canonical: https://jentic.com/apis/osdatahub.os.uk/osdatahub

# Osdatahub Os Uk Ordnance Survey Data Hub APIs

The Ordnance Survey Data Hub API resolves UK place names and addresses and serves official basemap tiles. It searches geographic place names by free text or proximity to a coordinate, finds addresses by free text, postcode, or Unique Property Reference Number, and returns raster map tiles for a chosen layer at a given zoom and tile coordinate. Responses carry the authoritative Ordnance Survey location data behind UK mapping and address lookup.

## For AI agents

Search UK place names and addresses by text, postcode, or UPRN, and fetch Ordnance Survey raster map tiles. Authenticates with a project API key.

## Scope

Does not handle routing, international addresses, or satellite imagery. Use for UK place-name, address, and map-tile lookups only.

## Capabilities

- Search UK geographic place names by free text
- Find the nearest place names to a coordinate within a radius
- Search for UK addresses by free text or postcode
- Look up a specific address by its Unique Property Reference Number (UPRN)
- Fetch raster map tiles by layer, zoom, and tile coordinates

## Use cases

### AI Agent Address Lookup

An AI agent completing a form or validating a delivery can resolve a UK postcode or UPRN to a full address through Jentic. The agent searches for the places operation, passes the postcode or reference number, and receives the matching addresses, without the developer wiring the API key or reading the Ordnance Survey reference docs.

Example prompt: Call GET `/search/places/v1/postcode` with a UK postcode to list the addresses at that postcode

### Place Name Search

Mapping and travel apps let users search for towns, streets, and landmarks. The names search operation returns ranked place-name matches for free text, and the nearest operation returns the closest names to a coordinate, so an agent can power a location search box or reverse-locate a point.

Example prompt: Call GET `/search/names/v1/find` with a place-name query and read the ranked matches

### Map Tile Rendering

Web and mobile maps display Ordnance Survey basemaps. The raster tile operation returns a PNG tile for a chosen layer at a zoom level and tile coordinate, so a map client can stitch tiles into an interactive UK map.

Example prompt: Call GET `/maps/raster/v1/zxy/{layer}/{z}/{x}/{y}.png` to fetch a basemap tile

## Key endpoints

| Method | Path | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| GET | `/search/names/v1/find` | Search place names by free text |
| GET | `/search/names/v1/nearest` | Find nearest place names to a coordinate |
| GET | `/search/places/v1/find` | Search addresses by free text |
| GET | `/search/places/v1/postcode` | Search addresses by postcode |
| GET | `/search/places/v1/uprn` | Look up an address by UPRN |
| GET | `/maps/raster/v1/zxy/{layer}/{z}/{x}/{y}.png` | Get a raster map tile |

## Key resources

- **Names** — Place-name search by free text and nearest-to-coordinate lookup
- **Places** — Address search by free text, postcode, and UPRN
- **Maps** — Raster basemap tiles by layer, zoom, and tile coordinate

## AI readiness

This API is usable in Jentic One now. Its AI-readiness score against Jentic's framework shows where it stands today and where improvements would make it even easier for agents to use.

- **Score:** 56 / 100
- **Maturity:** Foundational
- **Dimensions:**
  - Foundational Compliance: 81 / 100
  - Developer Experience & Jentic Compatibility: 61 / 100
  - AI-Readiness & Agent Experience: 44 / 100
  - Agent Usability: 94 / 100
  - Security: 33 / 100
  - AI Discoverability: 63 / 100
- **View full report:** https://jentic.com/apis/osdatahub.os.uk/osdatahub/scorecard
- **How the score is calculated:** https://docs.jentic.com/reference/api-readiness-framework/overview/
- **More about the dimensions:** https://docs.jentic.com/reference/api-readiness-framework/specification/#dimensional-model-overview

### Score it yourself

Every API in the directory is allowlisted, so you can re-score it with no key required.

- **Score your own API:** https://jentic.com/scorecard.md
- **Scoring CLI agent skill:** https://github.com/jentic/jentic-api-scorecard/blob/main/skills/jentic-api-scorecard/SKILL.md

```sh
npx @jentic/api-scorecard-cli score <openapi-url>
```

## Why Jentic

- **Setup:** Wiring the Ordnance Survey Data Hub API by hand means registering a project, passing its API key on every request as a header or query parameter, and handling the names, places, and maps services separately. Through Jentic you install once, import Ordnance Survey from the API Directory, store the key once, and your agent calls it.
- **Permission scoping:** This API is read-only, so a rule can bound your agent to the specific lookups it needs, such as the postcode and UPRN address searches, and exclude the map-tile and place-name operations. You choose the operation set, so the agent reads location data but cannot reach anything you did not grant.
- **Credential handling:** Your Ordnance Survey project key 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.
- **Discovery method:** Agents search Jentic by intent such as 'find addresses for a postcode' or 'search UK place names', and Jentic returns the matching Ordnance Survey operation with its input schema so the agent calls the right endpoint without browsing the reference docs.

## Related APIs

- **OpenCage** — Worldwide forward and reverse geocoding
- **HERE Maps** — Global maps, geocoding, and routing
- **positionstack** — Forward and reverse geocoding with global coordinates

## FAQ

### What authentication does the Ordnance Survey Data Hub API use?

The Ordnance Survey Data Hub API authenticates with a project API key, supplied in the `key` parameter as either a request header or a query value, per its OpenAPI spec. Through Jentic the key is stored encrypted by your own Jentic One instance and injected at call time, so it never enters the agent's prompt or logs.

### Can I look up a UK address by postcode with the Ordnance Survey Data Hub API?

Yes. The postcode search operation returns the addresses registered to a postcode, and the UPRN operation resolves a single property reference to its full address. Free-text address search is available when you only have part of the address.

### What are the rate limits for the Ordnance Survey Data Hub API?

The OpenAPI spec does not specify rate limits; your transaction allowance depends on your Data Hub plan. Current limits are published in the vendor documentation at https://osdatahub.os.uk/docs.

### How do I resolve UK addresses with the Ordnance Survey Data Hub API through Jentic?

Install Jentic One with `curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jentic/jentic-one/main/tools/install.sh | sh`, import Ordnance Survey from the API Directory, and store your project key once. Your agent then searches for an intent such as 'find addresses for a postcode', and Jentic returns the matching operation with its input schema. To run it on your own infrastructure, install Jentic One from its GitHub repo.

### Is there an Ordnance Survey MCP server?

You do not need an MCP server to give your agent the Ordnance Survey Data Hub API. Jentic connects it directly from the API Directory: import the API, store your key once, and your agent calls the names, places, and maps operations on demand, which keeps your agent's context free of an extra server's tool definitions.

### Can I limit what my agent is allowed to do with the Ordnance Survey Data Hub API?

Yes. Every operation here is a read, so you can allow your agent only the lookups it needs, such as address search by postcode, while leaving out map tiles or place-name search. Because you run Jentic One yourself, the agent can resolve addresses but holds no access beyond the read operations you grant, and every call is logged.