The ground rules.

CivicGrid is an independent project operated by Mayowa Babatola ("Kwami"), referred to here as "we". It provides information about the leadership of United States cities through this website and an API. The service is in beta: features, coverage, and limits may change as it grows.

• You need an account to get an API key. Give a real email address so we can reach you.
• Keep your keys secret. You are responsible for requests made with your keys. If a key leaks, revoke it from your dashboard and create a new one.
• One account per person or organization. Do not create extra accounts or keys to get around your limits.

Each tier has daily and per minute limits, listed on the API page. Requests over a limit are refused with HTTP 429. Please cache responses you reuse; city leadership changes slowly, so there is rarely a reason to request the same data more than a few times a day.

All tiers are currently free. If we introduce paid plans, we will tell you in advance, and we will never charge you without your agreement.

You agree not to:

• overload the service, or try to bypass rate limits, authentication, or other protections;
• probe, scan, or test the security of the service without our written permission;
• scrape the website as a substitute for the API;
• use the data to harass, threaten, or impersonate anyone, including public officials; or
• use the service for anything unlawful.

We may suspend or revoke keys that break these rules or put the service at risk. Where we can, we will contact you first.

The leadership records are compiled from official public sources and checked as described in our methodology. You may use the data in your own websites, apps, research, and reporting, including commercial products.

• Please credit CivicGrid where practical, for example "Data: CivicGrid (civicgrid.org)".
• Do not resell or republish the dataset as a whole, or offer it as a competing data service or API.

We work hard to keep records accurate, but officials change, elections happen, and sources can be wrong or out of date. Each record shows when it was last checked and verified. Confirm with the city's official source before relying on a record for anything important, such as legal notices or deadlines. If you find an error, please report a correction.

The service and data are provided "as is" and "as available", without warranties of any kind, including fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy, or uninterrupted availability, to the extent the law allows.

To the extent the law allows, we are not liable for indirect, incidental, or consequential losses, or for lost profits or data, arising from your use of the service. Our total liability for any claim is limited to the greater of the amount you paid us in the 12 months before the claim or US$50.

You can stop using CivicGrid and delete your account at any time. We may change, suspend, or end the service or your access, with notice where reasonable. Sections 5 to 10 continue to apply after access ends.

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Maryland, United States. Our Privacy Policy explains how we handle personal information. If we change these terms we will update the date above, and for significant changes we will email account holders. Questions: hello@civicgrid.org.