> This page is for version 1.0.0 (Latest) (default).
> For other versions, use one of these documentation indexes:
> - 1.0.0 (Latest) (default): https://docs.nvidia.com/nim/metadata-api/1.0.0/llms.txt

> For clean Markdown of any page, append .md to the page URL.
> For a complete documentation index, see https://docs.nvidia.com/nim/metadata-api/llms.txt.
> For AI client integration (Claude Code, Cursor, etc.), connect to the MCP server at https://docs.nvidia.com/nim/metadata-api/_mcp/server.

# NIM Metadata API Prerequisites

> Confirm what you need before your first NIM Metadata API request, including the base URL, the identifiers for a NIM microservice, and metadata coverage expectations.

Review the following requirements before you make your first request to the NIM
Metadata API. The read endpoints are open, so the requirements are limited to an
HTTP client and the identifiers for the NIM microservice you want to inspect.

## Hardware

Reading metadata requires no GPU and no particular hardware. Any machine that
can issue an HTTPS request can query the API, because the service returns
recorded facts rather than running inference.

You do need details about the GPUs you intend to deploy on, because those values
are what you compare the profiles against. The following table describes the
hardware details to collect:

| Detail                   | How to Obtain It                                            |
| ------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------- |
| GPU PCI identifier       | Run `lspci -nn \| grep -i nvidia` on Linux.                 |
| vRAM per GPU             | Run `nvidia-smi --query-gpu=memory.total --format=csv`.     |
| Number of available GPUs | Count the devices you intend to dedicate to the deployment. |
| NVIDIA driver version    | Run `nvidia-smi --query-gpu=driver_version --format=csv`.   |

For the procedure that uses these values, refer to
[Choose a Profile for Your Hardware](/nim/metadata-api/guides/choose-a-profile).

## Software

The following table describes the software you need:

| Requirement  | Details                                                                                                                                |
| ------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| HTTP client  | Any HTTP client, such as curl, Postman, or the HTTP library for your language. The examples in this documentation use curl and Python. |
| JSON parsing | Responses use the `application/json` media type. Parse permissively so that unrecognized keys do not cause a failure.                  |

## Network Access

Requests go to the following base URL:

```text
https://api.ngc.nvidia.com/v2
```

All examples in this documentation use this host.

## Credentials

You do not need credentials. The endpoints that use the HTTP `GET` method are
open, so you do not need any of the following:

* An NGC API key
* An NGC account
* An NVIDIA AI Enterprise license or any other subscription

Metadata is readable for any NIM microservice whose metadata has been published,
whether or not you are entitled to download that NIM microservice. This is
deliberate, because the purpose of the API is to let you evaluate a NIM
microservice before you commit to it.

> **Note**
>
> Access to the metadata is not the same as access to the NIM microservice.
> Being able to read the profiles for a NIM microservice does not grant you the
> right to pull the container. Pulling still follows the normal entitlement
> rules for that container.

## NIM Microservice Identifiers

Every request needs two things: which container, and which tag. You can find
both on the NGC Catalog page for the NIM microservice.

### Resource Identifier

A `resourceId` identifies the container. It is a slash-separated path in one
of the following forms:

* `{org}/{repo-name}`, which has two segments
* `{org}/{team-name}/{repo-name}`, which has three segments

Both forms are valid. The form that applies depends on whether the repository
for the NIM microservice sits directly under the organization or inside a team
within it. The service fixes the organization segment, and for public NIM
microservices it is `nim`.

The following table describes both forms:

| NIM Microservice Repository                   | Resource Identifier              |
| --------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------- |
| `openfold3` under the organization root       | `nim/openfold3`                  |
| `llama-3.1-8b-instruct` under the team `meta` | `nim/meta/llama-3.1-8b-instruct` |

### Tag

The tag is the container tag, exactly as it appears in the catalog, such as
`1.2.0`, `2.0.12`, or `latest`.

> **Tip**
>
> If you can pull the container as
> `nvcr.io/nim/meta/llama-3.1-8b-instruct:2.0.12`, then your `resourceId` is
> `nim/meta/llama-3.1-8b-instruct` and your tag is `2.0.12`.

## Metadata Coverage

Metadata is attached to a NIM microservice when it is published, so coverage
grows as NIM microservices are released and re-released. Not every NIM
microservice has metadata today. NIM microservices published before this API
launched in September 2026 generally do not have API-backed metadata, and will
not until they are republished.

A NIM microservice without metadata returns a 404 status code. That is a normal,
expected response rather than an error in your request. For guidance on
distinguishing it from other 404 responses, refer to
[Troubleshooting](/nim/metadata-api/troubleshooting). For guidance on handling it in an
integration, refer to
[Notes for Automated Agents](/nim/metadata-api/guides/automated-agents).

## Pre-Request Checklist

Confirm the following before you make your first request:

* **HTTP client**: You have an HTTP client that can issue a request that uses
  the `GET` method.
* **Network access**: You can reach `https://api.ngc.nvidia.com/v2` from your
  network.
* **Resource identifier**: You have the `resourceId` for the NIM
  microservice, with either two or three segments and no colon in the value.
* **Tag**: You have the container tag as a separate value, not appended to the
  `resourceId`.
* **Status code handling**: You accept a 404 status code as a normal outcome
  that indicates no published metadata.

## Next Steps

Now that you have confirmed the requirements, explore the following resources:

* **Make your first request**: [Quickstart](/nim/metadata-api/get-started/quickstart)
* **Understand the response**:
  [Core Concepts Overview](/nim/metadata-api/about/core-concepts)
* **Look up an endpoint**: [Endpoints](/nim/metadata-api/reference/endpoints)