Official networks, one API
Candhis, Meteo France, NOAA/NDBC, Sofar Ocean, Vegagerdin, and other active buoy networks feed the same API.
REST APIDocs live - keys by invitation
The Buoy API
Real-time and historical ocean buoy data for developers. Use read-only GET endpoints to list active buoys, search by country or geography, retrieve historical readings, and build chart time series.
terminal
$ curl -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \ "https://thesurfkit.com/api/v2/buoys?country=FR&per_page=5"
{
"status": "success",
"data": {
"buoys": [
{
"id": 12,
"name": "Anglet",
"slug": "anglet",
"source": "Candhis",
"last_reading": {
"significient_height": 1.8,
"maximum_height": 2.4,
"period": 9.5,
"direction": 285,
"water_temperature": 14.2,
"time": "2026-03-27T08:00:00Z"
}
}
],
"count": 28
},
"meta": {
"page": 1,
"per_page": 5,
"total_pages": 6
}
}What the published API covers
The public docs currently focus on buoy discovery, latest readings, and historical retrieval.
Reading fields
- significient_height
- maximum_height
- period
- direction
- water_temperature
Queries and filters
- country=FR
- bounds={north,south,east,west}
- near=lat,lng + radius
- query=anglet
- lat/lng nearest lookup
Conventions
- GET-only endpoints
- Authorization: Bearer <api_key>
- {status, data, meta}
- X-RateLimit-* headers
- page / per_page / total_pages
Published buoy endpoints
The official reference currently documents nine read-only GET endpoints for listing, searching, locating, and reading buoy data.
| Method | Endpoint |
|---|---|
| GET | /api/v2/buoys |
| GET | /api/v2/buoys/{buoy_id} |
| GET | /api/v2/buoys/last_readings |
| GET | /api/v2/buoys/search |
| GET | /api/v2/buoys/nearest |
| GET | /api/v2/buoys/{buoy_id}/readings |
| GET | /api/v2/buoys/{buoy_id}/readings/search |
| GET | /api/v2/buoys/{buoy_id}/readings/{reading_id} |
| GET | /api/v2/buoys/{buoy_id}/readings/chart |
A simpler public API
The live docs describe a focused buoy API with predictable payloads and public discovery endpoints.
Latest readings included
GET /buoys already returns each buoy with its latest reading, which makes country and region bootstrapping a one-call flow.
Consistent status/data/meta
List, search, nearest, and reading endpoints use the same envelope so client parsing stays simple.
Country and geographic lookup
Filter with country, bounds, or near + radius, or jump straight to /buoys/nearest for coordinate-based lookup.
Historical and chart endpoints
Use /readings, /readings/search, /readings/{reading_id}, and /readings/chart for drill-down and time series retrieval.
Public docs, invite-only auth
The reference is public at docs.labouee.app. Authenticated calls use Bearer keys, while search and nearest stay public.
Global buoy network coverage
The published docs highlight official sources such as Candhis, Meteo France, NOAA/NDBC, Sofar Ocean, Vegagerdin, and other active buoy networks.
Observation network
CANDHIS
France
Observation network
Cefas WaveNet
United Kingdom, Ireland
Observation network
Instituto Hidrográfico
Portugal
Observation network
ISPRA Rete Ondametrica Nazionale
Italy
Forecast service
Météo-France
France
Observation network
NOAA NDBC
United States, Global
Observation network
Puertos del Estado
Spain
Observation network
Queensland Waves
Australia
Observation network
SHOA
Chile
Observation network
Sofar Ocean
Global
Observation network
Vegagerðin
Iceland
Built for Any Wave Data Application
From surf apps to oceanographic research, our wave buoy data API powers a wide range of products.
Surf Apps
Power surf condition checks with real-time wave height, swell period, and buoy readings.
Coastal Monitoring
Build wave monitoring tools for harbors, marinas, coastal engineering, and offshore operations.
Oceanographic Research
Access historical wave buoy readings for climate studies, wave modeling, and machine learning.
IoT & Hardware
Connect devices to live wave buoy data for alerting, displays, and automation.
Frequently Asked Questions
The public docs currently call out sources such as Candhis, Meteo France, NOAA/NDBC, Sofar Ocean, Vegagerdin, and other active buoy networks. The website keeps the broader source directory, while the API reference stays focused on the published buoy endpoints.
Authenticated v2 requests use Authorization: Bearer <api_key>. The docs also allow api_key as a query parameter for constrained environments, but recommend the Authorization header. API keys are currently issued by invitation.
Yes. GET /api/v2/buoys/search and GET /api/v2/buoys/nearest do not require authentication and can be tested before you have credentials.
GET /api/v2/buoys returns a paginated list of buoys and already embeds last_reading for each result. You can also filter by country, source, bounds, or near + radius without needing a second request for the latest measurement.
Yes. Use GET /api/v2/buoys/{buoy_id}/readings for paginated history, /readings/search to find the closest reading to a target time, and /readings/chart for chart-ready time series.
Use bounds for a bounding box, near plus radius for radial filtering, or /api/v2/buoys/nearest with lat/lng to resolve the closest active buoy. The list endpoint also supports country filtering.
The documented buoy endpoints use a consistent JSON envelope with status, data, and meta. Pagination and timestamps live in meta, and authenticated responses also include X-RateLimit-* headers.
Yes. The official docs live at docs.labouee.app with a quickstart, authentication guide, use-case guides, and a published API reference for the buoy endpoints.
The default quota is 1,000 requests per hour. Responses expose X-RateLimit-Limit, X-RateLimit-Remaining, and X-RateLimit-Reset, and 429 responses include retry_after when the quota is exceeded.
Start with the public docs, test search or nearest if you do not have credentials yet, then request API access when you are ready to call the authenticated endpoints.
Docs live - keys by invitation
Get API Access
The docs are public. Request credentials when you are ready to call authenticated endpoints beyond the public search and nearest lookup.