More from USAspending

Official material that explains the data behind the API. Worth a read before you build anything that reports numbers.

Understand the data

Background from usaspending.gov on where the numbers come from and what they mean.

How federal money moves from budget to award, in plain language.

Which government systems feed each part of the site, and how often.

How complete and timely each agency’s reporting is. The API has these as endpoints too.

The DATA Act, the site’s mission, and who runs it.

Short walkthroughs of the site. Watching the site work is the fastest way to see which calls a page needs.

Walkthroughs of Advanced Search, profiles, Spending Explorer, and downloads.

The definitions and crosswalks behind every download.

Every element and the download column it maps to, searchable here.

Federal spending terms in plain language.

Treasury’s data standard for what agencies submit, formerly called DAIMS.

Both the API and the site are open source. These docs are built from them.

The API’s source and its API Blueprint contracts.

The site’s source, which the guides trace.

The site’s release notes wiki. Shown here as release notes.

Every commit to the API contracts. Shown here as the API changelog.

The API’s own landing page and endpoint list.