Metadata reference | ArcGIS REST APIs

Overview

Metadata is the information that describes an item. Metadata can be included for all items in a portal including web maps, web scenes, and web apps. Once enabled in the organization, metadata can be added to an item by uploading an xml file using the Add Item operation. Existing metadata can be updated using the Update (item) operation.

Example URL for metadata:

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https://www.arcgis.com/sharing/rest/content/items/[itemId]/info/metadata/metadata.xml?token=<token>

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https://www.organization.example.com/[context]/sharing/rest/content/items/[itemId]/info/metadata/metadata.xml?token=<token>

Enable metadata editing for the organization

In lieu of using the front-end interface, administrators can enable or disable metadata editing for the organization using the Update (org) operation's metadataEditable parameter:

Parameter Details

Parameter	Details
`metadataEditable`	Indicates if an item's metadata can be edited using the built-in metadata editor. If `metadataEditable` is `true`, the Edit Metadata button is displayed on item pages for item owners, organization administrators, and users with the necessary privileges to edit an item's metadata. Clicking the Edit Metadata button launches the built-in metadata editor. Note For more information on the privileges required to edit an item's metadata, see the Edit metadata documentation for ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Enterprise. If `metadataEditable` is `false`, the View Metadata button is viewable instead and the item's metadata cannot be edited. The View Metadata button is always viewable to organization members that do not have the required privileges to update item metadata, regardless of the value set for `metadataEditable`. The value set for this parameter does not impede an organization member's ability to edit item information. Values: `true` \| `false`

metadataEditable

Indicates if an item's metadata can be edited using the built-in metadata editor. If metadataEditable is true, the Edit Metadata button is displayed on item pages for item owners, organization administrators, and users with the necessary privileges to edit an item's metadata. Clicking the Edit Metadata button launches the built-in metadata editor.

If metadataEditable is false, the View Metadata button is viewable instead and the item's metadata cannot be edited. The View Metadata button is always viewable to organization members that do not have the required privileges to update item metadata, regardless of the value set for metadataEditable.

The value set for this parameter does not impede an organization member's ability to edit item information.

Values: true | false

Metadata styles

Administrators can add or edit the metadata style for their organization using the Update (org) operation's metadataFormats parameter:

Parameter Details

Parameter	Details
`metadataFormats`	Specifies the metadata style used for organization. For organizations created after July 2025, the default is `dcplus`. For older organizations, the default is `iso19139`. See the ArcGIS Online Metadata documentation, or the ArcGIS Enterprise Metadata in ArcGIS Enterprise for more information about each metadata style. The following metadata styles are supported: FGDC CSDGM Metadata INSPIRE Metadata Directive ISO 19139 Metadata Implementation Specification ISO 19139 Metadata Implementation Specification GML3.2 North American Profile of ISO19115 2003 ISO 19115-3 XML Schema Implementation Dublin Core+ Values: `fgdc` \| `inspire` \| `iso19139` \| `iso19139-3.2` \| `nap` \| `iso19115-3` \| `dcplus`

metadataFormats

Specifies the metadata style used for organization. For organizations created after July 2025, the default is dcplus. For older organizations, the default is iso19139. See the ArcGIS Online Metadata documentation, or the ArcGIS Enterprise Metadata in ArcGIS Enterprise for more information about each metadata style.

The following metadata styles are supported:

FGDC CSDGM Metadata
INSPIRE Metadata Directive
ISO 19139 Metadata Implementation Specification
ISO 19139 Metadata Implementation Specification GML3.2
North American Profile of ISO19115 2003
ISO 19115-3 XML Schema Implementation
Dublin Core+

Values: fgdc | inspire | iso19139 | iso19139-3.2 | nap | iso19115-3 | dcplus

Add or update metadata

In lieu of using the front-end interface, a user can also add metadata when adding a new item to their organization using the API by including a metadata file (.xml file format) as part of the request.

A user can also update existing metadata of an item by including a metadata file (.xml file format) as part of the request.

View metadata

Once metadata is added to an item, the metadata can be viewed using the following URL:

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https://www.arcgis.com/sharing/rest/content/items/[itemId]/info/metadata/metadata.xml?token=<token>

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https://www.organization.example.com/[context]/sharing/rest/content/items/[itemId]/info/metadata/metadata.xml?token=<token>

A user can also view metadata in different formats and outputs. The metadata format can be specified by including the format parameter to the request URL when viewing an item's metadata:

Parameter Details

Parameter	Details
`format`	Specifies the metadata format used to display the metadata. These formats correspond to the values listed for the `metadataFormats` parameter, described above. When specifying `default` as the metadata format, the metadata is returned in the default metadata style of the organization. If this parameter is not included in the request, the metadata XML is displayed in the ArcGIS Metadata XML format. Values: `fgdc` \| `inspire` \| `iso19139` \| `iso19139-3.2` \| `nap` \| `iso19115-3` \| `dcplus` \| `default`

format

Specifies the metadata format used to display the metadata. These formats correspond to the values listed for the metadataFormats parameter, described above. When specifying default as the metadata format, the metadata is returned in the default metadata style of the organization.

If this parameter is not included in the request, the metadata XML is displayed in the ArcGIS Metadata XML format.

Values: fgdc | inspire | iso19139 | iso19139-3.2 | nap | iso19115-3 | dcplus | default

The examples below demonstrate how to view metadata in the format specified for the organization (default) or choosing a specific metadata format (fgdc):

Default
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https://www.arcgis.com/sharing/rest/content/items/[itemId]/info/metadata/metadata.xml?format=default&token=<token>

FGDC
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https://www.arcgis.com/sharing/rest/content/items/[itemId]/info/metadata/metadata.xml?format=fgdc&token=<token>

Default
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https://www.organization.example.com/[context]/sharing/rest/content/items/[itemId]/info/metadata/metadata.xml?format=default&token=<token>

FGDC
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https://www.organization.example.com/[context]/sharing/rest/content/items/[itemId]/info/metadata/metadata.xml?format=fgdc&token=<token>

A user can also specify how to render the chosen metadata format by including the output parameter in the request URL:

Parameter Details

Parameter	Details
`output`	Specifies the output format that the metadata format will be displayed as, either XML or HTML. If this parameter is not specified in the request, the output will default to the XML format. Values: `xml` \| `html`

output

Specifies the output format that the metadata format will be displayed as, either XML or HTML. If this parameter is not specified in the request, the output will default to the XML format.

Values: xml | html

For example, a user can specify metadata of an item to be shown in FGDC format that is displayed as html output:

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https://www.arcgis.com/sharing/rest/content/items/[itemId]/info/metadata/metadata.xml?format=fgdc&output=html&token=<token>

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https://www.organization.example.com/[context]/sharing/rest/content/items/[itemId]/info/metadata/metadata.xml?format=fgdc&output=html&token=<token>

Field mapping

An itemInfo.xml file is generated for each item once the user adds elements such as a title, tags, or description. Users can also upload their own itemInfo.xml file.

The following table show the field mappings between itemInfo.xml and metadata.xml files. The data is synchronized bi-directionally.

itemInfo.xml	metadata.xml
Type	distInfo> distFormat>formatName If ISO format: distInfo>distributor>distorFormat>formatName If FGDC format: idinfo>natvform (FGDC format)
Thumbnail	Binary>Thumbnail>Data (or) Binary>Thumbnail>Data>img>@src
Tags	dataIdInfo>searchKeys>keyword If ISO format: dataIdInfo>descKey>keyword If FGDC format: Idinfo>keywords>theme>themekey
Snippet/Summary/Purpose	dataIdInfo>idPurp If FGDC format: Idinfo>descript>purpose
Description/Abstract	dataIdInfo>idAbs If FGDC format: Idinfo>descript>abstract
Scale	dataIdInfo>dataScale>equScale>rfDenom If ISO format: dqInfo>dataLineage>dataSource>srcScale>rfDenom If FGDC format: dataqual>lineage>srcinfo>srcscale
Credit	dataIdInfo>idCredit
Constraints	resConst/Consts/useLimit (or) dataIdInfo>resConst>Consts>useLimit