Hosted vector tile layers
What is a hosted vector tile layer?
A hosted vector tile layer is a reference to a vector tile layer in a vector tile service used to store your data. Applications can use a vector tile layer to access and display vector tiles in a map or scene.
You use hosted vector tile layers when you want to:
- Convert feature layers to vector tile layers.
- Store and access data as pre-cached (static) vector tiles in PFB format.
- Provide styles for tiles that are rendered on the client and can be re-styled.
- Provide high-resolution rendering on different devices.
- Create and use your own basemap layer styles with the Vector Tile Style Editor.
- Optimize accessing and displaying large amounts of data as tiles.
- Use vector tile data in offline applications.
How a hosted vector tile layer works
You create hosted vector tile layers by using data management tools to convert a hosted feature layer to a hosted vector tile layer. This process is known as publishing a vector tile layer. When a vector tile layer is created, an item and a vector tile service are created. The item ID is a unique identifier for the layer. You use an item page to manage the layer and the service to access the data.
Manage a vector tile layer
An item page allows you to manage the properties and settings for a hosted vector tile layer. You can access an item page by signing in to your developer dashboard or ArcGIS Online. Once signed in, you can set properties such as the name, description, tags, and sharing settings.
View a vector tile layer item page
To access an item page directly, use a portal search URL with the item ID. The portal URL for data hosted in ArcGIS is https://www.arcgis.com. To use this URL, the item must be shared publicly.
Example: https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=f0298e881b5b4743bbdf2c7d378acc84
Access a vector tile layer
You can discover information about a vector tile layer by accessing the service endpoint directly. The endpoint returns properties such as the layer name, item ID, spatial reference, extent, and tile and style information.
Get vector tile layer properties
To access the vector tile layer or get
properties, use a URL with the host, unique service ID, and service name.
Get vector tile styles
To access the service styles, use a URL with the host, unique service ID, and path to root.json
.
Get vector tile layer data
To access layer data, use a URL with the host, unique service ID, and path to tiles in {z}/{y}/{x}
format.
Code examples
Display a vector tile layer
To display a hosted vector tile layer, you reference the layer by its URL or ID, and then add it to a map or scene. The API communicates with the service to retrieve data for the current visible extent. ArcGIS APIs optimize data access by utilizing the service functionality and caching.
Steps
- Create a map or scene.
- Get the hosted vector tile layer URL.
- Add the layer.
Tutorials

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

Add a vector tile layer
Access and display a vector tile layer in a map.

Add an image tile layer
Access and display an image tile layer in a map.

Style a feature layer
Use symbols and renderers to style feature layers.

Query a feature layer (spatial)
Execute a spatial query to get features from a feature layer.

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

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

Display a popup
Format a popup to show attributes in a feature layer.
Services
Feature service
Add, update, delete, and query feature data.
Vector tile service
Store and access vector tile data.
Image tile service
Store and access image tile data.
API support
- 1. Access portal via HTTP request and authentication.
- 2. Access via ArcGIS REST JS.
- 3. Requires manual application of renderers