Datapakker

Datapakker is a term used to describe a data package, a portable container that bundles data files with descriptive metadata and documentation to facilitate sharing, discovery, and reuse of data. While the exact implementation can vary, a datapakker typically aims to provide a self-contained unit that a consumer can download, inspect, and load into analysis tools without needing external context.

A datapakker usually consists of two parts: the data assets and a metadata descriptor. The data assets may include files in common formats such as CSV, JSON, Parquet, or images. The metadata descriptor, often a JSON file such as datapackage.json, lists the resources (files), their formats, schemas, encodings, and optional details like data types, column descriptions, licenses, attribution, version, and provenance. Additional documentation, such as a README, data dictionary, or method notes, may accompany the package.

The purpose of a datapakker is to improve data interchange and reproducibility. By providing structured metadata alongside the data, it helps users understand the content, quality, and limitations of the data, and it supports automated validation, loading, and processing in pipelines. Datapakkers are commonly used in open data portals, research data management, and data integration workflows, and they align with broader data packaging standards such as the Data Package specification developed by the Frictionless Data project.

Variants exist in practice, as organizations adapt the concept to their needs, using different descriptor schemas or packaging formats. In Dutch and some Dutch-speaking contexts, datapakket or datapakker is used to refer to this idea of a packaged data resource.