API Keys

We’ve introduced API Keys across our services. These make life easier for everyone when it comes to identifying requests from your apps and websites. We recommend updating your configuration to use API Keys, since they are now required for all requests.

You can find and manage your API Keys by signing in to your Thunderforest account.

What are they?

API Keys are simply a token that you append to each request to identify that request is related to your account. They are a 32 character identifier, made of letters and numbers such as abcd1234abcd1234abcd1234abcd1234.

We use API Keys in addition to other information, such as IP addresses, HTTP Referer and User-Agent headers, to associate requests with your account. In some cases it is hard for developers to control the User-Agent headers sent by their mapping framework, and in others the Referer information is unreliable. By using API Keys we make life easier in these situations, and in future we’ll be able to provide real-time quota information to you.

How do we use them?

Obtaining your API Key is easy - just sign in to your Thunderforest account, and you’ll see your list of API Keys on your dashboard. Simply add your key to the end of the URL in your application or website configuration - for example:

https://tile.thunderforest.com/outdoors/{z}/{x}/{y}.png?apikey=<insert-your-apikey-here>

A full list of example URLs are shown on your dashboard, using your API Key.

If you don’t already have a Thunderforest account, sign up today!

If you have any questions about API Keys, please contact our support team.