ResourceSync
ResourceSync (ANSI/NISO Z39.99-2017) is a way for a harvester to keep its copy of a catalogue in step: it reads the list of everything once, then only what changed since. The Workspace offers it at the same addresses as Heratio.
The documents
| Address | What it is |
|---|---|
/.well-known/resourcesync |
The source description: where to start |
/resourcesync/capabilitylist.xml |
What is offered: the resource list and the change list |
/resourcesync/resourcelist.xml |
Every published entity, by its persistent IRI, with when it last changed |
/resourcesync/changelist.xml?from= |
What was made, changed or withdrawn since a moment |
Each is a sitemap with ResourceSync's own additions, so ordinary sitemap tools can read it too.
The change list
from takes an ISO 8601 date and time, such as 2026-11-01T00:00:00Z; without one, the list reaches 30 days back. Each entity is marked:
- created, if it was made since then;
- updated, if it was changed;
- deleted, if it was withdrawn, which ResourceSync calls deleted even though its IRI still answers that it has been withdrawn.
Paging
Both lists come 1,000 entries to a page, with ?page=2 and so on, each page linking the next and the one before. An installation can change the page size and the change list's horizon (RESOURCESYNC_PAGE_SIZE, RESOURCESYNC_CHANGELIST_DAYS).
Only what is published
As with every open interface, ResourceSync lists only what the public may read. A draft never appears, and an entity that is withdrawn appears once, as deleted.