Drift Forecasting API for Maritime Platforms

Add probabilistic drift forecasting to your maritime software, SAR workflows, or oil spill response systems with a developer-friendly API built for real operations.

Create missions, poll status, retrieve results, and download operational outputs like GeoJSON, PDF, KML, Shapefile, and more — without managing forcing data, model execution, or result processing yourself. Aldadrift is built as an API-first platform for time-critical drift forecasting.

Start with the API View starter repo

See API docs

Used for Search and rescue • Fleet safety • Oil spill response • Maritime platforms • Incident systems
What you get Global coverage • Fast operational turnaround • REST API • Probabilistic outputs • GIS-ready downloads

Built for teams that need drift forecasts fast

Most drift forecasting solutions are too slow, too manual, or too difficult to integrate. Aldadrift gives maritime teams and software companies a faster way to operationalize drift prediction through a modern REST API.

Instead of building your own stack for ocean data, wind forcing, particle simulation, and export generation, you can call the Aldadrift API and plug results directly into your own product or workflow. Aldadrift is designed for SAR coordinators, maritime professionals, oil spill responders, and developers building maritime platforms.

  • Launch forecasts with less operational overhead
  • Add drift intelligence without building model infrastructure
  • Support SAR, spill response, and object drift workflows
  • Deliver outputs your operators can actually use

Need more context before integrating? Review pricing or see a real-world example in Drift Forecasting in the Strait of Hormuz.

Everything you need to integrate drift forecasting

Create missions

Send a last known position, time, object or oil parameters, and forecast duration to create a new mission.

Poll mission status

Track mission progress through the processing lifecycle until results are ready.

Retrieve results

Get result metadata (centroid, particle count, etc.) and a list of downloadable assets with key and name. No S3 paths—use the key to download.

Download outputs

Download each asset by key via GET .../results/download/{assetKey}. Asset keys include pdf, contour_50, contour_90, contour_100, netcdf, shapefile, kml, and more. Some are role-restricted.

A simple API flow your team can ship quickly

1

Create a mission

Use the programmatic endpoint to submit a forecast request.

POST /api/v1/programmatic/missions
2

Poll for status

Check mission progress until the run is complete.

GET /api/v1/programmatic/missions/{id}/status
3

Fetch results

Get result metadata (centroid, particle count, etc.) and a list of downloadable assets. Each asset has a key and name; use the key for step 4.

GET /api/v1/programmatic/missions/{id}/results
4

Download the files you need

Download a single asset by key (e.g. pdf, contour_50, netcdf). Use the keys returned from the results endpoint.

GET /api/v1/programmatic/missions/{id}/results/download/{assetKey}

Aldadrift uses asynchronous mission processing, so your application can create a forecast and continue operating while the simulation and results pipeline run in the background. Mission progress is designed to be polled programmatically. List available assets from GET .../results, then download each with GET .../results/download/{assetKey}.

A concrete request and response flow

Search intent for API pages is usually practical: developers want to see what a request looks like, what comes back, and how to move from mission creation to operational downloads.

Create a mission

Use an API key, send a forecast request, and keep the mission id for status polling and result retrieval. Valid Leeway object types are available from GET /api/v1/programmatic/data/leeway-object-types.

curl -X POST "https://app.aldadrift.com/api/v1/programmatic/missions" \
  -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "MOB alert 2026-03-16T12:00Z",
    "modelType": "leeway",
    "objectType": "<leeway-object-type>",
    "lastKnownLat": 63.985,
    "lastKnownLon": -21.102,
    "lastKnownTime": "2026-03-16T12:00:00Z",
    "forecastHours": 24,
    "ensembleSize": 500,
    "uncertaintyRadiusM": 250
  }'

Read the results payload

When the mission is complete, the results endpoint returns a compact summary plus the asset keys you can download individually.

{
  "missionId": "9d3399a6-2f98-4d80-9c17-3ef53c7f9d8a",
  "createdAt": "2026-03-16T12:01:11Z",
  "centroidLat": 63.972,
  "centroidLon": -20.887,
  "centroidTime": "2026-03-17T12:00:00Z",
  "particleCount": 500,
  "strandedCount": 18,
  "computationTimeSeconds": 41.8,
  "assets": [
    { "key": "pdf", "name": "Report", "contentType": "application/pdf" },
    { "key": "contour_50", "name": "Contour 50%", "contentType": "application/geo+json" },
    { "key": "drift_animation_mp4", "name": "Animation MP4", "contentType": "video/mp4" }
  ]
}

Poll mission status

Your application can stay responsive while the forecast runs asynchronously in the background.

curl "https://app.aldadrift.com/api/v1/programmatic/missions/MISSION_ID/status" \
  -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY"

Download a single asset by key

Use the asset keys returned from GET .../results to fetch just the output your workflow needs.

curl -L "https://app.aldadrift.com/api/v1/programmatic/missions/MISSION_ID/results/download/pdf" \
  -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -o report.pdf

Use it in the workflows that matter most

Search and rescue

Automatically launch drift forecasts from man-overboard alerts, last known positions, or emergency response tools.

Fleet safety systems

Embed forecasting into vessel safety software, incident systems, and compliance workflows.

Oil spill response

Run OpenOil missions, model trajectories, and retrieve outputs for response planning and reporting.

Maritime software platforms

Add forecasting to AIS tools, maritime dashboards, and external products without becoming an ocean modeling team.

Support for SAR and oil spill workflows

Leeway

Designed for search and rescue, drifting objects, vessels, and person-in-water scenarios.

OpenOil

Designed for oil spill response, including oil-type support and advanced API-only seed options for more complex release scenarios.

Aldadrift supports both Leeway and OpenOil models through the same platform. OpenOil missions can include oil types and multi-seed API requests, while Leeway missions use validated object types aligned with the underlying modeling workflow.

Results that fit real response and GIS workflows

Forecasts are only useful if they can move into the rest of your operation. Aldadrift produces outputs that are ready for mapping, reporting, and sharing.

Call GET .../results (for a given mission id) to get result metadata and an assets list (each with key, name, and optional contentType). Then download a file with GET .../results/download/{assetKey}. Available asset keys include:

pdf contour_50 contour_90 contour_100 netcdf geojson shapefile kml geotiff drift_animation_mp4 drift_animation_gif

NetCDF, shapefile, and KML downloads require operator or admin access. The Swagger spec lists all supported asset keys.

Start faster with the Aldadrift API starter repo

The aldadrift-api starter repo gives developers a practical way to get moving quickly. It includes Python and curl examples, a quick-start flow, API key guidance, and sample mission patterns for scripts, dashboards, incident systems, and pipelines.

  • Python client
  • curl and shell examples
  • Quick-start setup
  • Mission lifecycle examples

If you are comparing implementation paths, you can pair the starter repo with the live Swagger docs and evaluate commercial fit on the pricing page.

Link to full Swagger docs

View starter repo Read the API docs

Built for programmatic access

Programmatic access uses API keys, while the web application uses session-based authentication. API keys are accepted on the /api/v1/programmatic/* routes and are intended for operator or admin access levels. This separation keeps browser usage and system integrations cleanly separated.

Add drift forecasting to your product without building the backend yourself

Aldadrift gives maritime software teams a faster way to ship professional drift forecasting. Launch missions, track progress, retrieve results, and deliver operational outputs through a platform built for emergency response, maritime safety, and decision support.

Get API access Start with GitHub

Frequently asked questions

What is the Aldadrift API?

Aldadrift is a drift forecasting API that lets maritime platforms, SAR systems, and spill response tools create and retrieve probabilistic drift forecasts through REST endpoints. It is built as an API-first SaaS platform with web and programmatic access.

What can I build with it?

You can use it for man-overboard workflows, vessel and object drift analysis, oil spill trajectory modeling, incident systems, maritime dashboards, and other operational tools that need drift forecasting.

How do developers authenticate?

Programmatic requests use the X-API-Key header. API keys are created in the Aldadrift app and used on the /api/v1/programmatic/* routes.

What outputs are available?

GET .../results returns result metadata and an assets array (each asset has key and name). Use GET .../results/download/{assetKey} to download a file. Asset keys include pdf, contour_50/90/100, netcdf, geojson, shapefile, kml, geotiff, and animations. NetCDF, shapefile, and KML require operator or admin.

Does Aldadrift support oil spill forecasting?

Yes. Aldadrift supports OpenOil missions alongside Leeway missions. OpenOil workflows include oil types and advanced API support for seed-based release modeling.

Is there a quick-start or sample code?

Yes. The aldadrift-api starter repo includes Python and curl examples, quick-start guidance, and integration patterns for developers.