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Authentication and headers

The NWS API doesn't require an API key or authentication token. However, you must include a User-Agent header with every request to identify your app.

User-Agent requirement

The User-Agent header should include:

  1. App name and version
  2. Valid contact method (email address or website)

This allows NWS administrators to contact you if there are issues with your app or security concerns.

User-Agent: ApplicationName/Version (contact@example.com)

Examples

Simple app

User-Agent: MyWeatherApp/1.0 (myemail@example.com)

Production app 

User-Agent: WeatherDashboard/2.3.1 (support@weatherdashboard.com)

Personal project 

User-Agent: PersonalWeatherBot/1.0 (https://github.com/username/weather-bot)

What happens without a User-Agent?

The API rejects requests without a User-Agent header with a 403 Forbidden error.

Example error response

Access Denied
You don't have permission to access
"http://api.weather.gov/points/43.1566,-77.6088" on this server.
Reference #18.c968dc17.1737489616.6bd4c22

Complete request example

Here's a complete curl request with proper headers:

bash curl "https://api.weather.gov/points/40.7766,-73.8742" -H "User-Agent: MyWeatherApp/1.0 (contact@example.com)" -H "Accept: application/geo+json"

Best practices

  • Always include a user-agent with your app name and contact info
  • Use a valid email address so NWS can reach you if needed
  • Update the version number when you make significant changes to your app
  • Include your project URL if you don't want to share an email address
  • Don't use generic user-agents like "curl" or "python-requests"
  • Don't share user-agents across multiple unrelated applications

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