Linking CDC Open Data (data.cdc.gov) as a source
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Skip the manual setup — run this in your project and the wizard auto-detects your databases and APIs and connects them to PostHog.
This source is currently in alpha. The interface and available tables may change.
The CDC Open Data (data.cdc.gov) connector syncs your analytics data into the PostHog data warehouse, so you can analyze it alongside your product data.
Prerequisites
Credentials that can read the data you want to sync. PostHog only reads data, so read access is enough.
Adding a data source
- In PostHog, go to the Sources tab of the data pipeline section.
- Click + New source and click Link next to this source.
- Enter your credentials (see Configuration below) and click Next.
- Select the tables you want to sync, choose a sync method and frequency, then click Import.
Once the syncs are complete, you can start querying this data in PostHog.
Sync one or more datasets from data.cdc.gov.
Find a dataset's ID in its data.cdc.gov URL - for example 9bhg-hcku in https://data.cdc.gov/d/9bhg-hcku. Browse the full catalog at data.cdc.gov.
No account is required. Optionally, register a free Socrata app token to avoid the shared public rate limit.
You'll be asked for:
- Dataset IDs: separate multiple dataset IDs with commas or new lines. Each dataset becomes its own table.
Sync modes
Each table can be synced in one of several modes, depending on what the source supports:
- Webhook (when available) – the source pushes changes to PostHog in real time. Fastest freshness, lowest ongoing cost, and the only mode that reliably captures updates and deletes.
- Incremental – only new or updated rows are synced on each run, using a cursor field (such as an
updated_attimestamp). Cheaper than a full refresh, but deletes aren't captured. - Append only – new rows are appended using a cursor field; existing rows are never updated. Ideal for immutable, append-only tables like event logs.
- Full refresh – the whole table is reloaded on every sync. Use it when a table has no reliable cursor or when you need deletions reflected.
See sync methods for a full explanation of how each mode works and how to choose between them.
Some CDC Open Data (data.cdc.gov) tables sync incrementally, so later runs only fetch new or updated rows. The rest are full refresh.
Configuration
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
Dataset IDsType: textarea Required: True | Separate multiple dataset IDs with commas or new lines. Each dataset becomes its own table. |
App token (optional)Type: password Required: False | Lifts the shared per-IP rate limit. Leave blank to use the public pool. |
Supported tables
The tables available from this source are discovered from your account when you connect it, so the exact list depends on your data. Once connected, you can pick which tables to sync from the sources tab.
Troubleshooting
- If the connection fails with an authorization error, the app token (optional) is wrong, expired, or has been revoked. Create a new one, then reconnect the source.
- If a table syncs no rows, the credential may not have access to that data. Check its permissions, then reconnect the source.
If your sync is failing or data looks wrong, see the Data warehouse troubleshooting guide. If that doesn't help, contact support – we're happy to help.