# Introduction

## Welcome!

This document will give an overview of San Francisco's data publishing process; the steps you need to take to get your department's data published on the [Open Data Portal](https://datasf.org/opendata/). Not every step will be required for every dataset but in general, these are the steps you will take.

### 1. [Publishing Specifications](/data-publishing-process/publishing-specifications/kickoff.md)

This group of steps will get your dataset ready to be published. By completing them you will:

* Kick Off the process with DataSF
* Update the data Inventory and create Breadcrumbs
* Assess any privacy risks
* Assess any security risks
* Review your final data specification

### 2. [Create a data pipeline](/data-publishing-process/data-pipeline/pipeline-basics.md)

This step will move the data from your departments database to the open data portal - there are many ways to do this, but at a high level they can be broken down to manually updating your dataset or setting up an automated process.

### 3. [Writing Metadata](/data-publishing-process/metadata/intro-to-metadata.md)

This step is all about helping people understand your data and get the most out of it. We have written standard to help you do just this.

### 4. [Publishing and Maintenance](/data-publishing-process/publishing-and-maintenance/review-and-publishing.md)

You've done the hard work, this is the final review before releasing your data to the public.

{% hint style="info" %}
*For any additional questions, please reach out to:*

* **<support@datasf.org>**
* *and cc: **<datasf@sfgov.org>***
  {% endhint %}


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