MBTiles Server with Custom Styles

Overview

This project is a lightweight MBTiles server built with Flask, designed to serve vector tiles from an MBTiles database and render them on a web-based map with custom styling. It leverages a thread pool for efficient tile request handling and includes a Leaflet-based frontend for map visualization. The server delivers .pbf (Protocol Buffer Format) tiles and static files, with zoom-dependent styles defined in styles.js for features like water, landcover, roads, and points of interest (POIs). Sample MBTiles files can be downloaded from https://osm.dbtc.link/mbtiles/.

Features

• Flask-based Server: Serves vector tiles via /tiles/<z>/<x>/<y>.pbf.
• Thread Pool: Manages concurrent tile requests with a custom ThreadPool class.
• Custom Styling: Defines map feature styles in styles.js based on zoom levels.
• MBTiles Support: Queries SQLite-based MBTiles databases and decompresses .pbf tiles.
• Static File Serving: Delivers index.html and other assets for map display.
• Configurable Environment: Uses a .env file for database path, host, port, and thread settings.

Requirements

Dependencies are listed in req.txt:

• Flask (3.1.1)
• blinker (1.9.0)
• click (8.2.1)
• colorama (0.4.6)
• itsdangerous (2.2.0)
• Jinja2 (3.1.6)
• MarkupSafe (3.0.2)
• Werkzeug (3.1.3)

Install them with:

pip install -r req.txt

Setup Instructions

1. Clone the Repository:

   git clone <repository-url>
   cd <repository-directory>

2. Download an MBTiles File:

   • Sample MBTiles files are available at https://osm.dbtc.link/mbtiles/. For example, download 2024-12-27-europe.mbtiles or 2025-08-02-planet.mbtiles.
   • Save the file to a data/ directory in the project root (create the directory if it doesn’t exist).

3. Configure Environment:

   • Edit the .env file to set:
     • DATABASE: Path to the MBTiles file (e.g., data/2024-12-27-europe.mbtiles).
     • HOST: Server host (default: localhost).
     • PORT: Server port (default: 8080).
     • MAX_THREAD: Maximum threads (default: 10).
     • MAX_QUEUE_SIZE: Maximum task queue size (default: 2000).
     • TOKEN: Optional authentication token.

4. Run the Server:

   python start.py

   The server will start at http://localhost:8080 (or the configured host/port).

5. Access the Map:

   • Open http://localhost:8080 in a browser to view the demo map using the downloaded MBTiles file.
   • Static files (index.html, styles.js) are served from the Flask static folder.

Project Structure

• start.py: Main Flask app for serving tiles and static files.
• thread_pool.py: Custom thread pool for concurrent tile requests.
• env_parser.py: Parses .env for configuration.
• database_handler.py: Handles SQLite queries and tile decompression.
• index.html: Leaflet-based frontend for map visualization.
• styles.js: Custom styles for map features.
• req.txt: Python dependencies.
• .env: Environment configuration.

Custom Styles

The styles.js file defines zoom-dependent styles (0–22) for:

• Water: Blue fill with varying opacity.
• Waterways: Styled lines with labels for rivers/canals.
• Landcover: Colors for forests, grasslands, wetlands, etc.
• Roads: Varying weights/colors by road type and zoom.
• POIs: Colored markers for hospitals, schools, etc., with labels.
• Place Labels: Bold city/town names at higher zooms.

Usage

• Access tiles at /tiles/<z>/<x>/<y>.pbf for map clients.
• View the demo map at / with a downloaded MBTiles file.
• Customize styles.js to adjust map appearance.

Notes

• Ensure downloaded MBTiles files contain valid, decompressible .pbf tiles.
• Available sample files at https://osm.dbtc.link/mbtiles/ include regional datasets (e.g., Netherlands, Europe, Africa) and a global planet dataset.
• Monitor console logs for debugging tile or database issues.