Dev Socrata Socrata Open Data API (SODA)

Name: Socrata Open Data API (SODA) API
Brand: Socrata Open Data API (SODA)
Availability: InStock

★ Only Publicly Available OpenAPI DocumentAnalyticsBusiness IntelligenceapiKey, basic, oauth27 EndpointsREST

For Agents

Install Jentic One Beta

Connect the Socrata Open Data API (SODA) to your agent

Jentic One is a self-hosted execution layer for AI agents. It lets your agent call the Socrata Open Data API (SODA), or any other public or private API you need. You set the rules, the agent never sees your credentials, and every call is logged.

Two steps, two machines. Install the instance in a safe environment, then register your agent from wherever it runs.

Step 1: Jentic One Host machine

# On the machine that will host your Jentic One instance:
curl -fsSL "https://jentic.com/install.sh?src=apis&api=%2Fapis%2Fdev.socrata.com%2Fsocrata" | sh

Step 2: Agent machine

# On the machine where your agent runs (keep this separate from the instance):
curl -fsSL "https://jentic.com/install.sh?src=apis&api=%2Fapis%2Fdev.socrata.com%2Fsocrata" | sh
jentic register       # connects your agent to your Jentic One instance

Jentic One is in public beta. The setup above keeps your agent separate from the instance, which is what you want before using real credentials: an agent running as the same OS user as Jentic One can read its stored keys directly. Just evaluating? A single local install is fine to start. See the secure deployment guide for the tiers.

Capabilities

What an agent can do with Socrata Open Data API (SODA) API.

Discover datasets across portals via GET /api/catalog/v1 with keyword and category filters

Run SoQL filters and aggregations via GET or POST /api/v3/views/{datasetId}/query.json

Export query results as CSV via GET /api/v3/views/{datasetId}/export.csv

GET STARTED

Start building with Socrata Open Data API (SODA) API

Explore with Jentic

View OpenAPI Document

Jentic publishes the only available OpenAPI specification for the Socrata Open Data API (SODA), keeping it validated and agent-ready. SODA exposes the open government datasets hosted on Socrata-powered portals, with per-portal domains like data.cityofnewyork.us and data.ct.gov. The seven endpoints support SoQL queries, CSV and GeoJSON exports, dataset metadata lookups, and a catalog discovery endpoint, so an agent can find a dataset, inspect its schema, and pull filtered or aggregated rows without scraping HTML. Authentication ranges from anonymous reads to app-token, basic, and OAuth 2.0 for write operations and private datasets.

Use Cases

Patterns agents use Socrata Open Data API (SODA) API for, with concrete tasks.

★ Open data exploration and reporting

Analysts and AI agents can find a relevant open dataset on any Socrata-powered portal by hitting GET /api/catalog/v1, then read its schema via /api/views/metadata/v1/{datasetId} and run a SoQL query through /api/v3/views/{datasetId}/query.json to get exactly the slice they need. Because the same shape works across hundreds of city, state, and federal portals, one pipeline covers many sources.

GET /api/catalog/v1?q=motor%20vehicle%20crashes on data.cityofnewyork.us, pick the top dataset, then POST /api/v3/views/{datasetId}/query.json with a SoQL aggregating crashes by borough.

Civic dashboards and embedded maps

Build civic dashboards by pulling fresh data from /resource/{datasetId}.json for tabular views and /resource/{datasetId}.geojson for map layers. The metadata endpoint exposes the dataset's last-updated timestamp, so a dashboard can show data freshness without scraping. This is the standard way municipalities expose machine-readable open data, so the same code reuses across cities.

GET /resource/erm2-nwe9.geojson?$where=created_date>'2026-01-01' to fetch recent 311 service requests for a city map layer.

Bulk data export to a warehouse

Pull entire datasets or filtered subsets to CSV via GET /api/v3/views/{datasetId}/export.csv for loading into a data warehouse or notebook. SoQL parameters let you constrain the export to recent rows or specific columns, keeping the payload small. Because the URL is stable, the same export can be scheduled and re-run incrementally.

GET /api/v3/views/abcd-1234/export.csv?$where=updated_at>'2026-06-01'&$limit=50000 to incrementally export new rows into a warehouse.

Agent-driven civic insight

An AI agent answering questions like 'how many 311 noise complaints were filed in Brooklyn last month?' can call SODA through Jentic. Jentic resolves the dataset, returns the SoQL query operation schema, and executes it with the agent's filter - no API key juggling, no scraping, just a structured answer pulled from the canonical open data portal.

Through Jentic, search 'query a Socrata dataset', load the SODA query.json operation, and execute with $select=count(*) and a $where clause for borough and date range.

Key Endpoints

7 endpoints — jentic publishes the only available openapi specification for the socrata open data api (soda), keeping it validated and agent-ready.

METHOD

PATH

DESCRIPTION

GET

/api/catalog/v1

Discover datasets on a Socrata portal

GET

/api/v3/views/{datasetId}/query.json

Run a SoQL query (read)

POST

/api/v3/views/{datasetId}/query.json

Run a SoQL query with a JSON body for complex queries

GET

/api/v3/views/{datasetId}/export.csv

Export query results as CSV

GET

/resource/{datasetId}.json

Read dataset rows as JSON

GET

/resource/{datasetId}.geojson

Read dataset rows as GeoJSON

GET

/api/views/metadata/v1/{datasetId}

Read dataset metadata and schema

GET

/api/catalog/v1

Discover datasets on a Socrata portal

GET

/api/v3/views/{datasetId}/query.json

Run a SoQL query (read)

POST

/api/v3/views/{datasetId}/query.json

Run a SoQL query with a JSON body for complex queries

GET

/api/v3/views/{datasetId}/export.csv

Export query results as CSV

GET

/resource/{datasetId}.json

Read dataset rows as JSON

Why Jentic?

What agents get from Jentic-routed access to this vendor.

Setup

Wiring the Socrata Open Data API by hand means choosing between its app token, basic, and OAuth 2.0 auth, pointing calls at the right portal domain (https://{domain}), and building the catalog, SoQL query, export, and metadata calls yourself. Through Jentic you install once, import the Socrata Open Data API from the API Directory, store the app token once, and your agent calls it.

Permission scoping

Socrata puts the dataset id in the URL path (/api/v3/views/{datasetId}/query.json), and the operations here are read-only queries, exports, and metadata reads, so a rule can pin your agent to querying and exporting datasets with no ability to publish or administer the portal.

Credential isolation

Your Socrata app token, basic credentials, or OAuth token is stored once, encrypted, by your own Jentic One instance and injected at execution time. It never enters the agent's prompt, logs, or context.

Intent-based discovery

Agents search Jentic by intent such as 'query open data on traffic crashes' or 'export a dataset as CSV', and Jentic returns the matching SODA operation with its dataset and SoQL parameter shapes so the agent calls the right endpoint without reading the docs.

FAQs

Specific to using Socrata Open Data API (SODA) API through Jentic.

Why is there no official OpenAPI spec for the Socrata Open Data API?

Socrata does not publish an OpenAPI specification for SODA. Jentic generates and maintains this spec so that AI agents and developers can call SODA via structured tooling. It is validated against live Socrata portals and kept up to date. Get started with Jentic One, the self-hosted execution layer.

What authentication does the Socrata SODA API use?

Public dataset reads are anonymous, but for higher rate limits Socrata expects an X-App-Token header issued from your Socrata profile. Write operations and private datasets require HTTP basic auth, and third-party apps can use OAuth 2.0 against the portal's /oauth/authorize and /oauth/access_token endpoints. Through Jentic, app tokens and OAuth tokens are vaulted and attached at request time.

Can I run a SoQL aggregation query with the Socrata API?

Yes. POST /api/v3/views/{datasetId}/query.json with a SoQL body using $select with count, sum, or avg and $group to aggregate, plus $where for filters. Use the GET form for simpler queries that fit in a URL. The same dataset can also be queried via /resource/{datasetId}.json with $select, $where, and $group parameters.

How do I find datasets on a specific Socrata portal?

Call GET /api/catalog/v1 against the portal's domain (e.g., data.cityofnewyork.us). Pass q for keywords, categories for category filters, and tags for tag filters. The response includes dataset ids you can plug into /api/v3/views/{datasetId}/query.json or /resource/{datasetId}.json.

What are the rate limits for the Socrata SODA API?

Anonymous requests share a low per-IP throttle. Sending an X-App-Token gives an application-scoped quota that is sufficient for most production use. Treat HTTP 429 as a signal to back off and consider registering an app token if you have not already.

How do I export a dataset to CSV through Jentic?

Through Jentic, search 'export a Socrata dataset to CSV', load the /api/v3/views/{datasetId}/export.csv operation, and execute it with the dataset id and any SoQL filter parameters. Stream the response into your warehouse loader.

Dev Socrata Socrata Open Data API (SODA)

Connect the Socrata Open Data API (SODA) to your agent

Capabilities

Start building with Socrata Open Data API (SODA) API

Use Cases

Key Endpoints

Why Jentic?

Related APIs

FAQs