Glossary

Mapbox uses access tokens to associate your account with your requests to Mapbox API resources.

An annotation is a defined location on a map in the Mapbox Maps SDK for iOS.

Attribution is the combination of two visual elements that are placed on all Mapbox maps, stating that a map was created with Mapbox tools and data.

A baselayer was a map style designed in Mapbox Studio Classic. Mapbox Studio, the modern alternative to Mapbox Studio Classic, does not use baselayers.

Bearing is the direction you're facing, as measured from a compass.

A bounding box is a mechanism for describing a particular area of a map.

In maps that use Mapbox GL, the camera is a map's field of view.

CartoCSS was a language used by Mapbox Studio Classic to build classic styles. Mapbox Studio, the modern alternative to Mapbox Studio Classic, does not use CartoCSS.

A classic style was a map style made with Mapbox Studio Classic. Mapbox Studio, the modern alternative to Mapbox Studio Classic, does not use classic styles.

The CSV (comma-separated values) format can be used for mapping if the file contains geographic information.

Data-driven styling allows you to style spatial data based on its properties.

A dataset is an editable collection of GeoJSON features.

Use the dataset ID to make requests related to the dataset using the Datasets API.

The Mapbox Datasets API allows you to read, create, update, and remove datasets and dataset features.

With the Mapbox Directions API, you can add routing with turn-by-turn directions to your map.

An expression defines a formula for computing the value of any layout property, paint property, or filter within a map style.

A geospatial feature refers to an individual point, line, or polygon in a dataset or in a tileset.

Feature querying is the process by which features in a tileset are identified at a specific location.

A filter, also known as a predicate within iOS and macOS, gives you fine-grained control over the content of a style layer.

A font stack is a collection of fonts that belong to an individual layer within a style.

Geocoding is the process of taking an address or name of a place and converting it into latitude and longitude values.

The Mapbox Geocoding API performs two main tasks, forward geocoding and reverse geocoding.

GeoJSON is a file format for representing map data. Mapbox web services and APIs serve geospatial data as GeoJSON.

GPX (GPS eXchange format) is a data format commonly created from GPS receivers.

An icon is an image that appears in a symbol layer on a map.

An iframe is an HTML element that allows you to embed a map into a website.

The Mapbox Isochrone API allows you to request polygon or line features that show areas that are reachable within a specified amount of time from a location.

KML is a geospatial file format that’s commonly used in Google products.

Latitude and longitude are a pair of numbers (coordinates) used to describe a position on the plane of a geographic coordinate system.

Layout and paint properties are two sub-properties of a layer that decides how data from the layer is rendered in maps that use Mapbox GL.

Leaflet is an open-source web mapping library that forms the basis of Mapbox.js.

A line is a geospatial feature defined by connected pairs of latitude and longitude coordinates.

The Maki icon set is used in map styles. It includes common point of interest icons.

Map ID is a deprecated term for the unique identifier used to identify a tileset. This identifier is now called a tileset ID.

A map load occurs whenever a Mapbox GL JS Map object is initialized on a webpage. It is used to track map usage on the web.

The Mapbox Map Matching API allows you to take recorded traces, such as the data from a GPS tracker, and snap them to the OpenStreetMap road and path network.

Map views were formerly used as a unit of measurement to track map usage on the web. Map views are now deprecated.

The Mapbox components for Framer X can be used to add interactive maps to Framer prototypes.

Mapbox Editor was an online interface for designing maps that has been deprecated. Mapbox Studio is the modern alternative to Mapbox Editor.

Mapbox GL is a suite of open-source libraries for embedding customizable and responsive client-side maps in web, mobile, and desktop applications.

Mapbox GL JS is a JavaScript library that uses Mapbox GL to render interactive maps.

The Mapbox Maps SDK for Android is an open-source toolset for building mapping applications for Android devices.

The Mapbox Maps SDK for iOS is an open-source toolset for building mapping applications for iPhone and iPad devices.

The Mapbox Maps SDK for Unity is an open-source toolset for building location-based augmented and virtual reality applications with Unity, using real map data.

The Mapbox Navigation SDKs for iOS and Android provide open-source toolsets for integrating turn-by-turn navigation within mobile applications.

Mapbox Satellite is a global tileset of high-resolution satellite imagery.

Mapbox Studio is a web application for creating map styles and managing your datasets and tilesets.

Mapbox Studio Classic was a desktop application for designing classic styles. Mapbox Studio is the modern alternative to Mapbox Studio Classic.

Mapbox Tiling Service (MTS) allows you to list, delete, and retrieve TileJSON metadata for raster and vector tilesets.

Mapbox.js is no longer in active development. Mapbox.js is a JavaScript library that allows you to add a map to your website.

Mapnik is an open-source toolkit for developing mapping applications.

The Maps SDK for React Native is a community-managed React Native library for integrating Mapbox maps into mobile apps.

A marker is a visual representation of a specific coordinate on a map.

The Mapbox Matrix API calculates travel times between many points in one API request.

MBTiles is a file format for storing tilesets.

Monthly active users (MAU) is a billing metric for Mapbox Maps, Navigation, and Visions SDKs.

An offline region is a defined region of a map that is available for use in conditions with limited or no network connection.

OpenStreetMap is a collaborative mapping project that creates a world map.

The Mapbox Optimization API returns a duration-optimized route between provided input coordinates.

Overzoom is the result of a tileset being zoomed in beyond its given zoom extent.

A point is a geospatial feature defined by one pair of latitude and longitude coordinates.

A polygon is a geospatial feature defined by connected pairs of latitude and longitude coordinates forming an area with at least three sides.

Projections are methods of transforming the coordinates of locations on the planet to a two-dimensional plane.

Map tiles are stored in a quadtree data structure.

Raster data is a pixel-based data format used in raster tilesets.

The Mapbox Raster Tiles API allows you to request a single tile from a Mapbox-hosted raster tileset.

A routing profile is a set of rules that a routing engine uses to find the optimal route between two points.

Runtime styling allows you to dynamically change the map style displayed on your Mapbox map in real time.

A shapefile is a file format for storing geographic vector data.

Simplestyle is an open source specification for styling GeoJSON data used in Mapbox.js and in GeoJSON overlays in the Static Images API.

SKU tokens are used by some SDKs for tracking usage.

A source supplies the data that Mapbox GL displays on a map.

A source layer is an individual layer of data within a source.

A sprite is a single image that contains all the icons included in a style.

The Mapbox Static Images API allows you to request a standalone, static image of a map generated from a Mapbox GL-based style.

The Mapbox Static Tiles API serves raster tiles generated from a Mapbox GL style.

A style is a JSON document that defines the visual appearance of a map.

A style component is a collection of related map features that you style as a single unit in the Mapbox Studio style editor. Each component can contain one or more layers.

A style ID is a map style's unique identifier.

A style layer is used to add styling rules to a specific subset of data in a map style.

A style URL allows you to reference a style created with Mapbox Studio.

Style-optimized vector tiles remove any layers or features in a tile that are not represented by a given Mapbox style.

The Mapbox Styles API allows you to programmatically read and write map styles, fonts, and sprites.

Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) is a markup language for describing two-dimensional vector graphics.

A symbol layer is a layer in which icons or text are added to a Mapbox map.

Telemetry is a process in which automatic sensors create and update maps by gathering de-identified data about where and how people are moving.

TIFF is a file format for saving raster images.

TileJSON is a format for describing tilesets.

TileMill was a desktop application for designing maps that has been deprecated. Mapbox Studio is the modern alternative to TileMill.

The Mapbox Tilequery API allows you to retrieve data about specific features from a vector tileset, based on a given latitude and longitude.

A tileset is a collection of raster or vector data broken up into a uniform grid of square tiles at 22 preset zoom levels.

Tilesets created using Mapbox Tiling Service or the Mapbox Uploads API are billed according to processing and hosting metrics.

Tileset IDs, previously known as Map IDs, are used to identify vector and raster tilesets.

This feature is in beta. Tileset recipes describe how tileset source data should look and behave when a tileset is published by Mapbox Tiling Service (MTS).

This feature is in beta. Tileset sources are line-delimited GeoJSON sources used to create new tilesets using Mapbox Tiling Service (MTS).

The Mapbox Tokens API allows you to create, edit, and delete access tokens.

A trip is a navigation session in one of two modes: Free Drive or Active Guidance.

Turf.js is an open-source JavaScript library used for spatial analysis.

The Mapbox Uploads API transforms geographic data into tilesets that can be used with maps and geographic applications.

A vector tile is a lightweight data format for storing geospatial vector data, such as points, lines, and polygons.

The Mapbox Vector Tiles API allows you to request a single tile from a Mapbox-hosted vector tileset.

The WordPress map block allows WordPress users to add a Mapbox map to any post or page.

In Mapbox vector tilesets, the "worldview" data field is used to identify geographic features whose characteristics are defined differently by various groups.

The zoom extent is the range of zoom levels at which a tileset is visible.

A zoom level determines how much of a map is visible.