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Overview

Entities are the people, organizations, initiatives, campaigns, and events in Atlas. Treat them as civic actors, not just rows: the useful result is an actor plus the public sources that make the record credible. Use entity APIs when you need to answer questions like:
  • Who is working on tenant organizing in Kansas City?
  • Which organizations appear in more than one public source?
  • What source backs this actor before I publish, contact, or import it?
For exact parameters and response schemas, use the API reference.

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Start with the question

Choose the query path that matches the user’s question. Place-first search is usually the better public discovery flow because civic work is local. Global search is useful when the actor’s name or source phrase is already known.

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Search within a place

Use issue areas to focus the result set. Use multiple values to widen that one facet; combine facets such as issue, actor type, and text to narrow the result.

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Search globally

Global search is helpful when the known phrase matters more than the geography.
Use the generated reference for the exact filter names supported by the current API contract.

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Inspect sources before reuse

A matching actor is a lead. It becomes useful only when the source evidence supports the claim you plan to repeat.
Before publishing, contacting, funding, or importing a record, check:
  • The actor type matches the workflow. A campaign is different from an organization.
  • The place matches the geography you care about.
  • The issue tag is supported by sources, not only by a keyword match.
  • The source date is recent enough for the decision.
  • The excerpt supports the sentence you plan to write.
  • The record has enough independent evidence for the risk of the use case.

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Preserve the evidence chain

When you move Atlas data into another system, keep the context that made the result trustworthy. Store:
  • Atlas entity id.
  • Source ids or source URLs supporting the claim.
  • Retrieval timestamp.
  • Place and issue filters that produced the result.
  • Review state if a human has checked it.
Do not export a naked actor list and separate the evidence into another file. The source trail is part of the result.

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Writing requires authentication

Public read flows can use unauthenticated requests. Creating or updating actors requires an authenticated workflow and should preserve source evidence. Use workspace APIs when a team needs private review state, briefs, lists, Scout sync receipts, or publication decisions. Read Workspace visibility before importing records into a team workflow.

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Next steps

Research a place

Start with a local question and add coverage context.

API reference

Inspect exact endpoint parameters and response schemas.