specification: FinOps Framework
specificationVersion: '1.0'
schema: https://www.finops.org/framework/
alignedWith:
  framework: FinOps Foundation Framework
  frameworkUrl: https://www.finops.org/framework/
  dataSpec: FOCUS
  dataSpecVersion: '1.3'
  dataSpecUrl: https://focus.finops.org/focus-specification/v1-3/
provider: US Department of Commerce
providerId: us-department-of-commerce
publisherName: U.S. Department of Commerce
serviceCategory: Government Open Data
created: '2026-05-04'
# Provenance stamped 2026-08-11: this artifact was written by the API Evangelist
# bulk sweep dated 2026-05-04, not harvested from the provider. See roadmap#35.
method: generated
modified: '2026-05-05'
reconciled: true
tags:
  - Federal Government
  - Open Data
  - FinOps
  - FOCUS
description: 'FinOps shape for U.S. Department of Commerce APIs: free public data services accessed through api.data.gov. There is no commercial billing surface; FinOps focuses on quota stewardship rather than dollar cost.'
sources:
  - https://api.data.gov/docs/developer-manual/
  - https://api.data.gov/about/
billingModel:
  pricingCategory: Free Public Service
  billingFrequency: None
  billingCurrency: USD
  chargeCategories: []
focusColumns:
  ServiceName: US Department of Commerce APIs
  ServiceCategory: Government Open Data
  ProviderName: U.S. Department of Commerce
  PublisherName: U.S. Department of Commerce
  InvoiceIssuerName: U.S. Department of Commerce
  BillingCurrency: USD
  ChargeCategory: Usage
meters:
  - name: api_requests
    description: Requests counted against the api.data.gov per-key hourly rate-limit budget
    unit: request
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - api_key
      - bureau
  - name: rate_limit_remaining
    description: Remaining requests in the current rolling hour, surfaced via X-RateLimit-Remaining
    unit: request
    aggregation: max
principles:
  - name: Visibility
    description: Track consumption via X-RateLimit-Limit and X-RateLimit-Remaining response headers from api.data.gov; there is no usage dashboard since the service is free.
  - name: Allocation
    description: Allocate by issuing distinct api.data.gov API keys per team, application, or environment so request budgets are attributable.
  - name: Optimization
    description: Cache responses on the consumer side and request a higher per-key rate limit from api.data.gov before adding parallel keys; consider Census/NOAA bulk download endpoints when iteration over an API would burn the hourly budget.
  - name: Accountability
    description: Owner is the application team holding the api.data.gov key; consumers should monitor 429 OVER_RATE_LIMIT errors and review whether higher limits are warranted.
maintainers:
  - FN: Kin Lane
    email: kin@apievangelist.com