Every single dataset on Nasdaq Data Link is available via our API. The API is simple, consistent and completely free to use. Here’s a quick and easy guide to get you started.
This is not meant to be a formal reference for the Nasdaq Data Link API; merely a quick-start guide. To read the complete and definitive documentation, please click here.
To start using the Nasdaq Data Link API:
Sign up for a free API key
Synopsis
Here is an API call for FB stock data in CSV format:
https://data.nasdaq.com/api/v3/datasets/WIKI/FB/data.csv
Here is the same call, with some additional parameters appended:
The second call gets FB stock data, but only column 4 (closing prices); it skips column names, truncates the data at 3 rows, selects only data between 2012-11-01 and 2013-11-30, arranges the dates in ascending order, down-samples daily data to quarterly, and computes percentage changes.
Usage Rules
API usage is free for registered users; just append your API key to your call like this:
https://data.nasdaq.com/api/v3/datasets/WIKI/FB/data.csv?api_key=YOURAPIKEYHERE
You can find your API key on your Nasdaq Data Link account settings page.
(For concision, we will not be including the api_key parameter in the remaining examples on this page).
Time-Series Codes
To download a dataset, you will need to know its “Time-Series Code”. In the above example, you downloaded a dataset with the code “WIKI/FB”.
Every code has 2 parts: the database code (“WIKI”) which specifies where the data comes from, and the dataset code (“FB”) which identifies the specific time series you want.
You can find Time-Series Codes on our website, using our data browser.
Data Formats
You can get data in CSV, XML or JSON formats. Just append your preferred format to your Time-Series or Table Code.
Data Manipulation
You can customize the data you receive by passing optional parameters with your API call. Here are some of the available options:
| Sort Order | Use
“order=asc|desc” to specify the order in which data is returned |
| Date Range | Use
“start_date=yyyy-mm-dd” and/or “end_date=yyyy-mm-dd” |
| Specific Columns | Use
“column_index=m” to return only data from column m |
| Truncated Rows | Use
“rows=n” to return only the first n rows of data |
| Data Only | Use
“exclude_column_names=true” to return only data rows in CSV |
| Data Frequency | Use
“collapse=none|daily|weekly|monthly|quarterly|annual” to sample observations at your desired frequency |
| Data Arithmetic | Use
“transform=none|diff|rdiff|cumul|normalize” Use to get changes, % changes, cumulative sums, or returns from 100 |
To see a full list of options and their detailed behavior, please visit our API reference.
Getting Metadata
You can use the API to get metadata for the dataset you need, in JSON format, like this:
https://data.nasdaq.com/api/v3/datasets/WIKI/FB/metadata.json
Or if you prefer XML format, like this:
https://data.nasdaq.com/api/v3/datasets/WIKI/FB/metadata.xml
You can get both data and metadata in one call like this:
https://data.nasdaq.com/api/v3/datasets/WIKI/FB.json
Or this:
https://data.nasdaq.com/api/v3/datasets/WIKI/FB.xml
Downloading Lots of Data in One Call
For premium (subscriber-only) databases, you can download the entire database in a single call, like this:
https://data.nasdaq.com/api/v3/databases/YC/data?download_type=complete
If you just want the last day’s worth of data, do this:
https://data.nasdaq.com/api/v3/databases/YC/data?download_type=partial
Getting a list of datasets or databases
For a list of all databases on Quandl, do this:
https://data.nasdaq.com/api/v3/databases
For a list of datasets in a given database, do this:
https://data.nasdaq.com/api/v3/databases/WIKI/codes.json
Full Reference
This is not meant to be a complete reference for the Nasdaq Data Link API. See our full API documentation for that.
