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API Documentation

Access Political Temperature Index data programmatically.

Base URL

https://politicaltemperature.com/api

Authentication

No API key required. All endpoints are free and open.

Rate Limits

Responses are cached (15 min default). Please limit requests to 60 per minute.

Endpoints

GET/api/temperature

Returns the current published temperature score with sub-index breakdown, coverage stats, momentum, and a 30-day trend array.

Parameters

No query parameters.

Response
{
  "current": {
    "date": "2026-03-17",
    "temperature": 52,
    "rawTemperature": 51.3,
    "label": "Warm",
    "delta": 2.1,
    "momentum": { "value": 1.5, "trend": "stable" },
    "volatility": 3.2,
    "summary": "Political tension rose slightly...",
    "isProvisional": false,
    "subScores": {
      "rhetoricHeat": 38,
      "coveragePolarization": 55,
      "volumeSignal": 60,
      "legislativeFriction": 42
    },
    "coverage": {
      "articles": 1200,
      "socialPosts": 850,
      "leftPct": 35,
      "rightPct": 40,
      "centerPct": 25
    }
  },
  "trend": [
    { "score_date": "2026-02-15", "temperature": 48, "label": "Warm" },
    { "score_date": "2026-02-16", "temperature": 50, "label": "Warm" }
  ]
}
Example
curl https://politicaltemperature.com/api/temperature
GET/api/drivers

Returns the top stories driving the temperature score, ranked by heat contribution. Each driver includes headline samples, story count, and left/right/center coverage split.

Parameters

ParameterTypeRequiredDescription
periodstringNo"day" (default) for today's drivers, or "week" for a 7-day aggregate with daysActive count.
Response
{
  "period": "day",
  "date": "2026-03-17",
  "drivers": [
    {
      "rank": 1,
      "name": "Senate Budget Vote",
      "storyCount": 45,
      "heatContribution": 18.5,
      "headlines": [
        "Senate passes budget resolution...",
        "Democrats and Republicans clash..."
      ],
      "contextSummary": "The Senate voted 51-49...",
      "coverage": {
        "left": 40,
        "right": 45,
        "center": 15,
        "skew": 0.05
      }
    }
  ]
}
Example
curl https://politicaltemperature.com/api/drivers
curl https://politicaltemperature.com/api/drivers?period=week
GET/api/summary

Returns AI-generated narrative summaries of the political climate. Summaries include temperature context, active events, and top drivers.

Parameters

ParameterTypeRequiredDescription
datestringNoDate in YYYY-MM-DD format. Defaults to today.
typestringNo"morning", "evening", "breaking", or "all" (default). Controls which summary types to return.
Response
{
  "date": "2026-03-17",
  "morning": {
    "id": "abc123",
    "date": "2026-03-17",
    "type": "morning",
    "summary": "Political tension sits at 52 this morning...",
    "generatedAt": "2026-03-17T11:05:00Z",
    "context": {
      "temperature": 52,
      "momentum": 1.5,
      "weekHigh": 58,
      "weekLow": 45
    }
  },
  "evening": null,
  "breaking": [],
  "all": [...]
}
Example
curl https://politicaltemperature.com/api/summary
curl "https://politicaltemperature.com/api/summary?date=2026-03-15&type=morning"
GET/api/breaking-events

Returns breaking political events detected in the last 24 hours. Filtered to critical, major, and moderate severity. Limited to 5 most recent.

Parameters

No query parameters.

Response
[
  {
    "id": "evt_001",
    "title": "Senate Passes Major Legislation",
    "severity": "major",
    "eventCategory": "legislative",
    "heatBoost": 8.5,
    "detectedAt": "2026-03-17T14:30:00Z",
    "description": "The Senate passed...",
    "contextSummary": "This vote marks..."
  }
]
Example
curl https://politicaltemperature.com/api/breaking-events
GET/api/metrics

Returns source coverage metrics including article match rates, source distribution by bias and reliability, and recommendations for improving coverage.

Parameters

ParameterTypeRequiredDescription
daysnumberNoNumber of days to analyze (1-30). Defaults to 7.
Response
{
  "period": {
    "start": "2026-03-10",
    "end": "2026-03-17",
    "days": 7
  },
  "summary": {
    "totalArticles": 8400,
    "matchedArticles": 7200,
    "matchRate": 0.857,
    "uniqueSources": 72,
    "uniqueUnmatchedDomains": 15
  },
  "sourceDistribution": {
    "byBias": { "left": 35, "center": 30, "right": 35 },
    "byReliability": { "high": 60, "medium": 30, "low": 5, "unknown": 5 }
  },
  "recommendations": ["Consider adding source X"]
}
Example
curl https://politicaltemperature.com/api/metrics
curl https://politicaltemperature.com/api/metrics?days=30
GET/api/health

Returns system health status including latest temperature, recent job execution, data freshness, and score validation.

Parameters

No query parameters.

Response
{
  "status": "healthy",
  "timestamp": "2026-03-17T15:00:00Z",
  "checks": {
    "latestTemperature": { "value": 52, "date": "2026-03-17", "ok": true },
    "staleJobs": { "count": 0, "ok": true },
    "scoreValidation": { "allValid": true, "issues": [] },
    "dataFreshness": {
      "hoursSinceLastArticle": 1.2,
      "hoursSinceLastScore": 3.5,
      "ok": true
    }
  }
}
Example
curl https://politicaltemperature.com/api/health

RSS Feed

We also provide an RSS 2.0 feed of daily temperature readings, compatible with all major feed readers.

GET /api/rss

Questions?

For API questions, bug reports, or feature requests, use our contact form or email us at politicaltemperature@proton.me.