Getting started

Note: You no longer need a key to access the DigitalNZ API. For more information see API docs v3.

So you want to create a new application using DigitalNZ content? Here are a few tips to get you going.

Consider the available data

At DigitalNZ we collect metadata about New Zealand's digital content. Metadata is information that describes a particular item, like its title, the name of its creator, or the date it was produced. Understanding what we've got will help you figure out what you can do.

Via the API you can submit a query to our search and it will return information about the various New Zealand-related images, audio, video, magazines, documents, and web pages that we aggregate from our content partners.

The quality and availability of the metadata varies considerably, but in general you can get access to this kind of information:

Title
Description
URL to the item
URL to a thumbnail
Publisher
Creator
Date
Location
Language
Rights information

Find more detail about the metadata in our documentation and swaggerhub

You can get a feel for the info in the search and can find further details about the metadata in our:

Please also check out the Developer API Terms of Use which explain how you are allowed to use the metadata.

Review the beginner's guide to data mashups

Here's a helpful intro to data mashups.

Take a look at some code samples

Our library of code samples provides inspiration and guidance from other programmers on consuming the API.

Get coding