How to publish your data on the IATI Registry

When you’ve prepared your data, place the files in an accessible online location so you can link to them from the Registry.

The Registry contains links to all published datafiles and descriptions of what data they hold. Organisations are responsible for their own data. You can store your data on your own website or server, or have it hosted by a third-party service or tool.

Wherever your files are stored, they should be openly accessible, without passwords or other barriers.

Only users with the correct permission are allowed to publish data on behalf of an organisation.

Manual publishing

Individual files

If you have only a small number of datafiles to publish – say up to five – simply log in to the Registry and select ‘Data - Register’ on the blue bar at the top of the page. This opens a form where you can enter all the required details for the IATI datafile you’re publishing.

If you’re publishing multiple files, add the details for each datafile separately.

Bulk uploads

If you have more than five datafiles to add, upload them in bulk using a CSV file, rather than adding each file individually.

Log in to the IATI Registry and select ‘Data - Upload CSV file’ on the blue bar at the top of the page. Download the CSV template and follow the link to guidance on how to fill in the template.

Then when your CSV file is complete and saved, upload it.

Automated publishing

Several publishing tools and services that you can use to prepare your files can also automatically publish them for you. Some larger organisations that handle a great deal of data with frequent updates build their own bespoke systems.

Whether you’re using a third-party tool or your own bespoke system, automatic publishing is done through an API (application programming interface). To enable this you need the unique API key assigned to your user account when you register – this grants access to the IATI system for your tools.

Each publishing tool or system guides you on how to set up automated publishing to the IATI Registry. As part of this you may be asked for:

• your Publisher ID: this is normally an abbreviation of your organisation's name. Find this on your Publisher page in the IATI Registry by clicking ‘Manage’. It also forms the last part of your Publisher page’s URL.
• your IATI Org ID: this is the unique identifier for your organisation. On your Publisher page it’s listed as the 'identifier' on the right beneath your organisation's name
• your API key: this is the unique code assigned to your user account. It’s shown in red at the foot of the right-hand column in your ‘My Account’ page.

Learn more about APIs

You can set up a system to interact with the IATI Registry using its own API, which is an implementation of the CKAN API. For details, see the full CKAN API documentation.

For further details and advice, ask on IATI Discuss or email the IATI technical team.