pycsw

DOI

pycsw is an OGC CSW server implementation written in Python. Started in 2010 (more formally announced in 2011), pycsw allows for the publishing and discovery of geospatial metadata via numerous APIs (CSW 2/CSW 3, OpenSearch, OAI-PMH, SRU), providing a standards-based metadata and catalogue component of spatial data infrastructures. pycsw is Open Source, released under an MIT license, and runs on all major platforms (Windows, Linux, Mac OS X).

Core features

  • Lightweight, Fast - pycsw stays out of your way:

    • Just a Python library
    • Install in just 4 minutes
    • Run multiple CSW endpoints with a single install
    • Headless: no GUI, just simple, scriptable command line configuration/deployment
    • Fully compliant, transactional, extensible metadata server in 400KB
  • Flexible - Everything is callable and configurable:

    • Embed within your Python application, or use standalone
    • Deploy via mod_wsgi, Django, Flask, Pylons, or CGI
    • Integrated with popular open data portal software: GeoNode, CKAN, HHypermap, Open Data Catalog
    • Hook up to your existing metadata database, or use pycsw's native model and import your XML files
    • Choose your backend: PostgreSQL (with or without PostGIS), MySQL, or hack with SQLite
    • Manage settings in a configuration file, database, or even pass a Python dict
    • Robust, byte-level testing / continuous integration

Implemented Standards

  • Catalogue Service for the Web (CSW)
  • Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC)

pycsw News

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