Introduction to HerdingCATs

HerdingCATs is a Python library designed to speed up how data analysts explore and interact with open data sources.

Purpose

The aim of this project is simple:

• Navigate the open data ecosystem
• Find the data that you need
• Load that data into a format and/or location for further analysis

Installation

PyPi package coming soon.

Once available, you can install with:

pip install HerdCats

poetry add HerdCats

uv add HerdCats

Important Notes

Herding-CATs is currently under active development.

Features will change as the project evolves.

Core Concepts

HerdingCATs follows a Session → Explorer → Loader pattern:

1. Create a session to connect to an open data source.
2. Use an explorer to browse and find the data you need.
3. Use a loader to load the data into your preferred format and/or location.

Supported Data Sources

HerdingCATs supports multiple open data sources:

• CKAN - Widely used for open data catalogues
• OpenDataSoft - Popular in Europe, especially for energy related data catalogues
• Bespoke APIs - Including French Government open data and ONS Nomis

See the Supported Catalogues page for a complete list.

More sources are being added all the time.

If you need a data source that is not listed, please raise an issue.