# Kepler.gl — Open Source Geospatial Data Visualization

> A powerful open-source tool for large-scale geospatial data visualization built on deck.gl and Mapbox GL.

## Install

Save in your project root:

# Kepler.gl — Open Source Geospatial Data Visualization

## Quick Use
```bash
npm install kepler.gl react react-dom redux react-redux
```
```javascript
import KeplerGl from 'kepler.gl';
import { createStore, combineReducers } from 'redux';
import keplerGlReducer from 'kepler.gl/reducers';

const store = createStore(combineReducers({ keplerGl: keplerGlReducer }));
// Render <KeplerGl id="map" mapboxApiAccessToken={TOKEN} width={800} height={600} />
```

## Introduction
Kepler.gl is a data-agnostic, GPU-powered geospatial analysis tool originally developed at Uber. It lets you drag and drop CSV, GeoJSON, or Arrow files onto a map and instantly see patterns with heatmaps, arcs, hexbins, and 3D extrusions without writing code.

## What Kepler.gl Does
- Renders millions of data points at interactive frame rates using GPU-based WebGL rendering
- Provides a visual layer editor for points, arcs, lines, hexbins, heatmaps, and polygons
- Supports time-series playback to animate spatial data over time intervals
- Offers data filtering, color mapping, and size scaling via a sidebar UI
- Exports shareable map configurations as JSON or publishes static HTML maps

## Architecture Overview
Kepler.gl is a React and Redux application that wraps deck.gl for GPU-accelerated layer rendering on top of a Mapbox GL base map. The state is managed entirely in Redux, making it embeddable as a component in larger applications. Data processing runs in Web Workers for non-blocking file parsing.

## Self-Hosting & Configuration
- Embed as a React component in any Redux-based application
- Provide a Mapbox access token or use MapLibre GL JS for fully open-source base maps
- Load datasets programmatically via the addDataToMap action creator
- Customize the UI by toggling panels (layer, filter, interaction, map) through component props
- Deploy standalone by building the demo app with custom datasets baked in

## Key Features
- No-code visual interface for exploring and styling geospatial data
- Trip layer for animating vehicle/object movement along paths
- S2 layer for visualizing S2 cell geometry at multiple resolutions
- Split map view for side-by-side comparisons with synchronized navigation
- Export to image, JSON config, or self-contained HTML for sharing

## Comparison with Similar Tools
- **Deck.gl** — lower-level rendering library; Kepler.gl adds a complete UI on top of Deck layers
- **QGIS** — desktop GIS with richer analysis tools; Kepler.gl is browser-native and optimized for large-scale point data
- **Mapbox Studio** — focuses on base map styling; Kepler.gl handles analytical overlay visualization
- **Apache Superset** — supports some map charts; Kepler.gl provides deeper geospatial layer types and time animation
- **Google Earth Engine** — cloud-based raster analysis; Kepler.gl targets interactive vector data exploration

## FAQ
**Q: How much data can Kepler.gl handle?**
A: Kepler.gl can render millions of points in the browser thanks to GPU-accelerated deck.gl layers. Performance depends on the client GPU, but datasets of 1-5 million rows are common.

**Q: Can I use Kepler.gl without Mapbox?**
A: Yes. Swap the base map provider to MapLibre GL JS for a fully open-source stack without a Mapbox token.

**Q: Is Kepler.gl embeddable in my app?**
A: Yes. Kepler.gl is a React/Redux component. Mount it inside your application, dispatch actions to load data, and read state for exports.

**Q: What file formats are supported?**
A: CSV, GeoJSON, Apache Arrow (Feather), and JSON are supported out of the box. Data can also be loaded programmatically from any source.

## Sources
- https://github.com/keplergl/kepler.gl
- https://kepler.gl/docs

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Source: https://tokrepo.com/en/workflows/asset-aa9b7e2a
Author: AI Open Source