DataSF is a central clearinghouse for datasets published by the City & County of San Francisco. The site allows you to find datasets in several ways: general search, tags/keywords, categories, and rating. The goal is to improve access to city data through open machine-readable formats. While the number and quality of datasets is increasing, we recognize there is much more that we can do. You can help by rating and commenting on existing datasets or by telling us what datasets we should make available to the public.

If you are a government organization and want to learn how to create a similar site, we have shared (see end of page for links) the underlying open source technology, our policies and procedures.

The DataSF website has these features:

• Comment on a dataset
• Rate a dataset
• Search for datasets
• Save datasets

Getting started

If you are new to this site, the first step is to Register.

Once registered, you will need to log in to participate and contribute to the DataSF website; if you are not, you will prompted to log in.

Comment on a dataset

First, you must be logged in to contribute to the DataSF website; if you are not, you will prompted to log in. To share your thoughts on a dataset:

1. Click 'Comment' to share your thoughts on the dataset
2. A word of warning: once submitted, your comment will be published on the site immediately, and cannot be edited, only retracted by a moderator
3. With that in mind, click Submit comment to publish it

Rate a dataset

Any user (registered or not) can rate a dataset from 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent). The dataset's current rating is displayed at all times and you can add your own rating when you view a dataset. To rate, click on a star. Your vote is added immediately.

Note that you cannot change your rating once it is submitted.

Search for datasets

Datasets and comments can be found by keyword search or browsing.

1. Type a word into the search box in the top right hand corner of the page
2. Click Search
3. Any datasets that contains your keyword (either in the dataset description, tags or comments) will be displayed

You can search by browsing categories or tags:

1. Click a topic in the 'Categories' area in the top of the page (e.g. Housing, 311, etc)
2. A list of datasets relevant to that category will be displayed
3. Results are sortable by highest rated, newest (most recent), and oldest

If you can't find what you're looking for, please submit a suggestion for the dataset.

Save datasets or Subscribe to a category

If you want to keep an eye on a particular dataset, we have a couple of options for you. If you click on 'Save' located near the bottom of the dataset description it will appear in your profile page under the 'Saved' tab along with any of your other saved datasets.

You can also subscribe to a category by clicking on the RSS icon