React-based project on GitHub

We've prepared a React-based project for you. This can be used as a Map Application project skeleton or as a code sample:

github.com/geoapify/react-based-project

Build and run the application

  1. Clone or download the source code of the application to your computer.
  2. Install Node.js if not installed from Download page or via package manager.
  3. Go to the application directory.
  4. Run the command:
npm install
  1. Run the command
npm start
  1. Open http://localhost:3000 to view it in the browser. The page will be reloaded automatically when you make changes to the project.

The page contains only one phrase "The map will be displayed here", that we replace now with a map.

Geoapify Map Tiles

We provide Mapbox style specification for our Map Tiles that defines the visual appearance of a map: what data to draw, the order to draw it in, and how to style the data when drawing it.

Visit Map Tiles documentation page to get a map style link for a map.

Geoapify API key

You will require Geoapify API Key to display a map. Register and get an API key for free on Geoapify MyProjects. We have a Freemium pricing model. Start using our services now for FREE and extend when you need.

Text editor

You can use any text editor for writing HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. However, we recommend you try Visual Studio Code.

Display a map with MapLibre GL (an open-source fork of Mapbox GL)


In December 2020 the Mapbox GL JS version 2.0 was released under a proprietary license. So Mapbox GL 2.x not under the 3-Clause BSD license anymore. The MapLibre GL is the official open-source fork of Mapbox GL.


  1. Go to the application directory.
  2. Run the command to install MapLibre GL library:
npm i maplibre-gl
  1. Add Mapbox GL styles to the index.scss:
@import '~maplibre-gl/dist/maplibre-gl.css';
  1. Add the code to the src/components/my-map.jsx:
import React, { useEffect } from 'react'; 
import './my-map.scss';
import maplibre from 'maplibre-gl';

function MyMap() {
  let mapContainer;

  useEffect(() => {
    const myAPIKey = 'YOUR_API_KEY_HERE'; 
    const mapStyle = 'https://maps.geoapify.com/v1/styles/osm-carto/style.json';

    const initialState = {
      lng: 11,
      lat: 49,
      zoom: 4
    };

    const map = new maplibre.Map({
      container: mapContainer,
      style: `${mapStyle}?apiKey=${myAPIKey}`,
      center: [initialState.lng, initialState.lat],
      zoom: initialState.zoom
      });

  }, [mapContainer]);

  return (
    <div className="map-container" ref={el => mapContainer = el}>
    </div>
  )
}

export default MyMap;
  1. Replace YOUR_API_KEY_HERE with an API key you've got on Geoapify MyProjects.
  2. Set the mapStyle variable to Map style you want to use.

Display a map with Leaflet


The Leaflet library doesn't have native support for vector map tiles. There a number of Leaflet plugins that may help o visualize vector maps. However, none of them is actively supported.

This tutorial contains instructions on how to visualize raster map tiles. Note, that you need in different vector maps you need to take care of high-resolution screens. Use the '@2x' suffix to get high-resolution map tile images.


  1. Go to the application directory.
  2. Run the command to install Leaflet library:
npm i leaflet
  1. Add Leaflet and Mapbox GL styles to the index.scss:
@import '~leaflet/dist/leaflet.css';
  1. Add the code to the src/components/my-map.jsx:
import React, { useEffect } from 'react';
import './my-map.scss';
import L from 'leaflet';

function MyMap() {
  let mapContainer;

  useEffect(() => {
    const initialState = {
      lng: 11,
      lat: 49,
      zoom: 4
    };

    const map = L.map(mapContainer).setView([initialState.lat, initialState.lng], initialState.zoom);

    var myAPIKey = 'YOUR_API_KEY_HERE';

    var isRetina = L.Browser.retina;
    var baseUrl = "https://maps.geoapify.com/v1/tile/osm-bright/{z}/{x}/{y}.png?apiKey={apiKey}";
    var retinaUrl = "https://maps.geoapify.com/v1/tile/osm-bright/{z}/{x}/{y}@2x.png?apiKey={apiKey}";
    
    L.tileLayer(isRetina ? retinaUrl : baseUrl, {
      attribution: 'Powered by <a href="https://www.geoapify.com/" target="_blank">Geoapify</a> | © OpenStreetMap <a href="https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright" target="_blank">contributors</a>',
      apiKey: myAPIKey,
      maxZoom: 20,
      id: 'osm-bright',
    }).addTo(map);

  }, [mapContainer]);

  return (
    <div className="map-container" ref={el => mapContainer = el}>
    </div>
  )
}

export default MyMap;
  1. Replace YOUR_API_KEY_HERE with an API key you've got on Geoapify MyProjects.
  2. Set the mapStyle variable to Map style you want to use.

Display a map with OpenLayers

  1. Go to the application directory.
  2. Run the command to install OpenLayers library and Mapbox map style support:
npm install ol ol-mapbox-style
  1. Add OpenLayers styles to the index.scss:
@import '~ol/ol.css';
  1. Add the code to the src/components/my-map.jsx:
import React, { useEffect } from 'react';
import './my-map.scss';
import olms from 'ol-mapbox-style';
import * as proj from 'ol/proj';
function MyMap() {
    let mapContainer;
    useEffect(() => {
        const initialState = {
            lng: 11,
            lat: 49,
            zoom: 4
        };

        const myAPIKey = 'YOUR_API_KEY_HERE';
        const mapStyle = 'https://maps.geoapify.com/v1/styles/osm-carto/style.json';

        olms(mapContainer, `${mapStyle}?apiKey=${myAPIKey}`).then((map) => {
            map.getView().setCenter(proj.transform([initialState.lng, initialState.lat], 'EPSG:4326', 'EPSG:3857'));
            map.getView().setZoom(initialState.zoom);
        });
    }, [mapContainer]);

    return (<div className="map-container" ref={el => mapContainer = el}></div>)
}
export default MyMap;
  1. Replace YOUR_API_KEY_HERE with an API key you've got on Geoapify MyProjects.
  2. Set the mapStyle variable to Map style you want to use.