How to Install TileServer GL on Ubuntu Server Latest

TileServer GL is an open-source tool for serving MBTiles and other tilesets via vector tiles. It is designed to be fast and efficient, making it a great choice for serving maps on the web. In this tutorial, we will go through the steps to install TileServer GL on Ubuntu Server Latest using the command line.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, you will need:

  • Ubuntu Server Latest installation with root access.
  • Command line access.

Step 1: Install Node.js and Git

TileServer GL is built on Node.js, so we will first install the latest version of Node.js and Git using the command line.

  1. Open the terminal on your Ubuntu Server Latest machine.
  2. Update the package list and upgrade the installed packages by running the following commands:
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade
  1. Install Node.js and Git by running the following command:
sudo apt-get install nodejs git
  1. Verify that Node.js is installed correctly by running the following command:
node -v

It should output the version of Node.js installed.

Step 2: Install TileServer GL

Now that Node.js and Git are installed, we can proceed with installing TileServer GL.

  1. Create a directory for TileServer GL by running the following command:
mkdir tileserver
cd tileserver
  1. Clone the TileServer GL repository from Github by running the following command:
git clone https://github.com/maptiler/tileserver-gl.git
  1. Install the required Node.js packages by running the following command:
npm install

Step 3: Add Tileset

Now that TileServer GL is installed, we need to add a tileset. We'll use a sample OSM tileset in this example.

  1. Download the OSM QA Tiles in MBTiles format by running the following command:
curl -o data.mbtiles https://tileserver.freemaps.io/osm-qa-tiles.mbtiles
  1. Start TileServer GL by running the following command:
npm start

  1. In the browser, navigate to http://<your-server-ip>:8080/index.html. You should see the TileServer GL web interface.

  2. Click on the Add a Tileset button and select the data.mbtiles file that you just downloaded.

  3. Click on Add Tileset to add the OSM tileset.

Step 4: Accessing the Tileset

Now that the tileset is added, you can access it using any client that supports vector tiles. Here's an example using OpenLayers:

  1. Create a new HTML file called index.html with the following code:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <title>TileServer GL Demo</title>
    <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://openlayers.org/en/latest/css/ol.css" type="text/css">
    <script src="https://openlayers.org/en/latest/build/ol.js"></script>
</head>
<body>
    <div id="map" class="map"></div>
    <script type="text/javascript">
        var map = new ol.Map({
            target: 'map',
            layers: [
                new ol.layer.VectorTile({
                    source: new ol.source.VectorTile({
                        format: new ol.format.MVT(),
                        url: 'http://<your-server-ip>:8080/data/{z}/{x}/{y}.pbf'
                    })
                })
            ],
            view: new ol.View({
                center: [-117.168660, 32.732998],
                zoom: 12
            })
        });
    </script>
</body>
</html>

  1. Replace <your-server-ip> with the IP address of your Ubuntu Server Latest machine.

  2. Save and close the file.

  3. Open the file in your browser to view the map.

Congratulations! You've successfully installed TileServer GL on Ubuntu Server Latest and added a tileset to it. You can now serve vector tiles to any client that supports them.