Send Requests

Use these guidelines when sending requests using the COVID-19 Data Clearinghouse REST API.

URL Structure

Here's the URL structure for the requests:

https://covdch-api.cdc.gov/<resource-path>

Where <resource-path>: Relative path that defines the resource. For example:

/v0/token/gen

Supported Methods

You can perform basic CRUD operations (create, read, update, and delete) on a resource by using standard HTTP method requests, as summarized in the following table.

HTTP Method	Description
GET	Retrieve information about the COVID-19 Data Clearinghouse resource.
POST	Upload, export, generate authorization tokens for COVID-19 Data Clearinghouse resource.
PUT	Update the COVID-19 Data Clearinghouse resource..
DELETE	Delete the COVID-19 Data Clearinghouse resource.

Media Types

The following media types are supported by the COVID-19 Data Clearinghouse REST API:

• text/plain

• application/json

• application/zip

Supported Headers

The Data Clearinghouse REST API supports the following headers that may be passed in the header section of the HTTP request or response.

Header	Description	Example
Accept-Encoding	List of acceptable encodings to support compression.	Accept-Encoding: gzip
Content-Encoding	List of acceptable encodings to support compression.	Content-Encoding: deflate
Content-Type	Media type of the body of the request. Required for POST and PUT requests.	Content-Type: application/json

Compression

Use compression on the COVID-19 Data Clearinghouse REST resource request for improved performance. To use compression, include one of the following HTTP headers in the request: Accept-Encoding or Content-Encoding.