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Files and web services

Tiles from files and web services, kept in step.

Not all of your data lives in PostGIS. Link a file or a feature service and MapSocket reads it with GDAL into a managed PostGIS table in your project, checks it for changes on the interval you choose, and rebuilds the tiles of every source that uses it.

Start free External data in the docs

What you get

  • The formats you already have

    GeoJSON, FlatGeobuf, GeoPackage, zipped Shapefile, KML and KMZ, GML, and CSV with latitude and longitude columns, over https. Or an Esri FeatureServer or MapServer layer, or an OGC WFS feature type.

  • Only re-imported when it changed

    Files are fetched with ETag and Last-Modified and versioned by content hash, so an unchanged file isn't imported again and its tiles aren't rebuilt.

  • Cleaned up on the way in

    Everything is normalised to EPSG:4326 with ogr2ogr: curves straightened, geometry types made multi-part, column names lowercased with spaces turned into underscores.

  • A bad refresh doesn't break the map

    If the source is down or the file is broken, the last good copy keeps serving and the dataset shows what went wrong.

  • Same tiles, same options

    Pick the table from MapSocket external data when you create a tile source. Filters, label points, presets and keys work exactly as they do for PostGIS.

  • Already using OGR_FDW?

    Foreign tables in your own database show up in the table picker too. They can't fire triggers, so those sources rebuild on a schedule.

How it works

  1. Add a dataset

    Under External data, paste a file link, an Esri layer URL or a WFS endpoint. MapSocket lists the layers it finds.

  2. Choose how often to check

    From every 5 minutes to daily, depending on your plan.

  3. Create a tile source from it

    It appears as a table in your project's managed connection.

What you can link
https://data.example.org/parks.geojson          GeoJSON, FlatGeobuf, GeoPackage, KML/KMZ, GML
https://data.example.org/zones.zip              zipped Shapefile
https://data.example.org/stores.csv             CSV with latitude and longitude columns
https://services.arcgis.com/…/FeatureServer/0   Esri FeatureServer or MapServer layer
https://geo.example.org/wfs  (layer: roads)     OGC WFS feature type

On each plan

SandboxStarterProEnterprise
External datasets 220200Unlimited
Checked for changes DailyHourlyEvery 15 minEvery 5 min

Full limits and prices on the pricing page.

Good to know

  • Datasets are fetched over https from public URLs. Files behind a login aren't supported yet.
  • Changes reach the tiles at the next check, not instantly. For second-by-second updates, keep the data in PostGIS.

Read more

Also in every MapSocket project

Start free Free Sandbox, no card needed.