DigitalOcean Metadata API Reference
Complete reference documentation for the Metadata API for Droplets.
How to Access Information about a Droplet using the Metadata API
Validated on 22 Nov 2024 • Last edited on 24 Jan 2025
DigitalOcean Droplets are Linux-based virtual machines (VMs) that run on top of virtualized hardware. Each Droplet you create is a new server you can use, either standalone or as part of a larger, cloud-based infrastructure.
Metadata is a DigitalOcean service that allows a Droplet to access data about itself.
Droplets can access the metadata service using the special, static, link-local IP address 169.254.169.254. This allows you to use the same commands on different Droplets without needing to change the destination IP address.
Access Droplet Metadata
You can query the metadata API from a Droplet by sending an HTTP GET request to a metadata endpoint. For example, this curl command sends an HTTP GET request to the top level of a Droplet’s metadata endpoint, /metadata/v1/:
curl http://169.254.169.254/metadata/v1/interfaces/public/0/ipv4/addressThis returns an index of the available Droplet metadata:
id
hostname
user-data
vendor-data
public-keys
region
interfaces/
dns/
floating_ip/
tags/You can think of this index like a directory listing. Items in the index without a trailing slash represent data, and items with a trailing slash are nested indexes. You can further curl into the indexes to see more entries.
For example, you can retrieve the Droplet’s public IPv4 address:
curl -s http://169.254.169.254/metadata/v1/interfaces/public/0/ipv4/addressFull documentation of the metadata service and its endpoints are available in the Droplet metadata API reference.