--- title: "API: Data & licensing | Nexus Observatory" description: "API, inside Data & licensing: API descriptions, OGC API building blocks, authorisation, error reporting and more. Every item is traced to its specification…" url: https://observatory.global/data-products/api/ publisher: Nexus Observatory Inc. updated: 2026-10-27 --- [Nexus Observatory](https://observatory.global/) / [Data & licensing](https://observatory.global/data-products/) / **API** # One interface for every product. API, inside Data & licensing: API descriptions, OGC API building blocks, authorisation, error reporting and more. Every item is traced to its specification, from OpenAPI Specification 3.1 to OGC API - Common Part 1 (Core), and runs on the open Observatory Protocol. [Plan with us](https://observatory.global/contact/) Architecture [The protocol](https://observatory.global/protocol/specification/) **Technologies**: 9 **At the frontier**: 0 **Protocol functions**: 3 of 8 **Industries served**: 19 Reference design, drawn to scale · drag to turn · hover a part **01** What it is ## APIs and SDKs. How observations move from the edge into stores, catalogues and APIs with their provenance, licence and residency attached, and how they interoperate through open standards and the open Observatory Protocol. Each technology below carries what it is, what we do with it, and the standard it is drawn against. Data, software and interoperability ### API descriptions Machine-readable HTTP API contracts from which docs, tests and clients are generated. We design, integrate and operate. OpenAPI Specification 3.1 Data, software and interoperability ### OGC API building blocks Common patterns for landing pages, conformance, collections and paging. We design and integrate. OGC API - Common Part 1 (Core) Data, software and interoperability ### Authorisation Delegated, scoped access for applications and machine clients. We design, integrate and operate. IETF RFC 6749 (OAuth 2.0) · IETF RFC 9700 (OAuth 2.0 security best current practice) · OpenID Connect Core 1.0 Data, software and interoperability ### Error reporting Consistent, machine-readable error responses across services. We design. IETF RFC 9457 (problem details) Data, software and interoperability ### Quotas, metering and usage records Rate limits and usage accounting tied to licence tier. We design and operate. IETF RateLimit header fields (Internet-Draft) Data, software and interoperability ### SDKs and client libraries Typed clients in common languages generated from and tested against the API contracts. We design, operate and support. OpenAPI Specification 3.1 Data, software and interoperability ### Webhooks and subscriptions Push notifications when data, products or states change. We design and integrate. CloudEvents 1.0 (HTTP binding) Data, software and interoperability ### OGC SensorThings API Open API for things, sensors, datastreams and observations, plus tasking. We design, integrate and operate. OGC SensorThings API Part 1 (Sensing) 1.1 · OGC SensorThings API Part 2 (Tasking Core) Data, software and interoperability ### OGC API - Connected Systems System, deployment, procedure and datastream resources with commands, built on OGC API - Features. We design, integrate and operate. OGC API - Connected Systems Part 1 (Feature Resources) · Part 2 (Dynamic Data) **02** Architecture ## Where it sits, and what it speaks. API draws on 1 domain and 8 layers of the spectrum; the highlighted layers carry this area. It speaks 3 of the protocol's 8 core functions. Ingest and streaming 8 Storage and data lakes 6 Metadata, provenance and catalogues 8 Open standards and interoperability 7 APIs and SDKs 7 Licensing, residency and governance 8 Digital twins and observability 7 Open protocol interfaces and federation 8 01**Join** Identity, attestation quote, signed policy. 02**Admit** Admitted for a stated scope, nothing wider. 03**Describe** What, where, how and by whom, with calibration. 04**Time** One clock across the grid, with its error bound. 05**Observe** Every value with quality and provenance. 06**Qualify** Tested against the specification, state on record. 07**Federate** Signed exchange across grids and trust domains. 08**Orchestrate** Software and configuration by signed plan. **03** On the grid ## Every site joins one observing grid. The open networks on the grid today, over real relief and the geodesic cells we count them into. A site built here enrols into the same grid. **04** In the field ## Where this runs, sector by sector. 5 deployment scenarios from the sector research that rely on api. [Government and public safety Urban street-flood sensor networkOpen-hardware depth sensors with open data and alerts to emergency management.](https://observatory.global/sectors/public-safety/) [Communities and rural Indigenous-owned community cellularUnused 800 MHz and 1900 MHz spectrum through an access-licensing framework with a priority window for Indigenous applicants.](https://observatory.global/sectors/communities/) [Scientific Citizen seismology and school seismographsCompact seismographs feeding open data networks.](https://observatory.global/sectors/scientific/) [Environment and climate Biodiversity measurement with acoustics and camera trapsAcoustic baselines as a biodiversity data source; no registry methodology accepting acoustic data was found.](https://observatory.global/sectors/environment/) [Energy Bankable solar and wind measurement campaignsAccepted standards, traceable calibration and transparent data handling.](https://observatory.global/sectors/energy/) **05** Open and enterprise ## Open by default. Enterprise by contract. The open counterpart lives on the main site for anyone to read and run. The enterprise service is designed, deployed and operated with you, under contract. Open, on the main site - Open tier - Dataset cards Enterprise, on this site - Paid tiers - Residency by contract **06** The rest of the line ## Data & licensing, area by area. [Data & licensing ProductsObservations, derived layers and evidence.](https://observatory.global/data-products/products/) [Data & licensing TiersResearch, commercial, enterprise, government.](https://observatory.global/data-products/tiers/) [Data & licensing PublicationRoutes from licensed to open release.](https://observatory.global/data-products/publication/) [Data & licensing ResidencyWhere data lives, fixed by contract.](https://observatory.global/data-products/residency/) ## Bring us the site. Survey, design, deployment and operation for api. The form names who receives your details. [Talk to us](https://observatory.global/contact/) [contact@observatory.global](mailto:contact@observatory.global?subject=Data%20%26%20licensing%3A%20API) [Nexus Observatory](https://observatory.global/)**Data & licensing** . Grid data, licensed for your use.[Talk to us](https://observatory.global/contact/) Data & licensing - [Products](https://observatory.global/data-products/products/) - [Tiers](https://observatory.global/data-products/tiers/) - [API](https://observatory.global/data-products/api/) - [Publication](https://observatory.global/data-products/publication/) - [Residency](https://observatory.global/data-products/residency/) Technologies - [Ingest and streaming](https://observatory.global/technologies/data/ingest-and-streaming/) - [Storage and data lakes](https://observatory.global/technologies/data/storage-and-data-lakes/) Industries - [Government](https://observatory.global/industries/) - [Cities](https://observatory.global/sectors/cities/) - [Civil resilience](https://observatory.global/industries/) - [Communities](https://observatory.global/sectors/communities/) - [Humanitarian](https://observatory.global/sectors/humanitarian/) - [Climate](https://observatory.global/industries/) - [Water](https://observatory.global/industries/) Service platforms - [Observatory Protocol](https://observatory.global/protocol/) - [Protocol & Grid](https://observatory.global/grid-services/) - [Software](https://observatory.global/software/) - [Hardware & power](https://observatory.global/hardware/) - [Sensors & instruments](https://observatory.global/sensors/) - [Connectivity](https://observatory.global/connectivity/) - [Edge compute & AI](https://observatory.global/edge-ai/) © 2026 Nexus Observatory Inc. 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