Into your stack and your agents.
Marketplace datasets reach the tools you already use: HTTP clients, AI agents over MCP, warehouses and BI, and Data.co Control for governed internal use.
What exists and what is planned
Status as of today. The REST API and MCP server are live with self-serve keys at app.data.co and serve live LAW.co records; bulk delivery of LAW.co data still awaits rights confirmation.
| Path | Use it for | Status |
|---|---|---|
| REST API | Applications, scripts, backends | Live — api.data.co/v1 |
| MCP server | AI agents and other MCP-compatible clients | Live — api.data.co/mcp |
| Function / tool calling | LLM apps without MCP, using the REST API as a tool | Works today with the REST API |
| Warehouse delivery | BI and analytics | Rights-gated; see private connections |
| Data.co Control | Governed internal access, policies and audit | Planned — through Data.co Control deployments |
| Official SDKs | Typed clients | Planned — not released |
One key for every path
The same scoped API key authenticates REST calls and MCP sessions, and usage from both is metered in one place. MCP needs the mcp:invoke scope in addition to each tool's resource scope, such as legal:read.
curl "https://api.data.co/v1/datasets?category=legal" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $DATACO_API_KEY"Illustrative example · final API surface documented in /docs
Common integration patterns
RAG retrieval
Call the search endpoint as one retriever next to your internal index. Keep each record's id, citation, license and retrieved time on the chunk so answers can cite it, and ground on source text rather than AI summaries.
Agents over MCP
Give an agent the Data.co MCP server. Tools such as search_case_law and get_legal_document return citation-ready results with access restrictions listed, so the agent can decide what it may quote.
Tool calling without MCP
Describe one or two REST operations as functions in your LLM framework and execute them server-side with your key. Return the full envelope so the model sees warnings and the demo flag.
Warehouses and BI
Where the license allows a copy, deliver datasets to your warehouse through a private connection and join them in your BI tool. Where it does not, query at request time and store only references.
Backend lookups
Fetch a single record by id when a user opens a matter or a document, and cache only what the license permits.
Governed access
Route agent traffic through Data.co Control gateways to apply purpose, approval and audit policies to external data alongside internal data.
Before you put an integration into production
- 1
Check access status
Call GET /v1/datasets with access=rest or access=mcp and confirm the channel you depend on is available, not still unconnected or awaiting rights.
- 2
Check the demo flag
Live records return meta.demo false. If meta.demo is true, the records are synthetic fixtures; label them in your UI or refuse to use them, and never show them as real data.
- 3
Handle errors by code
Retry 429 and 502 with backoff and Retry-After. Do not retry rights_restricted, not_entitled, missing_scope, not_configured or unsupported_operation; surface them.
- 4
Keep provenance
Store request ids and record provenance with anything you persist, so usage can be reconciled and sources cited.
- 5
Watch quotas
Monthly API, MCP and download quotas depend on your plan. Read your own usage with the usage:read scope.
Questions buyers ask
Do you have a Python or JavaScript SDK?
Not yet. SDKs are planned. Until then, the REST API works with any HTTP client, and we document raw HTTP examples.
Will there be prebuilt BI connectors?
Warehouse delivery is the planned path for BI tools. Native BI connectors are not on the published roadmap.
Do REST and MCP share limits?
Yes. Both draw from the same per-key, per-minute token bucket. MCP tool calls also count toward a separate monthly MCP quota for your plan.
Which plan do I need?
Free covers free and standard dataset tiers with small quotas. Pro ($149/month) and Business ($799/month) add premium tiers and higher quotas. Enterprise agreements cover contract-only datasets.
Can I use LAW.co data in an integration today?
Yes. LAW.co court opinions, case summaries and the citation graph are live over REST and MCP. The statute reference table is not yet populated, and bulk delivery awaits rights confirmation.
Can I call the API from a browser?
Not with a key in client code. Keys are organization credentials; call the API from your backend and pass only the results to the browser.
How do agents know what they may quote?
MCP results list access_restrictions — demo, redistribution limits, no bulk extraction, AI-derived — and AI enrichment is labeled as not citable as authority.
Get a key and start building.
API and MCP access is live. Sign up at app.data.co and create a scoped key for your organization.