Ellipsis Drive layers can be integrated directly into your application using standard web mapping approaches.
At a high level, you:
Reference a layer using its ID
Choose how it is rendered (library or protocol)
Apply optional styling and access control
There are two common ways to display layers:
Mapping libraries provide the fastest way to integrate and render layers.
Use Leaflet for lightweight implementations
Use MapLibre for more advanced rendering and control
These libraries handle rendering, styling, and interaction out of the box.
If you are building from scratch or require full control:
Use XYZ tiles for raster data
Use vector tiles for vector data
To display a layer, you need:
Layer ID (required)
Timestamp ID (optional, for time-based data)
Style ID (optional, for predefined styling)
These identifiers are available via the layer metadata, either through the API or within the Ellipsis Drive application.
You can control how layers are rendered in two ways:
Style ID Reference an existing style stored on the server
Style object Define a custom style dynamically within your application
Custom styles are useful for:
user-driven styling
dynamic visualisation based on context (for example viewport or filters)
If a layer is not set to public or link sharing, authenticated access is required.
In this case, include an access token in your requests. Tokens are typically used when controlled, programmatic access is required.
Access tokens are recommended for application-level integration.
For applications managing multiple users or datasets, folders provide a scalable structure.
Example approach:
Create a folder per user or client
Store the corresponding folder ID in your backend
Generate an access token scoped to that folder
Use the folder ID and token to retrieve and display content
Content can be accessed by:
Traversing structured paths (for example {category}/{year})
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