> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.metar.ws/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Introduction

> Near real-time aviation weather over WebSocket: METAR observations, D-ATIS reports, and numerical model forecasts.

metar.ws streams weather data over a single WebSocket connection. You subscribe to per-airport channels (stations), and the server pushes each new observation as soon as it's available and each forecast as soon as a model run is decoded.

There is no SDK to install. The API is plain JSON over a standard WebSocket connection (RFC-6455), so any client that speaks the protocol, including Python, Node.js, Go, a browser tab, or a tool like `websocat`, can connect directly.

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Quickstart" icon="rocket" href="/quickstart">
    Create an API key and receive your first message in minutes.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Authentication" icon="key" href="/authentication">
    Learn how to authenticate your WebSocket connection.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Channels Overview" icon="tower-broadcast" href="/channels/overview">
    Explore the observation, ATIS, and forecast channels.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Protocol Reference" icon="code" href="/protocol/connection-lifecycle">
    Understand every frame the server and client exchange.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Key endpoints

| Resource        | Value                         |
| --------------- | ----------------------------- |
| Stream endpoint | `wss://stream.metar.ws/v1/ws` |
| Customer portal | `https://app.metar.ws`        |
| Support         | `hello@metar.ws`              |

## What you can build

Three data namespaces power the stream:

* **METAR observations** (`metar.obs.<icao>`): official reports from roughly 50 stations across four continents.
* **D-ATIS fast lane** (`metar.atis.<icao>`): Pro-only US hub data extracted from D-ATIS broadcasts, typically minutes ahead of the official METAR mirror.
* **Model forecasts** (`metar.forecast.<tier>.<icao>`): daily max/min temperature forecasts derived from global and high-resolution numerical weather models.

<Note>
  Complete, runnable client examples in Python, Node.js, Go, and the browser are available in the [Examples](/examples/python) section.
</Note>