Technical Details
How the Automation Works
Shutdown Tracker is the single best page to check if the U.S. government is shut down. We combine two official data sources to determine shutdown status. Here's the logic, APIs, and decision flow.
Why Two Sources?
The OPM operating status API tracks DC-area federal office status — whether offices are open or closed for weather, emergencies, etc. It does not track funding lapses. During a partial shutdown (e.g., DHS unfunded while other agencies are fine), OPM can still say "Open" because DC offices are technically open. That's why we also check Congress.gov for appropriations bill status.
Decision Logic
Status is determined in this order:
- 01OPM says shutdown — Full shutdown. OPM's summary includes "lapse in appropriations" or "government shutdown".
- 02OPM says open, but Congress shows funding lapse — Partial shutdown. We check if key appropriations bills (e.g., DHS) have been enacted. If not, those agencies are unfunded.
- 03Both say open — Government operating normally.
Source 1: OPM Operating Status
The U.S. Office of Personnel Management provides a public JSON feed of the Washington, DC area federal government operating status.
We look at the StatusSummary field. If it contains "lapse in appropriations", "funding lapse", or "government shutdown", we treat it as a full shutdown.
Source 2: Congress.gov API
Congress.gov provides machine-readable bill status. We query the actions for key appropriations bills (e.g., DHS H.R. 7147) and check if any action includes "Became Public Law" or "Signed by President". If not enacted, that agency has a funding lapse.
API Base
https://api.congress.gov/DHS Appropriations Bill
https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/7147Additional Congress.gov Endpoints
These endpoints could add more detail or accuracy in future updates:
/bill/.../summaries— Official bill summaries to describe what each appropriations bill covers./bill/.../relatedbills— Find related continuing resolutions (CRs) that may extend funding for specific agencies./law/{congress}— Verify enacted bills appear as public laws once signed./committee-meeting— Upcoming hearings (e.g., agency heads testifying on shutdown impact)./crsreport— Congressional Research Service reports on funding gaps and shutdown history.
Our Combined API
We expose a single endpoint that merges both sources. Use it for integrations.
/api/statusReturns JSON with status (open | shutdown), partialShutdown, unfundedAgencies, and source metadata.
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