API Reference

Patching Datasets

Version: 4.1
Updated: 17th August 2026

Overview

The dataset PATCH API is used to edit page content and metadata.
It is distinct from the file upload API.

It accepts a JSON Patch body which is applied to the dataset JSON. Edits to immutable fields will be ignored.

Users with the editor role can patch any field.
Users with the uploader role can only patch resources, links, nextReviewDate, createdAt and updatedAt. Patching anything else returns 403.

Note

Metadata fields such as dataset.updatedAt are not automatically updated.
You should manually patch the path /updatedAt with an ISO 8601 timestamp, or leave it intact to make silent updates.

Note

All edits will be recorded in the Audit Log.

PATCH

https://data.website/api/v3/dataset/:id

Path Parameters

:id

5-character ID of the dataset, eg. "ab12x"

string

Required

HTTP Headers

Authorization	API key with editor permissions.	string	Required
Content-Type	Must be "application/json". Most clients will set this automatically.	string	Required

HTTP Return Codes

200	Returns the updated dataset JSON.
400	Returns a JSON object explaining the error.
403	API key does not have editor permissions, or an uploader attempted to edit locked metadata.
404	The dataset does not exist.

Example 1: Edit the title

import requests, os, json

api_key = os.getenv("DATAPRESS_API_KEY")
dataset_id = "20abc"

headers = { "Authorization": api_key }
patch = [
    {
        "op": "replace",
        "path": "/title",
        "value": "Title has been updated"
    }
]

url = f"https://data.website/api/v3/dataset/{dataset_id}"

# This will submit the patch with the header "Content-Type: application/json"
response = requests.patch(url, json=patch, headers=headers)
print(json.dumps(response.json(), indent=2))

{
  "dataset": {
    "id": "20abc",
    "title": "Title has been updated",
    // [...full JSON structure...]
  },
  // The JSON Patch operations that were actually applied:
  "applied": [
    { "op": "replace", "path": "/title", "value": "Title has been updated" }
  ]
}

Example 2: 400 Bad Request

The API will return a 400 Bad Request code if the patch is invalid. The error message provides more information.

For example, this script attempts to set the title to an empty string:

import requests, os, json

# This patch is invalid:
# It attempts to set the title to an empty string.
patch = [
    {
        "op": "replace",
        "path": "/title",
        "value": ""
    }
]

url = f"https://data.website/api/v3/dataset/20abc"

# This will submit the patch with the header "Content-Type: application/json"
headers = { "Authorization": os.getenv("DATAPRESS_API_KEY") }
response = requests.patch(url, json=patch, headers=headers)

print(f"// HTTP Status Code: {response.status_code}")
print(f"// Status Message: {response.reason}")
print("// Response JSON body:")
print(json.dumps(response.json(), indent=2))

// HTTP Status Code: 400
// Status Message: There are validation errors.
// Response JSON body:
{
  "url": "/api/v3/dataset/20abc",
  "statusCode": 400,
  "statusMessage": "There are validation errors.",
  "message": "There are validation errors.\n* title: This field is required",
  "data": [
    {
      "code": "too_small",
      "minimum": 1,
      "type": "string",
      "inclusive": true,
      "exact": false,
      "message": "This field is required",
      "path": [
        "title"
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Example 3: Add a new link

The dataset.resources and dataset.links objects automatically generate unique 3-character IDs for new entries.

Valid IDs are:
- 3-character strings from the alphabet: bcdefghjklmnpqrstvwxyz0123456789
- A UUID validated by Zod.
Anything else is an invalid ID which will be overwritten.
- In typical use, adding to /links/_ will cause the API to generate the ID for you.
The new link will be added to the end of the dataset page.

import requests, os, json

patch = [
    {
        "op": "add",
        "path": "/links/this_id_is_overwritten",
        "value": {
          # Valid link JSON goes here. Minimal keys are "url" and "title":
          "url": "https://datapress.com/docs/api",
          "title": "DataPress API Reference"
        }
    }
]

url = f"https://data.website/api/v3/dataset/20abc"
headers = { "Authorization": os.getenv("DATAPRESS_API_KEY") }

# This will submit the patch with the header "Content-Type: application/json"
response = requests.patch(url, json=patch, headers=headers)

print(json.dumps(response.json(), indent=2))

{
  "dataset": {
    // [...full JSON structure]
    "links": {
      // The ID of the new field:
      "gn9": {
        "url": "https://datapress.com/docs/api",
        "title": "DataPress API Reference",
        "order": 2,
        "description": "",
        // Immutable, server-generated:
        // (The QA data is refreshed every 24 hours).
        "qa": {
          "hash": null,
          "size": null,
          "mimetype": "text/html; charset=utf-8",
          "timestamp": "2025-01-27T18:21:56.938Z",
          "httpStatus": 404
        }
      }
    }
  }
}