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Search for ONS time series

Source: R/ons_search.R
ons_search.Rd

Searches the ONS catalogue for time series matching a keyword or phrase. Returns CDID codes, titles, and dataset information that can be used with ons_get().

Usage

ons_search(query, limit = 10L)

Source

https://www.ons.gov.uk

Arguments

query

Character. Search term (e.g. "GDP growth", "unemployment").

limit

Integer. Maximum number of results to return (default 10, maximum 50).

Value

A data frame with columns:

cdid

Character. The four-character CDID code.

dataset_id

Character. The ONS dataset identifier.

title

Character. Description of the series.

release_date

Character. Date of the most recent release.

See also

Other data access: clear_cache(), ons_get()

Examples

# \donttest{
op <- options(ons.cache_dir = tempdir())
try(ons_search("GDP growth"))
#>    cdid dataset_id
#> 1  KB82        PN2
#> 2  KB82        QNA
#> 3  IHYS       UKEA
#> 4  IHYT        QNA
#> 5  IHYS        QNA
#> 6  MNF4        PN2
#> 7  MNF4        QNA
#> 8  IHYT        PN2
#> 9  MNF3        QNA
#> 10 IHYO        PN2
#>                                                             title
#> 1                                   Revisions to GDP CVM growth %
#> 2                                   Revisions to GDP CVM growth %
#> 3                         GDP Deflator: Year on Year growth: SA %
#> 4                   GDP Deflator: Quarter on quarter growth: SA %
#> 5                         GDP Deflator: Year on Year growth: SA %
#> 6                   GDP Deflator: Quarter on quarter growth: SA %
#> 7                   GDP Deflator: Quarter on quarter growth: SA %
#> 8                   GDP Deflator: Quarter on quarter growth: SA %
#> 9                         GDP Deflator: Year on Year growth: SA %
#> 10 Gross Domestic Product: q-on-q4 growth quarter growth: CP SA %
#>                release_date
#> 1  2026-02-12T00:00:00.000Z
#> 2  2026-09-29T23:00:00.000Z
#> 3  2026-09-29T23:00:00.000Z
#> 4  2026-09-29T23:00:00.000Z
#> 5  2026-09-29T23:00:00.000Z
#> 6  2026-08-12T23:00:00.000Z
#> 7  2026-09-29T23:00:00.000Z
#> 8  2026-08-12T23:00:00.000Z
#> 9  2026-09-29T23:00:00.000Z
#> 10 2026-08-12T23:00:00.000Z
options(op)
# }