# CSW Support

## Versions

pycsw supports both CSW 2.0.2 and 3.0.0 versions by default. In alignment with the CSW specifications, the default version returned is the latest supported version. That is, pycsw will always behave like a 3.0.0 CSW unless the client explicitly requests a 2.0.2 CSW.

The sample URLs below provide examples of how requests behaves against various/missing/default version parameters.

    http://localhost/csw  # returns 3.0.0 Capabilities
    http://localhost/csw?service=CSW&request=GetCapabilities  # returns 3.0.0 Capabilities
    http://localhost/csw?service=CSW&version=2.0.2&request=GetCapabilities  # returns 2.0.2 Capabilities
    http://localhost/csw?service=CSW&version=3.0.0&request=GetCapabilities  # returns 3.0.0 Capabilities

## Request Examples

The best place to look for sample requests is within the tests/ directory, which provides numerous examples of all supported APIs and requests.

Additional examples:

- Data.gov CSW HowTo v2.0
- pycsw Quickstart on OSGeoLive