generated: '2026-06-20'
method: searched
source: openapi/uk-power-networks-explore-api-v2-0-openapi.json, openapi/uk-power-networks-explore-api-v2-1-openapi.json
docs: https://ukpowernetworks.opendatasoft.com/account/api-keys/
docs_secondary:
- https://ukpn-dso.github.io/ukpyn/getting-started/
- https://github.com/UKPN-DSO/ukpyn
summary:
  types:
  - apiKey
  api_key_in:
  - query
  oauth2: false
  oidc: false
  mtls: false
  accreditation: false
model: >-
  A single API key passed as an apikey query-string parameter. There is no OAuth 2.0, no OpenID
  Connect, no mutual TLS and no accreditation regime — /.well-known/openid-configuration and
  /.well-known/oauth-authorization-server both return HTTP 404 on the API host. Because the key
  travels in the query string rather than an Authorization header it will appear in server logs,
  browser history and Referer headers; treat it as a low-sensitivity read credential and rotate it
  from the account page rather than embedding it in shared URLs.
schemes:
- name: apikey
  type: apiKey
  in: query
  parameter: apikey
  description: API key to make authenticated requests.
  applied: global (spec-level security requirement on both the v2.0 and v2.1 documents)
  sources:
  - openapi/uk-power-networks-explore-api-v2-0-openapi.json
  - openapi/uk-power-networks-explore-api-v2-1-openapi.json
anonymous_access:
  supported: true
  scope: >-
    The whole catalogue surface answers anonymously — dataset listing, dataset metadata, facets and
    the DCAT-AP export. Records answer anonymously for 36 of the 136 catalogued datasets; the other
    99 return HTTP 403 ForbiddenAccess until a key is supplied. Verified 2026-07-27 by enumerating
    every dataset_id and issuing an anonymous records call against each.
  rate_limit: 10000 calls per day (x-ratelimit-limit header on an anonymous 200)
onboarding:
  gate: self-serve
  approval_required: false
  cost: free
  steps:
  - Create a free account at https://ukpowernetworks.opendatasoft.com/signup/
  - Sign in and open https://ukpowernetworks.opendatasoft.com/account/api-keys/
  - Generate a key
  - Pass it on every call as the apikey query parameter
  sdk_convention: >-
    The official Python client (ukpyn) reads the key from a UKPN_API_KEY environment variable or a
    .env file rather than taking it inline.
evidence:
- source: openapi securitySchemes (both documents)
  value: '{"apikey": {"type": "apiKey", "name": "apikey", "in": "query"}}'
- source: https://ukpowernetworks.opendatasoft.com/account/api-keys/
  http_status: 200
  fetched: '2026-07-27'
  note: Redirects to /login/?next=/account/api-keys/ when unauthenticated.
- source: https://ukpowernetworks.opendatasoft.com/.well-known/openid-configuration
  http_status: 404
  fetched: '2026-07-27'
- source: https://ukpowernetworks.opendatasoft.com/.well-known/oauth-authorization-server
  http_status: 404
  fetched: '2026-07-27'
related:
  scopes: null
  conventions: conventions/uk-power-networks-conventions.yml
  well_known: well-known/uk-power-networks-well-known.yml