Public Sector · Schema

PublicSectorDataset

A government-published dataset record. Aligns with the DCAT-US 1.1 metadata schema used by data.gov and the schema.org/Dataset profile. Designed to round-trip with CKAN packages returned from catalog.data.gov/api/3/action/package_show and with SODA dataset metadata from Socrata.

Public SectorGovernmentFederalStateLocalCivic TechOpen DataRegulationsProcurementOpen GovernmentTopic

Properties

Name Type Description
identifier string Stable identifier — preferably a URI or a UUID minted by the publisher. CKAN datasets expose an 'id' (UUID) and a 'name' (slug); use the UUID.
title string Human-readable dataset title.
description string Free-text description of the dataset's contents, scope, and intended use.
keyword array Tags / keywords describing the dataset.
modified string Most recent date the dataset was modified, RFC 3339.
issued string Date the dataset was first published.
publisher object Agency that published the dataset.
contactPoint object Contact for the dataset (dataset steward).
accessLevel string DCAT-US access level.
rights string Free-text explanation of rights and restrictions when accessLevel is not 'public'.
license string License URI (e.g. https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/, https://opendatacommons.org/licenses/odbl/1-0/, U.S. federal public domain).
theme array Thematic categories (e.g. 'Public Safety', 'Transportation', 'Health', 'Climate', 'Education').
spatial string Geographic coverage. May be a bounding box, a placename, an OCD-ID, or a GeoJSON geometry serialized as a string.
temporal string Temporal coverage as an ISO 8601 interval (e.g. '2010-01-01/2025-12-31').
accrualPeriodicity string ISO 8601 duration or DCAT frequency code (e.g. 'R/P1D' for daily, 'R/P1Y' for annual).
landingPage string Human-readable HTML landing page for the dataset.
distribution array Concrete distributions (downloads, API endpoints).
language array BCP 47 language tags.
bureauCode array OMB Circular A-11 bureau code (federal only).
programCode array OMB Federal Program Inventory code.
View JSON Schema on GitHub

JSON Schema

public-sector-dataset-schema.json Raw ↑
{
  "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
  "$id": "https://api-evangelist.github.io/public-sector/json-schema/public-sector-dataset-schema.json",
  "title": "PublicSectorDataset",
  "description": "A government-published dataset record. Aligns with the DCAT-US 1.1 metadata schema used by data.gov and the schema.org/Dataset profile. Designed to round-trip with CKAN packages returned from catalog.data.gov/api/3/action/package_show and with SODA dataset metadata from Socrata.",
  "type": "object",
  "required": ["identifier", "title", "publisher", "accessLevel", "modified"],
  "properties": {
    "identifier": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Stable identifier — preferably a URI or a UUID minted by the publisher. CKAN datasets expose an 'id' (UUID) and a 'name' (slug); use the UUID."
    },
    "title": {
      "type": "string",
      "minLength": 1,
      "description": "Human-readable dataset title."
    },
    "description": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Free-text description of the dataset's contents, scope, and intended use."
    },
    "keyword": {
      "type": "array",
      "items": { "type": "string" },
      "description": "Tags / keywords describing the dataset."
    },
    "modified": {
      "type": "string",
      "format": "date-time",
      "description": "Most recent date the dataset was modified, RFC 3339."
    },
    "issued": {
      "type": "string",
      "format": "date-time",
      "description": "Date the dataset was first published."
    },
    "publisher": {
      "type": "object",
      "required": ["name"],
      "description": "Agency that published the dataset.",
      "properties": {
        "name": { "type": "string" },
        "url": { "type": "string", "format": "uri" },
        "subOrganizationOf": { "type": "string" }
      }
    },
    "contactPoint": {
      "type": "object",
      "description": "Contact for the dataset (dataset steward).",
      "properties": {
        "fn": { "type": "string", "description": "Full name." },
        "hasEmail": { "type": "string", "description": "mailto: URI." }
      }
    },
    "accessLevel": {
      "type": "string",
      "enum": ["public", "restricted public", "non-public"],
      "description": "DCAT-US access level."
    },
    "rights": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Free-text explanation of rights and restrictions when accessLevel is not 'public'."
    },
    "license": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "License URI (e.g. https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/, https://opendatacommons.org/licenses/odbl/1-0/, U.S. federal public domain)."
    },
    "theme": {
      "type": "array",
      "items": { "type": "string" },
      "description": "Thematic categories (e.g. 'Public Safety', 'Transportation', 'Health', 'Climate', 'Education')."
    },
    "spatial": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Geographic coverage. May be a bounding box, a placename, an OCD-ID, or a GeoJSON geometry serialized as a string."
    },
    "temporal": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Temporal coverage as an ISO 8601 interval (e.g. '2010-01-01/2025-12-31')."
    },
    "accrualPeriodicity": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "ISO 8601 duration or DCAT frequency code (e.g. 'R/P1D' for daily, 'R/P1Y' for annual)."
    },
    "landingPage": {
      "type": "string",
      "format": "uri",
      "description": "Human-readable HTML landing page for the dataset."
    },
    "distribution": {
      "type": "array",
      "description": "Concrete distributions (downloads, API endpoints).",
      "items": {
        "type": "object",
        "required": ["mediaType"],
        "properties": {
          "title": { "type": "string" },
          "description": { "type": "string" },
          "mediaType": {
            "type": "string",
            "description": "IANA media type (text/csv, application/json, application/geo+json, application/vnd.ms-excel, application/zip, application/x-shapefile, application/xml)."
          },
          "format": {
            "type": "string",
            "description": "Short format label (CSV, JSON, GeoJSON, Shapefile, XLSX, ZIP, XML, SODA, REST)."
          },
          "downloadURL": { "type": "string", "format": "uri" },
          "accessURL": { "type": "string", "format": "uri" },
          "byteSize": { "type": "integer", "minimum": 0 },
          "describedBy": {
            "type": "string",
            "format": "uri",
            "description": "URL of a JSON Schema or data dictionary for this distribution."
          },
          "describedByType": { "type": "string" },
          "conformsTo": {
            "type": "string",
            "format": "uri",
            "description": "Standard or profile the distribution conforms to (e.g. GTFS, NIEM, FHIR)."
          }
        }
      }
    },
    "language": {
      "type": "array",
      "items": { "type": "string" },
      "description": "BCP 47 language tags."
    },
    "bureauCode": {
      "type": "array",
      "items": { "type": "string" },
      "description": "OMB Circular A-11 bureau code (federal only)."
    },
    "programCode": {
      "type": "array",
      "items": { "type": "string" },
      "description": "OMB Federal Program Inventory code."
    }
  },
  "additionalProperties": true
}