Image tile service

An image tile service is a type of data service that stores and provides access to image tiles. An image tile service can also package image tiles for offline use as image tile packages. Image tile services are created and managed using data management tools and are accessed with a REST API.

Mapping applications typically use client APIs and image tile services to access and display image tiles in a map or scene.

Image tile layers showing the 2018 Kilauea eruption with data published as hosted image tile services

Key features

Securely store image tiles in ArcGIS.
Efficiently display large amounts of pre-rendered geographic data.
Create image tile services from feature layers.
Access and view image tiles while offline.

How to use an image tile service

You typically use an image tile service by:

Creating an image tile service using data managament tools.
Displaying image tiles from the image tile service in a map or scene.

How an image tile service works

An image tile service is accessed using the base service URL and consists of properties describing the service. Some key properties are:

Name
Default geographic extent for viewing tiles
Bounding geographic extent for all tiles
Supported image formats
Tiling information

An image tile service also provides:

A REST API for programmatic access.
A web page for exploring and interacting with the image tile service.
Operations for working offline with image tiles stored in the image tile service.

Image tile service URL

Image tile services only support an enhanced endpoint. To access an image tile service, use the host, unique service ID, and service name.

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https://<host>/arcgis/rest/services/<serviceName>/MapServer

For example:

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https://services.arcgisonline.com/arcgis/rest/services/World_Imagery/MapServer

Learn more about standard and enhanced endpoints in Service endpoints.

Required parameters

`f`

The format of the query response:

json
pjson
geojson
html
pbf

ArcGIS client APIs use json (or pbf when displaying content in a map view or scene view). Many open source APIs use geojson.

To see which formats are supported for a particular feature layer, see the supportsQueryFormats property of the feature layer.

`token`

The access token used to access restricted operations or private content. The value can be an API Key or OAuth 2.0 token.

API keys are limited and do not provide access to restricted operations, but they can be used to access private content such as private feature layers, vector tile layers, image tile layers, web maps, and web scenes. API keys must be scoped to access specific content.

OAuth 2.0 tokens, however, can be used to access restricted operations and all private data types within the scope of the user's credentials.

Learn more about access tokens and authentication methods in Security and authentication.

Image tile URL

To get an image tile from an image tile service, use the host, unique service ID, and service name, and path to tiles in {z}/{y}/{x} format.

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https://<host>/arcgis/rest/services/<serviceName>/MapServer/tile/{z}/{y}/{x}

Example:

https://server.arcgisonline.com/arcgis/rest/services/World_Imagery/MapServer/tile/4/7/4

Learn more about standard and enhanced endpoints in Service endpoints.

Code examples

View an image tile service web page

Explore an image tile service by visiting its web page:

https://services.arcgisonline.com/arcgis/rest/services/World_Imagery/MapServer

Get tile format information from an image tile service

Get the image tile service description properties for this service as formatted JSON.

The service is shared with everyone, so no token is required.

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https://services.arcgisonline.com/arcgis/rest/services/World_Imagery/MapServer?f=json

The properties show that the image tiles in the image tile service are created in Web Mercator projection (this is a common projection for web basemaps, and has a WKID or 3857). Each tile is a JPEG image of 256x256 pixels at 96 pixels per inch.

Tiles are available for zoom levels (also known as LODs, or Levels of Detail) 0 through 23.

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{
  "currentVersion": 10.6,
  "serviceDescription": "World Imagery provides one meter or better satellite and aerial imagery in many parts of the world and lower resolution satellite imagery worldwide. The map includes 15m TerraColor imagery at small and mid-scales (~1:591M down to ~1:288k) for the world. The map features Maxar imagery at 0.3m resolution for select metropolitan areas around the world, 0.5m resolution across the United States and parts of Western Europe, and 1m resolution imagery across the rest of the world. In addition to commercial sources, the World Imagery map features high-resolution aerial photography contributed by the GIS User Community. This imagery ranges from 0.3m to 0.03m resolution (down to ~1:280 in select communities). For more information on this map, including the terms of use, visit us &lt;a href=\"http://goto.arcgisonline.com/maps/World_Imagery \" target=\"_new\" &gt;online&lt;/a&gt;.",
  "mapName": "Layers",
  "description": "World Imagery provides one meter or better satellite and aerial imagery in many parts of the world and lower resolution satellite imagery worldwide. The map includes 15m TerraColor imagery at small and mid-scales (~1:591M down to ~1:288k) for the world. The map features Maxar imagery at 0.3m resolution for select metropolitan areas around the world, 0.5m resolution across the United States and parts of Western Europe, and 1m resolution imagery across the rest of the world. In addition to commercial sources, the World Imagery map features high-resolution aerial photography contributed by the GIS User Community. This imagery ranges from 0.3m to 0.03m resolution (down to ~1:280 in select communities). For more information on this map, including the terms of use, visit us online at http://goto.arcgisonline.com/maps/World_Imagery",
  "copyrightText": "Source: Esri, Maxar, GeoEye, Earthstar Geographics, CNES/Airbus DS, USDA, USGS, AeroGRID, IGN, and the GIS User Community",
  "supportsDynamicLayers": false,
  "layers": [ { "id": 0, "name": "World Imagery", "parentLayerId": -1, "defaultVisibility": true, "subLayerIds": null, "minScale": 0, "maxScale": 0 }, { "id": 1, "name": "Low Resolution 15m Imagery", "parentLayerId": -1, "defaultVisibility": true, "subLayerIds": null, "minScale": 0, "maxScale": 0 }, { "id": 2, "name": "High Resolution 60cm Imagery", "parentLayerId": -1, "defaultVisibility": true, "subLayerIds": null, "minScale": 0, "maxScale": 0 }, { "id": 3, "name": "High Resolution 30cm Imagery", "parentLayerId": -1, "defaultVisibility": true, "subLayerIds": null, "minScale": 0, "maxScale": 0 }, { "id": 4, "name": "Citations", "parentLayerId": -1, "defaultVisibility": true, "subLayerIds": null, "minScale": 0, "maxScale": 0 }, { "id": 5, "name": "1.9cm Resolution Metadata", "parentLayerId": -1, "defaultVisibility": true, "subLayerIds": null, "minScale": 106, "maxScale": 0 }, { "id": 6, "name": "3.7cm Resolution Metadata", "parentLayerId": -1, "defaultVisibility": true, "subLayerIds": null, "minScale": 212, "maxScale": 106 }, { "id": 7, "name": "7.5cm Resolution Metadata", "parentLayerId": -1, "defaultVisibility": true, "subLayerIds": null, "minScale": 425, "maxScale": 212 }, { "id": 8, "name": "15cm Resolution Metadata", "parentLayerId": -1, "defaultVisibility": true, "subLayerIds": null, "minScale": 850, "maxScale": 425 }, { "id": 9, "name": "30cm Resolution Metadata", "parentLayerId": -1, "defaultVisibility": true, "subLayerIds": null, "minScale": 1700, "maxScale": 850 }, { "id": 10, "name": "60cm Resolution Metadata", "parentLayerId": -1, "defaultVisibility": true, "subLayerIds": null, "minScale": 3400, "maxScale": 1700 }, { "id": 11, "name": "1.2m Resolution Metadata", "parentLayerId": -1, "defaultVisibility": true, "subLayerIds": null, "minScale": 6800, "maxScale": 3400 }, { "id": 12, "name": "2.4m Resolution Metadata", "parentLayerId": -1, "defaultVisibility": true, "subLayerIds": null, "minScale": 13500, "maxScale": 6800 }, { "id": 13, "name": "4.8m Resolution Metadata", "parentLayerId": -1, "defaultVisibility": true, "subLayerIds": null, "minScale": 27000, "maxScale": 13500 }, { "id": 14, "name": "9.6m Resolution Metadata", "parentLayerId": -1, "defaultVisibility": true, "subLayerIds": null, "minScale": 54000, "maxScale": 27000 }, { "id": 15, "name": "19m Resolution Metadata", "parentLayerId": -1, "defaultVisibility": true, "subLayerIds": null, "minScale": 108000, "maxScale": 54000 }, { "id": 16, "name": "38m Resolution Metadata", "parentLayerId": -1, "defaultVisibility": true, "subLayerIds": null, "minScale": 216000, "maxScale": 108000 }, { "id": 17, "name": "75m Resolution Metadata", "parentLayerId": -1, "defaultVisibility": true, "subLayerIds": null, "minScale": 432000, "maxScale": 216000 }, { "id": 18, "name": "150m Resolution Metadata", "parentLayerId": -1, "defaultVisibility": true, "subLayerIds": null, "minScale": 0, "maxScale": 432000 } ],
  "tables": [],
  "spatialReference": {
    "wkid": 102100,
    "latestWkid": 3857
  },
  "singleFusedMapCache": true,
  "tileInfo": {
    "rows": 256,
    "cols": 256,
    "dpi": 96,
    "format": "JPEG",
    "compressionQuality": 75,
    "origin": {
      "x": -20037508.342787,
      "y": 20037508.342787
    },
    "spatialReference": {
      "wkid": 102100,
      "latestWkid": 3857
    },
    "lods": [
      {
        "level": 0,
        "resolution": 156543.03392800014,
        "scale": 591657527.591555
      },
      {
        "level": 1,
        "resolution": 78271.51696399994,
        "scale": 295828763.795777
      },
      {
        "level": 2,
        "resolution": 39135.75848200009,
        "scale": 147914381.897889
      },
      {
        "level": 3,
        "resolution": 19567.87924099992,
        "scale": 73957190.948944
      },
      {
        "level": 4,
        "resolution": 9783.93962049996,
        "scale": 36978595.474472
      },
      {
        "level": 5,
        "resolution": 4891.96981024998,
        "scale": 18489297.737236
      },
      {
        "level": 6,
        "resolution": 2445.98490512499,
        "scale": 9244648.868618
      },
      {
        "level": 7,
        "resolution": 1222.992452562495,
        "scale": 4622324.434309
      },
      {
        "level": 8,
        "resolution": 611.4962262813797,
        "scale": 2311162.217155
      },
      {
        "level": 9,
        "resolution": 305.74811314055756,
        "scale": 1155581.108577
      },
      {
        "level": 10,
        "resolution": 152.87405657041106,
        "scale": 577790.554289
      },
      {
        "level": 11,
        "resolution": 76.43702828507324,
        "scale": 288895.277144
      },
      {
        "level": 12,
        "resolution": 38.21851414253662,
        "scale": 144447.638572
      },
      {
        "level": 13,
        "resolution": 19.10925707126831,
        "scale": 72223.819286
      },
      {
        "level": 14,
        "resolution": 9.554628535634155,
        "scale": 36111.909643
      },
      {
        "level": 15,
        "resolution": 4.77731426794937,
        "scale": 18055.954822
      },
      {
        "level": 16,
        "resolution": 2.388657133974685,
        "scale": 9027.977411
      },
      {
        "level": 17,
        "resolution": 1.1943285668550503,
        "scale": 4513.988705
      },
      {
        "level": 18,
        "resolution": 0.5971642835598172,
        "scale": 2256.994353
      },
      {
        "level": 19,
        "resolution": 0.29858214164761665,
        "scale": 1128.497176
      },
      {
        "level": 20,
        "resolution": 0.14929107082380833,
        "scale": 564.248588
      },
      {
        "level": 21,
        "resolution": 0.07464553541190416,
        "scale": 282.124294
      },
      {
        "level": 22,
        "resolution": 0.03732276770595208,
        "scale": 141.062147
      },
      {
        "level": 23,
        "resolution": 0.01866138385297604,
        "scale": 70.5310735
      }
    ]
  },
  "initialExtent": {
    "xmin": -20037507.22959434,
    "ymin": -19971868.88040859,
    "xmax": 20037507.22959434,
    "ymax": 19971868.880408563,
    "spatialReference": {
      "cs": "pcs",
      "wkid": 102100
    }
  },
  "fullExtent": {
    "xmin": -20037507.22959434,
    "ymin": -19971868.88040859,
    "xmax": 20037507.22959434,
    "ymax": 19971868.880408563,
    "spatialReference": {
      "cs": "pcs",
      "wkid": 102100
    }
  },
  "minScale": 0,
  "maxScale": 0,
  "units": "esriMeters",
  "supportedImageFormatTypes": "PNG32,PNG24,PNG,JPG,DIB,TIFF,EMF,PS,PDF,GIF,SVG,SVGZ,BMP",
  "documentInfo": {
    "Title": "World Imagery",
    "Author": "Esri",
    "Comments": "",
    "Subject": "imagery, satellite, aerial, 500m (World), 15m (World)",
    "Category": "imageryBaseMapsEarthCover (Imagery, basemaps, and land cover)",
    "AntialiasingMode": "None",
    "TextAntialiasingMode": "Force",
    "Keywords": "World,Global,United States"
  },
  "capabilities": "Map,Tilemap,Query,Data",
  "supportedQueryFormats": "JSON, AMF, geoJSON",
  "exportTilesAllowed": false,
  "datumTransformations": [
    {
      "geoTransforms": [
        {
          "wkid": 108001,
          "latestWkid": 1241,
          "transformForward": true,
          "name": "NAD_1927_To_NAD_1983_NADCON"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "geoTransforms": [
        {
          "wkid": 108001,
          "latestWkid": 1241,
          "transformForward": false,
          "name": "NAD_1927_To_NAD_1983_NADCON"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "supportsDatumTransformation": true,
  "maxRecordCount": 100,
  "maxImageHeight": 4096,
  "maxImageWidth": 4096,
  "supportedExtensions": "KmlServer"
}

Authentication

To make authenticated requests you need to use one of the following:

API key: A permanent token that grants your application access to ready-to-use services and, with an ArcGIS Developer account, private content (currently in beta).

User authentication (formerly _ArcGIS identity): Grants a short-lived token, generated via OAuth 2.0, giving your application permission to access the content and services authorized to an existing ArcGIS user's account.

App credential authentication: Grants a short-lived token, generated via OAuth 2.0, authorizing your application access to ready-to-use services. See usage restrictions.

Learn more about getting access tokens in Security and authentication.

API support

	Import and create data	Display data	Query data	Edit data
ArcGIS Maps SDK for JavaScript
ArcGIS Maps SDK for Kotlin
ArcGIS Maps SDK for Swift
ArcGIS Maps SDK for Java
ArcGIS Maps SDK for .NET
ArcGIS Maps SDK for Qt
ArcGIS API for Python
ArcGIS REST JS	¹
Esri Leaflet			²	²
MapLibre GL JS		³	²	²
OpenLayers		³	²	²

Full supportPartial supportNo support

1. Access portal via HTTP request and authentication.
2. Access via ArcGIS REST JS.
3. Requires manual application of renderers

Pricing

To determine how much it costs to access the service:

If you have an ArcGIS Developer account, go to Pricing. Transactions are billed in US dollars. A free tier of transactions may be available.
If you have an ArcGIS Online account, go to Understand credits. Transactions are billed in credits.

Tutorials

To learn how to work with image tile services that are hosted in ArcGIS, try the following tutorial.

Add an image tile layer

Access and display an image tile layer in a map.

Mapping APIs and location services

Image tile service

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