# Maps API

Use this page to choose map resources, prepare your client, and find guidance on layers, styles, and tile requests.

## When to use this API

Render Geoscape vector data in a map. Tiles are unstyled Mapbox Vector Tile protobuf data. Use a compatible client to style them and supply a basemap separately when needed.

Start with the [Maps Quickstart](/guides/maps/getting-started) to inspect tilesets and render a map with MapLibre.

| You want to… | Use |
| --- | --- |
| Inspect available tilesets and source layers | [List tile metadata](/reference/maps-v1-metadata#list-tile-metadata) |
| Retrieve vector tiles for a chosen layer | [Tiles reference](/reference/maps-v1-tiles) |
| Use a ready-made Geoscape style | [Get map style](/reference/maps-v1-styles#get-map-style) |

**Access:** Use a Geoscape Hub application with Maps API access. Each returned tile uses 0.02 credits. Moving or zooming the map can load more tiles.

Send its Consumer Key directly in the `Authorization` header, or use the `key` query parameter when your client cannot send a header. See [Authentication](/guides/authentication) for application and tester setup.

## Responses

- Authenticate requests for the style and its referenced Geoscape tiles and font resources
- Tile responses contain gzip-compressed vector-tile protobuf data, rather than JSON features
- Metadata lists tile URL templates, source-layer names, fields, and zoom ranges
- A source-layer name can differ from the tileset name. Use the layer's published zoom range in your client
- Some locations have no tile. Check the tileset, zoom, and tile location when a request returns `404`

## Further guidance

- [Map Layers](/guides/maps/layers): choose source layers, attributes, zoom ranges, and styling resources
- [MapLibre](https://maplibre.org/): explore the client used in the Quickstart
- [Error Handling](/guides/errors), [Rate Limiting](/guides/rate-limiting), and [Attribution](/guides/attribution): apply shared integration requirements

## Versions

| Version | Reference |
| --- | --- |
| v1 | [Endpoint reference](/reference/maps-v1-metadata) |