pooch

name	pooch
description	Data file fetching and caching for geoscience applications. Download sample datasets with automatic caching, checksum verification, and multiple download sources. Use when Claude needs to: (1) Download datasets from URLs or DOIs, (2) Cache files locally with automatic verification, (3) Verify file integrity with SHA256/MD5 hashes, (4) Extract compressed archives (ZIP, TAR, GZIP), (5) Create data registries for reproducible workflows, (6) Fetch from Zenodo or other repositories.
version	1.0.0
author	Geoscience Skills
license	MIT
tags	["Data Download","Caching","Reproducibility","File Management","Pooch","Checksum","Data Registry","Scientific Data"]
dependencies	["pooch>=1.7.0"]
complements	["xarray"]
workflow_role	data-loading

Pooch - Data File Fetching

Quick Reference

import pooch

# Download single file
file_path = pooch.retrieve(
    url="https://example.com/data.csv",
    known_hash="sha256:abc123...",  # None to skip verification
    fname="data.csv",
    path=pooch.os_cache("myproject")
)

# Create registry for multiple files
REGISTRY = pooch.create(
    path=pooch.os_cache("myproject"),
    base_url="https://example.com/data/",
    registry={"data.csv": "sha256:abc123...", "model.nc": "sha256:def456..."}
)
data_file = REGISTRY.fetch("data.csv")

# Generate hash for local file
file_hash = pooch.file_hash("/path/to/file.csv")

Key Functions

Function	Purpose
pooch.retrieve()	Download single file with caching
pooch.create()	Create custom data registry
pooch.file_hash()	Generate SHA256/MD5 hash of file
pooch.os_cache()	Get OS-specific cache directory

Essential Operations

Download Files

# With hash verification
file_path = pooch.retrieve(
    url="https://example.com/data.nc",
    known_hash="sha256:abc123..."
)

# Without verification (development only)
file_path = pooch.retrieve(url="https://example.com/data.nc", known_hash=None)

# From Zenodo DOI
file_path = pooch.retrieve(
    url="doi:10.5281/zenodo.1234567/data.zip",
    known_hash="sha256:abc123..."
)