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Geocoder

Additional Developer Resources
Looking for the Search SDK for Android?
The Mapbox Search SDK for Android is the recommended way to access the Mapbox Geocoding API on the Android platform.

The Mapbox Geocoding API does two things: forward geocoding and reverse geocoding. Forward geocoding lets you convert location text into geographic coordinates, and reverse geocoding turns geographic coordinates into place names.

You'll find the wrapper for the Mapbox Geocoding API in the mapbox-java-services module. MapboxGeocoding is used to request both forward and reverse geocoding information. Forward geocoding will take a String, such as a street address or point of interest, and transform it into a Point object. Reverse geocoding does the opposite, taking in a Point object and transforming it into an address. The amount of detail provided in the response varies. For example, one response might contain a full address while another response will only contain the city and country.

For more information about this API, including its pricing structure, see the Mapbox Geocoding API documentation. The API documentation contains all available parameters including some that are not listed in this guide.

Before using this wrapper, make sure you have included the correct permissions inside of your AndroidManifest.xml file if you plan to use this API inside of an Android application.

Geocoding request​

Before making a geocoding request, you must build the MapboxGeocoding object by passing in two required parameters: a valid Mapbox access token and a location query (typically an address or description). Many other parameters are available to help bias and manipulate the response that you receive.

If you are using the Mapbox geocoder to find locations around the user's location, you can use proximity() and pass in their location as a Point object to bias results to around their location.


MapboxGeocoding mapboxGeocoding = MapboxGeocoding.builder()
  .accessToken(MAPBOX_ACCESS_TOKEN)
  .query("1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW")
  .build();

Geocoding response​

Once you have built your MapboxGeocoding object with all the parameters that you want to use in the request, you need to asynchronously send the request using enqueueCall(). Once the request receives a response, it will tell the callback where you can handle the response appropriately.

Use mapboxGeocoding.cancelCall() within your onDestroy() lifecycle method in case your user leaves the activity or application before the callback is notified.


mapboxGeocoding.enqueueCall(new Callback<GeocodingResponse>() {
	@Override
	public void onResponse(Call<GeocodingResponse> call, Response<GeocodingResponse> response) {

		List<CarmenFeature> results = response.body().features();

		if (results.size() > 0) {

		  // Log the first results Point.
		  Point firstResultPoint = results.get(0).center();
		  Log.d(TAG, "onResponse: " + firstResultPoint.toString());

		} else {

		  // No result for your request were found.
		  Log.d(TAG, "onResponse: No result found");

		}
	}

	@Override
	public void onFailure(Call<GeocodingResponse> call, Throwable throwable) {
		throwable.printStackTrace();
	}
});

Reverse geocoding​

The process of turning coordinates into a String address is called reverse geocoding. Instead of supplying the builder with a String address you'd pass in coordinates instead. Handling the response is like forward geocoding. While the geocoder gives one coordinate, the response will often give you multiple valid ways to describe the specific location. For example, one might be the street name while another result will be the country. The ordering of the list usually goes from most relevant to least.

You can narrow the response like forward geocoding by biasing the result using the available parameters provided in the builder.


MapboxGeocoding reverseGeocode = MapboxGeocoding.builder()
        .accessToken(MAPBOX_ACCESS_TOKEN)
        .query(Point.fromLngLat(-77.03655, 38.89770))
        .geocodingTypes(GeocodingCriteria.TYPE_ADDRESS)
        .build();

// The result of this reverse geocode will give you "Pennsylvania Ave NW"

Batch geocoding​

Batch requests have the same parameters as normal requests, but can include more than one query by separating queries with the ; character. The mode parameter also needs to use MODE_PLACES_PERMANENT. You can do up to 50 forward or reverse geocoding queries in a single request. The response is an array of individual geocoder responses formatted the same as individual results. Each query in a batch request counts individually against your account's rate limits.

Note: If you're interested in batch geocoding, contact Mapbox sales.


MapboxGeocoding client = MapboxGeocoding.builder()
	.accessToken(MAPBOX_ACCESS_TOKEN)
	.mode(GeocodingCriteria.MODE_PLACES_PERMANENT)
	.query("20001;20009;22209")
	.baseUrl(mockUrl.toString())
	.build();
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