Your geospatial metadata catalog
Publish and expose your geospatial metadata to OGC standards (CSW, OGC API – Records), INSPIRE compliant. Installed and maintained by DINAO on our French servers, GDPR compliant.
What is pycsw?
pycsw is an open-source geospatial catalog server written in Python, implementing Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) standards for discovering and exposing geographic data metadata. It is an official OSGeo (Open Source Geospatial Foundation) project.
It fully implements the OGC CSW (Catalogue Service for the Web) standard in versions 2.0.2 and 3.0, as well as OGC API – Records. pycsw supports numerous metadata schemas — ISO 19139, Dublin Core, FGDC, DIF, Atom — and the INSPIRE profile, essential for European public entities. It offers OGC filters, CQL queries, and remote catalog harvesting.
Lightweight and performant, pycsw can serve large catalogs with minimal memory footprint and supports various backends: PostGIS, SQLite/SpatiaLite, MySQL or Elasticsearch for full-text search. It integrates natively with QGIS, GeoNode, and GeoNetwork, and can be easily deployed via Docker.
Host pycsw at DINAO
Resource tiers compatible with pycsw prerequisites (minimum 1 vCPU / 512 Mo / 2 Go). Hosted in France, fully managed.
- 1 dedicated vCPU
- 2 Go RAM
- 20 GB NVMe
- Daily backups
- Managed & monitored by DINAO
- 2 dedicated vCPU
- 4 Go RAM
- 40 GB NVMe
- Daily backups
- Managed & monitored by DINAO
- 4 dedicated vCPU
- 8 Go RAM
- 80 GB NVMe
- Daily backups
- Managed & monitored by DINAO
- 8 dedicated vCPU
- 16 Go RAM
- 160 GB NVMe
- Daily backups
- Managed & monitored by DINAO
Technical details
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Other applications managed by DINAO in the same category, hosted in France and GDPR compliant.
You might be wondering…
Is pycsw INSPIRE compatible?
Yes. pycsw supports the INSPIRE metadata profile, making it a suitable choice for local authorities and public bodies required to publish their geographic data under this European directive.
Which GIS tools does it interface with?
pycsw exposes open OGC CSW and OGC API – Records standards: it integrates with QGIS, GeoNode, GeoNetwork, and any client compliant with OGC standards. It can also harvest remote catalogs.
Which storage backend should I choose?
SQLite/SpatiaLite is suitable for small catalogs, PostGIS for production volumes, and Elasticsearch provides fast full-text search for very large catalogs. DINAO advises you based on your volumes.
Where are the data hosted?
On DINAO's French infrastructure, in one of the available data centers. Your metadata and catalogs never leave the territory.
Are technical skills required?
DINAO installs, configures the backend, and manages updates. Administration and metadata import require GIS skills on the client side; we support the initial setup.
