Datascope forms Python API Docs | dltHub

DataScope is a forms and field-data collection platform exposing a REST API to retrieve form definitions, answers/submissions, locations, metadata lists and generated files. The REST API base URL is https://www.mydatascope.com/api/external and all requests require an API key provided in the Authorization header..

dlt is an open-source Python library that handles authentication, pagination, and schema evolution automatically. dlthub provides AI context files that enable code assistants to generate production-ready pipelines. Install with uv pip install "dlt[workspace]" and start loading Datascope forms data in under 10 minutes.

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What data can I load from Datascope forms?

Here are some of the endpoints you can load from Datascope forms:

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How do I authenticate with the Datascope forms API?

DataScope uses API keys. Include your API key in every request using the Authorization header exactly as the key string (e.g. Authorization: b1cd93mfls9fdmfkadn23).

1. Get your credentials

1. Sign in to your DataScope account. 2) Open the developer/webhooks or integrations section (developer portal). 3) Register/create a new API key. 4) Copy the generated token and store it securely.

2. Add them to .dlt/secrets.toml

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[sources.datascope_forms_source]
api_key = "your_api_key_here"

dlt reads this automatically at runtime — never hardcode tokens in your pipeline script. For production environments, see setting up credentials with dlt for environment variable and vault-based options.

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How do I set up and run the pipeline?

Set up a virtual environment and install dlt:

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uv venv && source .venv/bin/activate
uv pip install "dlt[workspace]"

1. Install the dlt AI Workbench:

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dlt ai init --agent <your-agent> # <agent>: claude | cursor | codex

This installs project rules, a secrets management skill, appropriate ignore files, and configures the dlt MCP server for your agent. Learn more →

2. Install the rest-api-pipeline toolkit:

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dlt ai toolkit rest-api-pipeline install

This loads the skills and context about dlt the agent uses to build the pipeline iteratively, efficiently, and safely. The agent uses MCP tools to inspect credentials — it never needs to read your secrets.toml directly. Learn more →

3. Start LLM-assisted coding:

Use /find-source to load data from the Datascope forms API into DuckDB.

The rest-api-pipeline toolkit takes over from here — it reads relevant API documentation, presents you with options for which endpoints to load, and follows a structured workflow to scaffold, debug, and validate the pipeline step by step.

4. Run the pipeline:

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python datascope_forms_pipeline.py

If everything is configured correctly, you'll see output like this:

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Pipeline datascope_forms_pipeline load step completed in 0.26 seconds
1 load package(s) were loaded to destination duckdb and into dataset datascope_forms_data
The duckdb destination used duckdb:/datascope_forms.duckdb location to store data
Load package 1749667187.541553 is LOADED and contains no failed jobs

Inspect your pipeline and data:

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dlt pipeline datascope_forms_pipeline show

This opens the Pipeline Dashboard where you can verify pipeline state, load metrics, schema (tables, columns, types), and query the loaded data directly.

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Python pipeline example

This example loads answers and locations from the Datascope forms API into DuckDB. It mirrors the endpoint and data selector configuration from the table above:

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import dlt
from dlt.sources.rest_api import RESTAPIConfig, rest_api_resources

@dlt.source
def datascope_forms_source(api_key=dlt.secrets.value):
    config: RESTAPIConfig = {
        "client": {
            "base_url": "https://www.mydatascope.com/api/external",
            "auth": {
                "type": "api_key",
                "api_key": api_key,
            },
        },
        "resources": [
            {"name": "answers", "endpoint": {"path": "v2/answers"}},
            {"name": "locations", "endpoint": {"path": "locations"}}
        ],
    }
    yield from rest_api_resources(config)


def get_data() -> None:
    pipeline = dlt.pipeline(
        pipeline_name="datascope_forms_pipeline",
        destination="duckdb",
        dataset_name="datascope_forms_data",
    )
    load_info = pipeline.run(datascope_forms_source())
    print(load_info)

To add more endpoints, append entries from the resource table to the "resources" list using the same name, path, and data_selector pattern.

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How do I query the loaded data?

Once the pipeline runs, dlt creates one table per resource. You can query with Python or SQL.

Python (pandas DataFrame):

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import dlt

data = dlt.pipeline("datascope_forms_pipeline").dataset()
sessions_df = data.answers.df()
print(sessions_df.head())

SQL (DuckDB example):

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SELECT * FROM datascope_forms_data.answers LIMIT 10;

In a marimo or Jupyter notebook:

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import dlt

data = dlt.pipeline("datascope_forms_pipeline").dataset()
data.answers.df().head()

See how to explore your data in marimo Notebooks and how to query your data in Python with dataset.

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What destinations can I load Datascope forms data to?

dlt supports loading into any of these destinations — only the destination parameter changes:

Change the destination in dlt.pipeline(destination="snowflake") and add credentials in .dlt/secrets.toml. See the full destinations list.

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Troubleshooting

Authentication failures

If you receive 401 Unauthorized, verify that the Authorization header contains the exact API key string (no Bearer prefix). Ensure the key is active and has not been revoked.

Rate limits / Too Many Requests

Status 429 indicates you are being rate‑limited. Retry with backoff. Reduce request frequency or request larger date ranges with pagination (limit/offset).

Pagination and limits

Answers endpoint defaults to limit 200 and supports offset for pagination (max range 90 days for date filters). Use limit and offset query parameters to page through older submissions.

Ensure that the API key is valid to avoid 401 Unauthorized errors. Also, verify endpoint paths and parameters to avoid 404 Not Found errors.

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Next steps

Continue your data engineering journey with the other toolkits of the dltHub AI Workbench:

• data-exploration — Build custom notebooks, charts, and dashboards for deeper analysis with marimo notebooks.
• dlthub-runtime — Deploy, schedule, and monitor your pipeline in production.

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dlt ai toolkit data-exploration install
dlt ai toolkit dlthub-runtime install

• How to deploy a pipeline
• How to explore your data in marimo Notebooks
• How to query your data in Python with dataset
• Join the dlt community on Slack