A specialized technical skill for querying, analyzing, and visualizing live Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) economic and social datasets.
Install & Download
1. ClawHub CLI
The fastest way to install a skill directly from the registry.
npx clawhub@latest install abs-data-api
2. Manual Installation
Copy the skill folder to one of these locations
~/.openclaw/skills/ <project>/skills/ Priority: Workspace > Local > Bundled
3. Prompt Installation
Copy this prompt to OpenClaw to install it automatically.
Help me install abs-data-api using Clawhub. If Clawhub is not installed, install it first (npm i -g clawhub).
Prefer to download?
Get the raw skill files in a ZIP archive.
What is ABS Data API Skill?
The ABS Data API skill is a robust data retrieval and analysis tool designed for AI agents to interface directly with the Australian Bureau of Statistics. It enables users to query over 1,200 dataflows using natural language, transforming complex SDMX patterns into human-readable insights. This Openclaw Skills integration is essential for developers and analysts requiring real-time access to Australian economic indicators like CPI, GDP, and unemployment rates.
Built with technical precision, the skill handles the heavy lifting of metadata caching, fuzzy dataset mapping, and ambiguity detection. It ensures data integrity by providing full citations, handling discontinued datasets gracefully, and applying correct statistical notation, such as percentage-point deltas for growth measures. Whether you need a quick macro snapshot or a detailed time-series CSV, this skill provides a professional-grade bridge to Australia's official statistical provider.
ABS Data API Skill Use Cases
- Tracking inflation trends and Consumer Price Index (CPI) changes for economic reporting.
- Analyzing labor market health including unemployment, participation rates, and wage growth.
- Monitoring national and state-level population statistics, births, deaths, and migration.
- Generating automated economic briefings and macro-snapshots for executive stakeholders.
- Comparing industry-specific business turnover and retail trade indicators across different time periods.
How ABS Data API Skill Works
- Dataset Identification: The agent uses fuzzy search or a curated catalog to map natural language queries to specific ABS dataflow IDs and versions.
- Dimension Mapping: The skill determines the necessary dimension keys (e.g., Region, Measure, Frequency) using validated presets or by fetching the Data Structure Definition (DSD).
- Live Query Execution: It executes a request to the ABS SDMX REST API, handling versioning and period filtering automatically.
- Data Processing: Raw API responses are parsed to apply friendly labels, render human-readable dates, and calculate statistical changes.
- Response Delivery: The formatted data is returned as text, markdown tables, JSON, or visualized charts, always accompanied by a formal ABS citation.
ABS Data API Skill Setup
To initialize the ABS Data API within your Openclaw Skills environment, follow these steps to prepare the local cache and metadata:
# Install dependencies (ensure matplotlib is available for charts)
pip install matplotlib
# Warm the metadata cache (required once, auto-refreshes every 24h)
python3 scripts/abs_cache.py refresh
# Generate unified metadata from catalog and overrides
python3 scripts/abs_cache.py gen-metadata
# Verify the installation by running a test on a common indicator
python3 scripts/test_presets.py --preset unemployment-rate
ABS Data API Skill Data Schema & Taxonomy
The skill organizes its operations through a structured set of scripts and reference files to ensure high data fidelity:
| Component | Description |
|---|---|
presets.json |
20+ pre-configured and validated queries for major economic indicators. |
metadata.generated.json |
Unified lookup table combining live API data and local overrides. |
abs_cache.py |
Manages the local storage of |
references/ |
Contains SDMX patterns, dimension codes, and human-readable catalogs. |
JSON outputs include both raw codes (e.g., "TSEST": "20") and descriptive labels ("TSEST_label": "Seasonally Adjusted") for maximum compatibility.
ABS Data API Skill Advanced Features
- Smart Ambiguity Detection: Classifies user queries by frequency, geography, and measure to provide clarifying questions when multiple datasets match.
- Macro-Snapshot Engine: A single-command feature that aggregates 7 key economic indicators into a unified briefing.
- Percentage-Point Fix: Automatically detects rate-based data to use 'pp' notation, preventing misleading relative percentage calculations.
- Automated Citations: Generates analyst-grade source footnotes including Catalogue numbers and REST URL references.
- Visualization Support: Integrated plotting capabilities to generate PNG charts with latest-point annotations and subtitle context.
SKILL.md
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