How to work with data services

1. Create a service

To create a data service, you use a data management tool to publish a new service. The most common workflow is to import data from external data sources to create new feature layers in a feature service. Once a feature layer (and feature service) is created, you can publish additional types of services such as vector tile services and map tile services. For each service published, a hosted layer (item) is also created so you can access and manage the service and the layers within it. The diagram below illustrates the workflow.

2. Manage a service

To manage a data service, you use a data management tool to access a service's hosted layer (item). The tool you use depends on the type of ArcGIS product and account you have, and the type of management operation you would like to perform. You can update hosted layer (item) properties such as the item name and description, data service capabilities, and sharing and security settings. You can also perform other administration operations such as setting the data cache timeouts, uploading and replacing data, and exporting data. The diagram below illustrates the workflow.

3. Access a service

After you create and manage a data service, you access the underlying data with an HTTP request to the service. The structure of the request is defined by the ArcGIS REST API. The URL assigned to each service is unique and can be found in the hosted layer (item) or item page for the service. To access the service, you can use ArcGIS Maps SDKs, open source libraries, or scripting APIs. An access token is also required if the sharing level is not public.

The URLs below illustrate how to make requests to get data from different data services.

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https://{host}/{organizationId}/arcgis/rest/services/{serviceName}/FeatureServer/{id}/query?{parameters}&token={access_token}

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https://{host}/{organizationId}/arcgis/rest/services/{serviceName}/VectorTileServer/tile/{z}/{y}/{x}.pbf?token={access_token}

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https://{host}/{organizationId}/arcgis/rest/services/{serviceName}/MapServer/tile/{z}/{y}/{x}?token={access_token}

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https://{host}/{organizationId}/arcgis/rest/services/{serviceName}/FeatureServer/{id}/query?{parameters}&token={access_token}

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https://{host}/{organizationId}/arcgis/rest/services/{serviceName}/VectorTileServer/tile/{z}/{y}/{x}.pbf?token={access_token}

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https://{host}/{organizationId}/arcgis/rest/services/{serviceName}/MapServer/tile/{z}/{y}/{x}?token={access_token}

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https://{host}/{webadaptor}/rest/services/Hosted/{serviceName}/FeatureServer/{id}/query?{parameters}&token={access_token}

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https://{host}/{webadaptor}/rest/services/Hosted/{serviceName}/VectorTileServer/tile/{z}/{y}/{x}.pbf?token={access_token}

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https://{host}/{webadaptor}/rest/services/Hosted/{serviceName}/MapServer/tile/{z}/{y}/{x}?token={access_token}

Tutorials

Import data to create a feature layer

Use data management tools to import files and create a feature layer in a feature service.

ArcGIS Online  Developer dashboard 

Define a new feature layer

Use data management tools to define and create a new empty feature layer in a feature service.

ArcGIS Online  Developer dashboard  Python ArcGIS REST JS 

Manage a feature layer

Use a hosted feature layer item to set the properties and settings of a feature layer in a feature service.

ArcGIS Online 

Create a vector tile service

Use data management tools to create a new vector tile service from a feature service.

ArcGIS Online 

Create a map tile service

Use ArcGIS Online or scripting APIs to publish a map tile service.

ArcGIS Online  Python ArcGIS REST JS 

Add a feature layer

Access and display point, line, and polygon features from a feature service.

JavaScript  .NET Kotlin Swift Java Qt  Esri Leaflet MapLibre OpenLayers CesiumJS  Python 

Add a vector tile layer

Access and display a vector tile layer in a map.

JavaScript  Esri Leaflet MapLibre OpenLayers 

Add a map tile layer

Access and display a map tile layer in a map.

Esri Leaflet MapLibre OpenLayers CesiumJS 

Style a feature layer

Use symbols and renderers to style feature layers.

JavaScript  .NETJava Qt  Esri Leaflet MapLibre OpenLayers CesiumJS 

Query a feature layer (spatial)

Execute a spatial query to get features from a feature layer.

JavaScript  Esri Leaflet MapLibre OpenLayers CesiumJS  Python  REST 

Query a feature layer (SQL)

Execute a SQL query to access polygon features from a feature layer.

JavaScript  .NETJava Qt  Esri Leaflet MapLibre OpenLayers CesiumJS  Python  ArcGIS REST JS  REST 

Edit feature data

Add, update, and delete features in a feature service.

JavaScript  Python  ArcGIS REST JS  REST 

Display a popup

Format a popup to show attributes in a feature layer.

JavaScript  Esri Leaflet MapLibre OpenLayers CesiumJS 

Workflows

Create a feature service for an app

Learn how to import parcel data, create and style a feature layer, and then access the features in an app.

Create a feature layer view for an editor app

Learn how to import parcel data, create and style a feature layer view, and then access the features in an editing app.

Create a vector tile service for an app

Learn how to import parcel data, style a feature layer, and then create a vector tile service for an app.

Create a map tile service for an app

Learn how to import contour data, style a feature layer, and create a map tile service for an app.

Services

API support

Use Client APIs to create, manage, and access data services. The table below outlines the level of support for each API.

Tools