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Federal LCA Commons

LCA Commons API Now Available with Key-Based Authentication

Overview:

The Federal LCA Commons API has been updated and is now accessible through the NAL API gateway at api.nal.usda.gov, with API key authentication managed through api.data.gov. This update allows for more reliable tracking and access to LCA Commons data for users. 

The API currently supports five public endpoints covering the most common data access workflows: 

  1. searching datasets across repositories, 
  2. downloading individual datasets as JSON-LD, 
  3. preparing and downloading full repository files,
  4. and retrieving files attached to specific datasets.

Registering for an API Key:

A free personal API key is required for the API requests. To register, visit api.data.gov/signup. A DEMO_KEY is also available for initial testing and exploration, though it carries a much lower rate limit. 

API Documentation:

Please review the updated LCA Commons API Guide located under Data, on the main menu of the site. The guide provides endpoint descriptions, example requests in both cURL and Python, and response code guidance. The full API specification is also available via the Federal LCA Commons API Specification and as a static HTML file for offline use.