Technical · 9 min read
Geospatial API Design Best Practices for Modern Apps
REST, tiles, and streaming: design patterns that keep your geospatial API simple for clients and cheap to run.
A well-designed geospatial API is easy for clients to use and cheap to run. These patterns help you get there.
Use standard formats and URLs
Serve tiles with a consistent Z/X/Y URL pattern so any map client can plug in. Prefer COG for rasters and MVT (or similar) for vector tiles. Use GeoJSON for small vector APIs. Standards reduce integration time and let clients cache and reuse logic across providers.
Prefer streaming and tiling
Avoid “dump the whole dataset” APIs for large data. Expose tiles or extent-based queries so clients request only what they need. That keeps responses small, latency low, and egress under control. If you do offer full exports, gate them or rate-limit so they don’t dominate cost.
Document clearly
Publish base URLs, query parameters, and example requests. Document rate limits and CORS if applicable. A small OpenAPI or static doc page goes a long way. Clear docs reduce support burden and make it easy for frontend and GIS users to adopt your API.
Keep the pipeline simple
Where possible, serve directly from object storage or a thin CDN so you’re not maintaining app servers for tile traffic. Simpler pipelines mean fewer moving parts, lower cost, and fewer failure modes. Reserve application logic for things that truly need it: auth, search, or dynamic styling.