Host GeoTIFF with Mappinest

Use this page when your workflow already produces a georeferenced GeoTIFF image and you want to publish it through Mappinest. After upload, Mappinest prepares raster tiles and exposes the tileset through TileJSON and raster tile URL patterns.

Upload a GeoTIFF

Open Tilesets, select Add Tileset, and choose a .tif or .tiff file.
Select Upload. The dialog shows file upload progress.
After upload, preparation continues in the background. The console shows Processing while the tileset is being prepared.
When the tileset is ready, click its tileset ID to open Studio, preview the image, and copy its TileJSON or raster tile URL.
Use the URL with an API key in your map client.

Supported imagery

Upload one GeoTIFF with an embedded coordinate reference system (CRS) and geotransform so the image can be placed on the map. Separate world files or projection sidecars are not part of this upload flow. A Cloud Optimized GeoTIFF (COG) is accepted when it meets the same requirements.

Image type	Support
Grayscale, RGB, or RGBA	8-bit and 16-bit integer imagery, including signed 16-bit values
Grayscale with alpha	8-bit and 16-bit integer imagery
Color palette	8-bit palette indices
NoData, masks, and alpha	Used to preserve transparent areas in the prepared tiles
Floating-point or other band layouts	Export a rendered grayscale or RGB image before upload

16-bit imagery is scaled to 8-bit for map display. The tiles do not preserve the original numeric values or precision. Use a rendered image for visualization, not this workflow for elevation or terrain data.

Preparation and storage

Mappinest reprojects the image to Web Mercator and prepares 256 px PNG raster tiles. The Raster Tiles API delivers the prepared tiles through normal authenticated URLs. Your map client does not need a GeoTIFF reader or a PMTiles plugin.

Both the uploaded GeoTIFF and the prepared tileset must fit your plan's per-file limit. Because Mappinest converts the image into raster tiles, the prepared size can differ from the source size and must also fit your available hosted storage. See Tileset limits in Platform Limits for current allowances.

After preparation succeeds, hosted storage counts the prepared tileset. Hosted size in the tileset details shows that size. Keep your original GeoTIFF locally.

Use the raster tiles in your map

Use the tileset ID from the console in the TileJSON URL below. It describes the tile URLs, bounds, and zoom range. For direct tile requests, the prepared GeoTIFF uses the .png extension.

GET

https://api.mappinest.com/v1/tiles/{tilesetId}.json?key=YOUR_KEY

Follow the existing raster examples for MapLibre GL JS, Mapbox GL JS, OpenLayers, or Leaflet. Replace the sample tileset ID with your own after preparation finishes.

If preparation fails

What to check	What to do
Missing georeferencing	Export a GeoTIFF with an embedded CRS and a valid geotransform. A plain TIFF image is not enough.
Unsupported pixel type or bands	Export rendered 8-bit or 16-bit integer grayscale or RGB imagery with the appropriate color bands.
No usable pixels	Check that the image contains valid pixels, not only NoData.
File or storage limit	Reduce the image size or coverage, or free hosted storage. The prepared output also needs to fit your plan.
Preparation is too large or takes too long	Try a smaller area or lower-resolution image. File size alone does not describe the work needed to prepare tiles.

Upload a GeoTIFF

Supported imagery

Preparation and storage

Use the raster tiles in your map

If preparation fails

What to read next