canonical: https://jentic.com/apis/Mapbox/mapbox

# Mapbox Static Images API

The Mapbox Static Images API renders a standalone map image from a chosen style, returning a ready-to-embed picture with no client-side rendering. It exposes two request forms: one centered on an explicit longitude, latitude, and zoom, and one that auto-fits the view to the overlays supplied, both sized to a requested width and height. Requests authenticate with a Mapbox access token passed as the access_token query parameter, and the response is a rendered image suited to thumbnails, previews, and shareable snapshots.

## For AI agents

Render standalone Mapbox map images from a style, either centered on a longitude, latitude, and zoom or auto-fitted to overlays, at a requested width and height. Returns a ready-to-embed picture for thumbnails, previews, and snapshots.

## Scope

Does not geocode addresses, calculate routes, or serve interactive vector tiles. Use for rendering static map images only.

## Capabilities

- Render a static map image centered on a longitude, latitude, and zoom level at a chosen width and height
- Generate a map that auto-fits its view to the overlays you supply
- Overlay markers, paths, and GeoJSON features on a rendered map
- Select any Mapbox or custom style by username and style id

## Use cases

### AI Agent Map Snapshots

An AI assistant connected through Jentic renders a static map to illustrate an answer, passing a longitude, latitude, and zoom for a point of interest and receiving an image it can attach to its reply. Because the map is a single rendered picture, the agent embeds it directly without running a map client.

Example prompt: Render a 640 by 480 map image centered on a venue's coordinates at zoom 14 and attach it to the response

### Location Thumbnails in Listings

A real-estate or travel listing generates a small map thumbnail for each property by requesting a static image at the property's coordinates and a fixed size. The thumbnails render server-side, so the listing page loads without a heavy interactive map for every card.

Example prompt: Produce a 300 by 200 map thumbnail for each listing centered on its coordinates

### Report and Email Map Images

A reporting or notification service embeds a map picture in a PDF or email by requesting an auto-fitted image that frames a set of overlays, such as a delivery route or a cluster of markers. The rendered image travels with the document, so recipients see the map without loading a live tile layer.

Example prompt: Render an auto-fitted map that frames a list of marker overlays and embed it in a weekly report

## Key endpoints

| Method | Path | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| GET | `/styles/v1/{username}/{style_id}/static/{overlay}/{lon},{lat},{zoom}/{width}x{height}` | Render a static map centered on a longitude, latitude, and zoom at a chosen size |
| GET | `/styles/v1/{username}/{style_id}/static/{overlay}/auto/{width}x{height}` | Render a static map that auto-fits its view to the supplied overlays |

## Key resources

- **Static Map Images** — Render a standalone map image from a style, centered on coordinates or auto-fitted to overlays, at a requested width and height

## AI readiness

This API is usable in Jentic One now. Its AI-readiness score against Jentic's framework shows where it stands today and where improvements would make it even easier for agents to use.

- **Score:** 48 / 100
- **Maturity:** Foundational
- **Dimensions:**
  - Foundational Compliance: 100 / 100
  - Developer Experience & Jentic Compatibility: 63 / 100
  - AI-Readiness & Agent Experience: 51 / 100
  - Agent Usability: 94 / 100
  - Security: 15 / 100
  - AI Discoverability: 75 / 100
- **View full report:** https://jentic.com/apis/Mapbox/mapbox/scorecard
- **How the score is calculated:** https://docs.jentic.com/reference/api-readiness-framework/overview/
- **More about the dimensions:** https://docs.jentic.com/reference/api-readiness-framework/specification/#dimensional-model-overview

### Score it yourself

Every API in the directory is allowlisted, so you can re-score it with no key required.

- **Score your own API:** https://jentic.com/scorecard.md
- **Scoring CLI agent skill:** https://github.com/jentic/jentic-api-scorecard/blob/main/skills/jentic-api-scorecard/SKILL.md

```sh
npx @jentic/api-scorecard-cli score <openapi-url>
```

## Why Jentic

- **Setup:** Wiring Mapbox static images by hand means creating an access token, assembling the style, center, zoom, and size into a long URL, and appending the token yourself. Through Jentic you install once, import Mapbox from the API Directory, store the token once, and your agent calls the render operation with structured inputs.
- **Permission scoping:** The Mapbox Static Images endpoints only render images, so a rule can bound your agent to just those render operations. You choose which operations it may call, so it can produce map pictures and reach nothing else in your account.
- **Credential handling:** Your Mapbox access token is stored once, encrypted, by your own Jentic One instance and added as the access_token query parameter at execution time. It never enters the agent's prompt, logs, or context.
- **Discovery method:** Agents search Jentic by intent such as 'render a static map' or 'map image at coordinates', and Jentic returns the matching Mapbox render operation with its input schema so the agent calls the right endpoint without reading the reference docs.

## Related APIs

- **MapQuest API** — MapQuest renders static maps and offers geocoding and routing alongside them.
- **GraphHopper Directions API** — GraphHopper calculates the route whose path you then draw on a Mapbox map.
- **LocationIQ API** — LocationIQ geocodes an address into the coordinates a Mapbox map is centered on.

## FAQ

### What authentication does the Mapbox Static Images API use?

The Mapbox Static Images API authenticates with an API key: you pass your Mapbox access token as the access_token query parameter on each request, per its OpenAPI spec. Through Jentic the token is stored once, encrypted, by your own Jentic One instance and added at call time, so it never enters the agent's prompt or logs.

### Can I render a static map at a specific size and zoom?

Yes. Request a map by longitude, latitude, and zoom, then set the width and height in the path to control the output size. A second request form auto-fits the view to the overlays you supply instead of a fixed center.

### Is there a Mapbox MCP server?

You don't need an MCP server to give your agent Mapbox static maps. Jentic connects the API directly from the API Directory: import Mapbox, store your access token once, and your agent requests rendered images. Discovery happens on demand, so no extra server's tool definitions sit in the agent's context.

### Can I restrict what my agent is permitted to do with Mapbox?

Yes. Write a rule that permits only the static image render operations, so the agent can produce map pictures but reach nothing else in your Mapbox account, and every call it makes is logged. You choose the operations it may call, so nothing beyond image rendering is included unless you add it.

### What are the rate limits for the Mapbox Static Images API?

The OpenAPI spec does not specify rate limits. Check the Mapbox documentation at https://www.mapbox.com for current limits and quota details.

### How do I render a Mapbox static map through Jentic?

Import the Mapbox Static Images API from the Jentic directory, store your access token once, and have your agent request a map with an intent such as 'render a static map at coordinates'. Jentic returns the render operation with its input schema so the agent supplies the style, center, and size. To run it on your own infrastructure, install Jentic One from its GitHub repo.