Search with Dataset API
Public datasets can be programmatically searched and downloaded by anyone using the Dataset API. ORCID login is required to use the API.
Dataset API Resources: Setup | Technical Reference Docs | Search Tutorials | Search Code Examples
Dataset API Search Quick Start
Get started with ESS-DIVE's Dataset API right away with our Jupyter Notebook tutorials! No coding knowledge is necessary to run the notebooks. Follow these quick steps to check it out on our GitHub.
1. Visit ESS-DIVE's API Tutorial GitHub
Dataset API search tutorials are currently only offered in Python.
2. Launch the notebooks with the click of a button
You can select the Google Colab or Jupyter+R Binder button to launch the tutorials. We recommend Google Colab for a smoother experience (a Google account is required to use Colab).



3. Open the search_data folder
We recommend starting with the tutorial titled ESS PI Meeting 2025: Using Data - Python.ipynb
. Follow the instructions to enter your login information. Click the play icon to run the cells and see the Dataset API in action.

About Searches with the Dataset API
The Dataset API is a great tool for searching through multiple datasets at the same time. Unlike the website (https://data.ess-dive.lbl.gov/), you can search for exact keyword matches and download multiple datasets at once.
Query Parameters:
providerName: The ESS project that published the dataset. Exact project names are required, find yours using ESS-DIVE's Project List,
keywords: Search for datasets that have an exact match for all the given keywords,
creator: The creator/submitter of datasets,
text: Searches any metadata field that contains the passed text, and
datePublished: Dataset publication date
To see examples of what a request query using these parameters looks like, go to our Code Examples page:
Code ExamplesWhat can you do with the Dataset API Search Capabilities?
Once you have multiple metadata and data files in hand, you can perform custom searches and visualizations directly in the notebook. Here's an idea of some of the things you can do that are demonstrated in ESS-DIVE's data search tutorials:
Review and download relevant datasets and their files,
Preview file sizes,
Create publication reports,
Look up the view, download, and citation metrics for each dataset,
Get data citations,
Visualize data directly after finding datasets, and
Leverage the DeepDive API along with the Dataset API for even more powerful file-level search!
What's Next?
After you've identified some datasets you're interested in, try out the Deep Dive API to query and explore certain* file contents!
*Available for datasets following the File Level Metadata (FLMD) and CSV Guidelines Reporting Formats
Search with Deep Dive APILast updated