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Welcome to the PurpleAir Data Download Tool! This tool will allow you to download PurpleAir data with no coding experience.

To learn how to use this tool, check out the Help section.

What's New:

  • Download History
    • The "Download History" tab has been added to the left sidebar
    • Details for each download request you make are recorded here.
    • Download requests previous to version 1.3.3 of the Download Tool will not be shown.

  • Bugs and Fixes:
    • Fixed a bug preventing downloads when a sensor had not reported data
    • Fixed a bug preventing private read keys from being used
    • Fixed a bug showing the wrong error message when no fields were selected
    • Updated help links and info tooltips

Help

This tool is divided into different sections, which are available on the left navigation bar.

Our API Landing Page provides an introduction to the PurpleAir API, and provides links to additional information. The API Documentation also provides in depth information about available fields.

For help using this tool, you can examine:

To get started, input your API keys in the API Keys section. These API keys will need access to historical data.

To download data, switch to the Download section and fill in the information to your liking. Hover over the small question mark '?' icons to learn about each field. Once everything is filled out, click "Get Data" to download the data. A new folder will be created in the directory you selected named "PurpleAir Download" with today's date. Inside will be a CSV file for each sensor in the download request, providing the sensor did not run into any issues. There will also be another file containing the progress logs.

If an error occured that caused the request to abort, a file will be created named "Error.log" containing the original error message.

Any field that has red text indicates that the input is invalid. Please double check the input to ensure it is correct.

This tool is still being worked on. If you encounter any issues while using it, please review the issues tab on GitLab to inform us of it. You can also send an email to contact-project+purpleair-api-clients-data-download-tool-42571353-issue-@incoming.gitlab.com.

API Keys

This section contains your PurpleAir API keys. You can view your API keys at https://develop.purpleair.com/ under the "API Keys" tab. Learn how to create API keys on our community forum.



An API read key generated by PurpleAir. This key is used for reading data from the PurpleAir database.

An API write key generated by PurpleAir. This key is used for creating groups, deleting groups, adding members to a group, and removing members from a group.

Download

This section contains a form for download specifications and a button to begin the data download process. Asterisks '*' indicate required fields.

Sensor Information

Click to upload a CSV file to autofill the "Sensor Indexes" and "Sensor Read Key" fields. Note that any sensor indexes or sensor read keys that are already added will be erased.

Valid sensor index column headers should contain either "index" or "indeces" in their name.

Valid sensor read key column headers should contain either "read" or "key" in their name.

The sensor indexes of the sensors to collect data from. Sensor indexes should be separated by commas and not include any spaces. The sensor index of a PurpleAir sensor can be found by selecting it on the PurpleAir map and scanning the URL for a short 4-6 digit code that follows the text "select=". More information is found in our Sensor Indexes and Read Keys article.

PurpleAir sensors can be registered as public or private. Sensor data reported when privately registered is only accessible by using the sensor's private read key. This is separate from an API read key.

Using private read keys is only needed if you are accessing private data. Sensor read keys should be separated by commas. Further information is in our Sensor Indexes and Read Keys article.

There are invalid characters in this sensor read key. You may be entering an API key instead. You can enter your API keys in the "API Keys" page on the left.

Data is reported as public or private, matching how the sensor is registered. Public data can be accessed using a sensor index, while accessing private data requires the sensor's read key be provided. Sensors can be re-registered at any time, meaning both public and private data can be within a sensor's history.

auto - returns data with privacy matching the sensor's current registration.
both - returns all data regardless of privacy and adds the private field to the returned data columns.

Valid values for "privacy" are "auto", "public", "private", or "both"

Request Information

The timezone for selected timestamps. Default is UTC.

The date to start collecting data from. Data will be collected from the beginning of the day. Format: MM/DD/YYYY.

The date to stop collecting data from. Sensor data on this date will NOT appear in your downloaded file. Format: MM/DD/YYYY.

The average of the data you are downloading in minutes.

The data fields to download from the specified sensors. Fields should be separated by commas and not include any spaces.

Example: "pm2.5_cf_1,temperature,humidity"

A list of available fields can be found in this community article or our API documentation under "fields".

Cost Estimate

Points Balance:
Download Cost:
Points Remaining:


The directory where the downloaded data will be saved. A new folder will be created named "PurpleAir Download" with today's date.

Selected Directory: None

Download Progress

No requests are currently being made. Come back while making a request to see its progress.


Once a request has been started, the "Reveal Directory" button below will take you to the location where the data files are being saved. This functionality will not work if a request has not been made.

Download History

A history of your download requests. When you start a new download, an entry is added to the table. Downloaded files are accessible by clicking the "Show Data" button in the rightmost column.



Date # of Sensors Average Timezone Start Date End Date # of Data Rows Fields Status Show Data

Settings

Settings for the PurpleAir Data Download Tool. Hover over the question mark '?' icon next to each field to learn about what is does.



Saves the entered API Keys so they do not need to be re-entered the next time the tool is opened.

Instead of using the delay manually specified below, the Download Tool will automatically try to use an appropriate delay for your data collection. This should avoid rate limiting

The amount of time in milliseconds between API calls. This is implemented to avoid your API keys getting rate limited. The default value is 500, but setting the delay to 1000 will ensure you never get rate limited.

Displays a more detailed breakdown on the "Download" page of the points that will be consumed.

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