maps.mxd.codes

Self-hosted map tile server for Colota

Map tile server for the Colota GPS tracking app. Runs tileserver-gl on a VPS with a self-hosted planet .mbtiles file, plus a global terrain DEM cache for hillshade rendering.

Styles

Vector-only styles. Use the /terrain/ endpoint below as a raster-dem source on the client side if you want hillshade.

Terrain / Hillshade Tiles

Terrarium-encoded raster DEM tiles, suitable for use as a raster-dem source with the MapLibre hillshade layer (or any client expecting Mapzen/Tilezen Terrarium encoding). Tiles are pre-seeded for z0–z6 worldwide; z7–z13 are fetched on demand from the AWS-hosted Mapzen Terrain Tiles dataset and cached locally on first request.

Details

• Planet .mbtiles sourced from OpenFreeMap, updated weekly
• OSM edits may take a few days to appear
• Terrain tiles capped at z13 — underlying DEM data (mostly ~30 m SRTM/GMTED/ETOPO) has no finer detail beyond that
• Tile requests are rate-limited
• Tiles are cached server-side after the first request

Terms of Use

Personal use is welcome. You can view maps, pan, zoom, and use offline map packs through the Colota app as intended.

We do not give guarantees for availability and reserve the right to implement changes without notice. If you have a larger number of requests to make, please consider setting up your own instance. It is as simple as downloading an .mbtiles file and starting tileserver-gl.

Bulk-downloading tiles, automated tile fetching outside of normal map usage, and scraping are not allowed.

Privacy Policy

Last updated: May 3, 2026

When your device fetches tiles, the server sees your IP address as part of normal HTTP traffic. IP addresses are not logged. Logging may be turned on temporarily to investigate abuse or issues, then turned off again.

No cookies. No analytics. No tracking. Tile requests carry no user identifiers.

Questions: GitHub or colota@mxd.codes.

Attribution

Map data

Geographic data (roads, places, water, land use, labels, boundaries, …) is © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database License (ODbL).

Vector tile schema and distribution

Vector tile schema and styles are based on OpenMapTiles (CC-BY 4.0). Planet .mbtiles distribution courtesy of OpenFreeMap.

Terrain DEM

Terrarium-encoded DEM tiles courtesy of Mapzen Terrain Tiles, hosted via the AWS Open Data program. The Mapzen Terrain Tiles dataset is a composite of the following sources:

• ArcticDEM terrain data DEM(s) were created from DigitalGlobe, Inc., imagery and funded under National Science Foundation awards 1043681, 1559691, and 1542736.
• Australia terrain data © Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia) 2017.
• Austria terrain data © offene Daten Österreichs – Digitales Geländemodell (DGM) Österreich.
• Canada terrain data contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada.
• Europe terrain data produced using Copernicus data and information funded by the European Union – EU-DEM layers.
• Global ETOPO1 terrain data: U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
• Mexico terrain data source: INEGI, Continental relief, 2016.
• New Zealand terrain data Copyright 2011 Crown copyright © Land Information New Zealand and the New Zealand Government (all rights reserved).
• Norway terrain data © Kartverket.
• United Kingdom terrain data © Environment Agency copyright and/or database right 2015. All rights reserved.
• United States 3DEP (formerly NED), and global GMTED2010 and SRTM terrain data courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey.