How to add and host data in MapTiler Server

This article shows how to add packages of geographical data to MapTiler Server and how to set up the process of data hosting.

Follow these steps to build a map with MapTiler Server:

Get your data

Three main ways how to obtain data for your map project are:

Download MapTiler Data

Navigate to the MapTiler Data.

Go to the Downloads section.

Here browse by dataset or continent → country → region, alternatively, you can search for your preferred location.

When you have your area of interest selected, click on the Download button for all datasets you want to get:

• OpenStreetMap for buildings, roads, natural phenomenons, administrative boundaries, and much more
• Contour lines for vector contours
• Hillshade for raster hill shading
• Satellite raster tiles for color-toned satellite imagery

Bear in mind, that other datasets like Satellite 2021, Terrain RGB,
Terrain 3D - Cesium quantized mesh, MapTiler Planet Lite, or Landcover are only available for downloading the whole Planet.

Alternatively, you can click on the Custom Region option to get areas that are not specified in our selection.

Generate your own using MapTiler Engine

MapTiler Engine is able to process your raster images and vector data into map tiles. If you need to turn your geodata into map tiles, read this how-to for raster tiles and this how-to for vector tiles.

Get geodata from somewhere else

MapTiler Server is able to serve MBTiles and GeoPackage files generated by third-party software. 

Upload the data to the server

Uploading content to a remote server can be annoying. MapTiler Server supports direct upload from its web administration interface. Either drag and drop it in the list area or use the upload button.
The following file formats are supported:

• tiles - mbtiles or geopackage data are uploaded directly into $workingDirectory

• MapTiler Data starter pack - zip containing:

  • tiles data - extracted directly into $workingDirectory

  • maps - extracted into $workingDirectory/maps

  • fonts - extracted $workingDirectory/fonts

• maps - yourMap.zip containing style.json and sprites will be extracted under $workingDirectory/maps/yourMap/

MapTiler Server working directory can be specified during installation (Windows) / servicification (Linux) or as a CLI parameter <code>--workDir during on server run. In this directory, server configuration config.json is created and it is the place for map data you want to serve.

When your data is uploaded, you have to publish it to be available for your users.

To do so, go to the Tiles tab, and click on Publish button for each dataset you wish to be published.

Style the vector tiles

If you have vector tiles and want to use them (or rasterize) you need to define how the map will look like via map styles.

Read the standalone how-to, to learn more.

Use your maps

By clicking on the Details for each map style, you will get:

• Embeddable viewer that you can use in an iframe
• JSON style you can use in OpenLayers or Mapbox GL JS viewers or mobile SDK
• XYZ and TileJSON for Leaflet
• WMTS or WMS service for desktop GIS applications like ArcGIS or QGIS
• Vector TMS for Tableau data visualizations

Useful links

MapTiler Server Pricing
Download MapTiler Server