k-sep-20",
    "02p-expenditure-over-25k-sep

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`q`	string	Optional	Search query on package_search. `flood`
`rows`	integer	Optional	Results per page on package_search. `10`
`start`	integer	Optional	Pagination offset. `20`
`id`	string	Optional	Dataset id or name on package_show. `flood-map`
`fq`	string	Optional	Solr-style filter query for faceted filtering. `res_format:CSV`

Response fields

successboolean: Whether the action succeeded — check before reading `result`.
resultarray|object: The payload; shape depends on the action called.
result.results[].titlestring: Dataset title on package_search.
result.results[].resourcesarray: Downloadable files with format and direct URL.
result.countinteger: Total datasets matching a search.

What you can build with the CKAN (data.gov.uk) API

Search government open data catalogues programmatically
Build a cross-portal dataset search by swapping the hostname
Automate discovery and download of CSV datasets for analysis
Monitor a catalogue for newly published datasets

Common errors and how to fix them

success: false

The action failed; the error object explains why.

Fix: Check `success` before reading `result` — CKAN returns HTTP 200 for many logical failures.

404 on package_show

Unknown dataset id.

Fix: Use the exact `name` from package_list or package_search, not the display title.

Huge package_list response

Some portals list tens of thousands of datasets.

Fix: Prefer package_search with `rows` over package_list for anything interactive.

CKAN (data.gov.uk) API — frequently asked questions

What is CKAN?

It is the open-source data portal platform behind data.gov.uk and hundreds of other government and research open data catalogues. Learning its API once lets you query all of them.

Does the CKAN API need an API key?

Not for reading public datasets. An API token is only required for creating or editing datasets.

How do I search rather than list everything?

Use /api/3/action/package_search with a `q` parameter and `rows` for page size. package_list returns every dataset name and can be enormous.

Can I use the same code against other CKAN portals?

Yes — that is the main advantage. Swap the hostname and the same action endpoints work, though available datasets and licences differ per portal.

Tools that pair with this API

JSON Formatter

Format, beautify and minify JSON online with 2-space, 4-space or tab indentation. Sort keys alphabetically and catch syntax errors instantly — free and private.

CSV to JSON Converter

Convert CSV to a JSON array of objects online. Header-row detection, comma/semicolon/tab delimiters and pretty-printed output — 100% in your browser.

Alternatives to CKAN (data.gov.uk) API

If CKAN (data.gov.uk) does not fit, these government & open data apis cover similar ground. Every one was called before publishing, and each links to its own reference page with a working curl command and the response it returned.

API	What it does	Auth	CORS	Last verified
Federal Register	Free US Federal Register API with no key: executive orders, rules, notices and proposed regulations with full text search back to 1994. Tested curl example.	No key	Yes	19 Aug 2026
USAspending	Free US federal spending API with no key: agency budgets, contracts, grants and award data covering trillions in government spending. Tested curl example.	No key	No	19 Aug 2026
UK Parliament Members	Free UK Parliament Members API with no key: MPs and Lords, constituencies, party affiliation, contact details and voting records. Tested curl example.	No key	No	19 Aug 2026
UK Police Data	Free UK Police API with no key: street-level crime data, police forces, neighbourhood teams and stop-and-search records by location and month. Tested example.	No key	Yes	19 Aug 2026
College Scorecard	US Department of Education College Scorecard API: 6,200+ institutions with costs, graduation rates, earnings after study and admissions data. Free key. Tested example.	Key	Yes	21 Aug 2026
Colorado Information Marketplace	Free Colorado state open data API with no key: enumerate every dataset on the portal with its owner, update times, provenance and approval history. Tested example included.	No key	Yes	21 Aug 2026

All Government & Open Data APIs

CKAN (data.gov.uk) is an independent third-party service and is not affiliated with ByteTools or ByteVancer. Details on this page were verified on 19 Aug 2026; always check the official documentation before relying on this API in production, as terms and limits can change.