# UK ONS Datasets — Official Statistics Catalogue (`alaudinburki/uk-ons-datasets`) Actor

The UK Office for National Statistics dataset catalogue as flat rows — id, title, summary, keywords and last update. Free public API, no key.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/alaudinburki/uk-ons-datasets.md
- **Developed by:** [alaudin burki](https://apify.com/alaudinburki) (community)
- **Categories:** Developer tools
- **Features:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $1.00 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## UK ONS Datasets — Official Statistics Catalogue

The UK Office for National Statistics dataset catalogue as flat rows — id, title, summary, keywords
and last update. Free public API, no key.

### What you get

`title`, `summary`, `unit`, `keywords`, `lastUpdated`, `nationalStatistic`, `releaseFrequency`,
`contact`, `url`, `id`.

### Sample output

```json
{ "title": "CPIH: Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers' housing costs",
  "keywords": ["inflation", "prices"], "nationalStatistic": true,
  "releaseFrequency": "monthly" }
```

### Limitations

- **A catalogue, not the figures.** Each entry describes a dataset; the actual observations are behind
  the version link, which is returned but not followed.
- **The host is `api.beta.ons.gov.uk`** — the beta endpoint ONS publishes today. If they promote it,
  this URL changes.
- `nationalStatistic` marks the accredited series, which matters for citation.
- `release_frequency` is free text and inconsistently formatted.
- Search matches titles and summaries loosely; browse with no search term to see everything.

### Pricing

Pay per result.

### Fields

| Field | Type | What it holds |
|---|---|---|
| `title` | string | Title as the source writes it. |
| `summary` | string | Short human-readable summary of this row. |
| `unit` | string | The unit the measure is expressed in, as the dataset's own metadata states it. |
| `keywords` | string | Keywords, joined into one string. |
| `lastUpdated` | string | ISO 8601 timestamp of the last change seen. |
| `nationalStatistic` | boolean | Whether the dataset is badged as a National Statistic, which carries a published quality commitment. Not the same as being official. |
| `releaseFrequency` | string | How often the dataset is released, as the publisher states it. |
| `contact` | string | Contact details the publisher gives for questions about the dataset. |
| `url` | string | The URL this row describes. |

# Actor input Schema

## `search` (type: `string`):

Optional words to match in dataset titles and summaries.

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Stop after this many rows.

## `maxPages` (type: `integer`):

Stop after this many pages.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "maxItems": 500,
  "maxPages": 5
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

One row per item, with the 9 fields listed under Views.

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "maxItems": 500,
    "maxPages": 5
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("alaudinburki/uk-ons-datasets").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "maxItems": 500,
    "maxPages": 5,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("alaudinburki/uk-ons-datasets").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "maxItems": 500,
  "maxPages": 5
}' |
apify call alaudinburki/uk-ons-datasets --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,alaudinburki/uk-ons-datasets"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/jjndFWGgWsGSZlpKs/builds/4PYao0HaVtCTitm8e/openapi.json