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Authentication and Headers

The NWS API does not require an API key or authentication token. However, you must include a User-Agent header with every request to identify your application.

User-Agent Requirement

The User-Agent header should include:

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

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

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

Examples

Simple application

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

Production application 

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?

Requests without a User-Agent header will be rejected 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 application 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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