OGC API Tiles

OGC API - Tiles is exposed at:

/workspaces/{workspace}/ogc-tiles

Tiles.Enabled must be true globally and OGC Tiles must be enabled in the workspace. The service provides Mapbox Vector Tiles, raster map tiles, tileset metadata, and TileJSON.

Feature collections retain both vector and rendered map tiles. Published coverages and persisted layer groups are added as rendered map tiles (dataType: map) and do not advertise vector tiles. Their supplemental map TileJSON documents contain no vector_layers.

Enable globally

[Tiles]
Enabled = true
MinZoom = 0
MaxZoom = 22
TileSize = 4096
MaxFeatures = 50000
MaxVertices = 5000000
MaxTileBytes = 10485760

Enable a workspace

curl -X PUT \
  http://localhost:9000/api/v1/workspaces/acme/settings/ogc-tiles \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "enabled": true,
    "public": false,
    "title": "ACME Tiles",
    "versions": ["1.0.0"],
    "settings": {
      "tile_matrix_sets": ["WebMercatorQuad", "WorldCRS84Quad"],
      "vector_tiles": {
        "enabled": true,
        "formats": ["application/vnd.mapbox-vector-tile"]
      },
      "map_tiles": {
        "enabled": true,
        "formats": ["image/png", "image/jpeg", "image/webp"]
      },
      "cache_enabled": true,
      "persistent_cache_quota_bytes": 1073741824,
      "max_features": 50000,
      "max_vertices": 5000000,
      "max_tile_bytes": 10485760
    }
  }'

Workspace limits cannot exceed server ceilings. Vector format must be application/vnd.mapbox-vector-tile; map formats are PNG, JPEG, and WebP.

The conformance response is derived from these effective switches. Disabling vector tiles removes the MVT class; disabling PNG or JPEG removes its format class. WebP remains supported as an additive representation but is not advertised as a made-up OGC requirement class.

Discovery endpoints

Supported matrix sets are WebMercatorQuad and WorldCRS84Quad. Use the tileset metadata to discover the combinations and formats available for a collection.

Tileset item links use the OGC API Tiles Core variables {tileMatrix}/{tileRow}/{tileCol}. Their familiar XYZ equivalents are z/y/x, so the concrete numeric URL shape has not changed.

Vector tiles

curl -o tile.mvt -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  "http://localhost:9000/workspaces/acme/ogc-tiles/collections/buildings/tiles/WebMercatorQuad/10/343/550"

The path order is tileMatrix/tileRow/tileCol (equivalent to z/y/x). Vector tiles use the MVT extent configured by Tiles.TileSize and apply feature, vertex, output-size, and statement-timeout limits.

Raster map tiles

curl -o tile.png -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  "http://localhost:9000/workspaces/acme/ogc-tiles/collections/buildings/map/tiles/WebMercatorQuad/10/343/550?f=png&style=blue-polygons"

The f parameter selects an advertised image format, and style selects a workspace SLD style. Raster rendering shares styling behavior and safety limits with WMS where applicable.

The same route also portrays WCS coverages. WebMercatorQuad and WorldCRS84Quad requests are reprojected from the source coverage CRS, and an omitted style uses a normalized grayscale or conventional RGB built-in portrayal.

Coverage mosaics accept datetime (or the time alias) and elevation query parameters. Feature map tiles use the same parameters when their published dimensions have source-property bindings. Persisted layer groups use the same route and preserve their member styles, order, opacity, and optional blend modes.

TileJSON

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  "http://localhost:9000/workspaces/acme/ogc-tiles/collections/buildings/tilejson.json"

TileJSON includes templated tile URLs, bounds, zoom range, attribution metadata where available, and vector layer fields for MVT sources. TileJSON retains its own conventional {z}/{y}/{x} template variables; these are intentionally distinct from the OGC API Tiles variables in tileset metadata.

Caching and access

Workspace settings can disable all tile caching even when the global in-memory or persistent cache is enabled. When PersistentCache is enabled globally, persistent_cache_quota_bytes optionally limits this workspace; each layer, coverage, or layer group can additionally set tile_cache_quota_bytes. Zero inherits the parent limit. LRU eviction enforces resource, workspace, then global quotas.

OGC API - Tiles keeps all existing vector, rendered-map, and TileJSON routes. Its map tiles and MVT payloads share canonical generation-aware durable entries with WMTS, so a tile filled through either protocol can be served through the other. Arbitrary WMS GetMap responses are not written to the durable tile cache.

Public workspace Tiles settings allow anonymous access, but per-layer public/allowed_roles rules still filter collections and direct tile requests.

Related: WMTS · Persistent tile caching · WMS · Performance · Authentication

For native Go verification and the digest-pinned official OGC API Tiles suite, see Specification verification and OGC conformance.

Workspace map tilesets

A workspace can publish one curated map directly from its OGC API - Tiles landing page. Create a layer group with the desired ordered members and styles, then select it under Settings → OGC API - Tiles → Workspace map. The group can contain feature layers, coverages, and nested groups supported by the map renderer. Existing compositing requirements still apply.

The management settings field settings.dataset_map_layer_group_id holds the group UUID. Set it using the existing PUT /api/v1/workspaces/{workspace}/settings/ogc-tiles operation, retaining the other settings from GET. For example, add this field to settings:

"dataset_map_layer_group_id": "<layer-group UUID>"

An empty string clears the selection; omitting the field on PUT preserves it. Existing workspaces default to no selection. The group can be configured while disabled, but publication requires OGC API - Tiles, map tiles, and the group to be enabled, with an available matrix set and image format.

Clients follow the landing page’s tilesets-map link to:

The routes accept the same tile formats, styles, and time/elevation parameters as collection map tiles. They use the configured group’s exact composition and share its cache entries with equivalent collection and WMTS requests. Existing group cache jobs also warm the workspace map. Client-selected collections combinations and dataset-level vector tiles are not supported.

Map tileset metadata lists tileMatrixSetLimits for the configured zoom range. Each matrix covers its full row and column range, including empty tiles outside the published data extent.

Every member must be visible to the caller. A public Tiles endpoint does not bypass group or member permissions. Inaccessible, missing, or disabled groups are absent from discovery and return 404; cached tiles follow the same checks. The dataset-tilesets conformance class is advertised only when the workspace map is available to the caller. Datasource outages retain the normal rendering error behavior.

Renaming the selected group preserves the selection. Before deleting it, or recursively deleting a store whose resources belong to it, clear or change the workspace map selection. The deletion preview lists this blocker; deleting the entire workspace remains supported. Catalog integrity checks report broken selections, and explicit integrity repair clears those references.

Adapted from neoserver’s source documentation . Maintained independently for this website.