ArcGIS Layers

Use this skill when adding, configuring, or querying data layers in ArcGIS maps.

Layer Types Overview

Layer Type	Use Case	Geometry
FeatureLayer	Most common - feature services, editable data	Points, lines, polygons
GraphicsLayer	Client-side temporary graphics	Any
GeoJSONLayer	GeoJSON files/URLs	Points, lines, polygons
CSVLayer	CSV files with coordinates	Points
TileLayer	Cached map tiles	Raster
VectorTileLayer	Vector tiles (Mapbox style)	Vector
ImageryTileLayer	Raster imagery	Raster
SceneLayer	3D buildings, meshes	3D objects
IntegratedMeshLayer	Photogrammetry meshes	3D mesh
PointCloudLayer	LiDAR point clouds	Points

FeatureLayer

From URL

import FeatureLayer from "@arcgis/core/layers/FeatureLayer.js";

const featureLayer = new FeatureLayer({
  url: "https://services.arcgis.com/V6ZHFr6zdgNZuVG0/arcgis/rest/services/Landscape_Trees/FeatureServer/0",
  outFields: ["*"],
  popupTemplate: {
    title: "{Tree_ID}",
    content: "Height: {Crown_Height} ft"
  }
});

map.add(featureLayer);

From Portal Item

const featureLayer = new FeatureLayer({
  portalItem: {
    id: "51c851fef66143959986b473b345b7ca"
  },
  outFields: ["*"]
});

Client-Side (In-Memory)

const featureLayer = new FeatureLayer({
  source: graphics, // Array of Graphic objects
  fields: [
    { name: "ObjectID", type: "oid" },
    { name: "name", type: "string" },
    { name: "value", type: "double" }
  ],
  objectIdField: "ObjectID",
  geometryType: "point",
  spatialReference: { wkid: 4326 },
  renderer: {
    type: "simple",
    symbol: { type: "simple-marker", color: "blue" }
  }
});

Configuration Options

const featureLayer = new FeatureLayer({
  url: "...",
  outFields: ["*"],           // Fields to include (* = all)
  definitionExpression: "population > 10000", // SQL filter
  minScale: 500000,           // Hide when zoomed out beyond this
  maxScale: 0,                // Hide when zoomed in beyond this
  visible: true,              // Initial visibility
  opacity: 0.8,               // Transparency (0-1)
  title: "Cities",            // Display name
  orderBy: [{ field: "population" }], // Feature draw order
  labelingInfo: [...],        // Labels
  renderer: {...},            // Symbology
  popupTemplate: {...},       // Popup configuration
  elevationInfo: {            // 3D elevation mode
    mode: "relative-to-ground"
  }
});

GraphicsLayer

import GraphicsLayer from "@arcgis/core/layers/GraphicsLayer.js";
import Graphic from "@arcgis/core/Graphic.js";

const graphicsLayer = new GraphicsLayer();
map.add(graphicsLayer);

// Add a point
const pointGraphic = new Graphic({
  geometry: {
    type: "point",
    longitude: -118.24,
    latitude: 34.05
  },
  symbol: {
    type: "simple-marker",
    color: "red",
    size: 12
  },
  attributes: { name: "Los Angeles" },
  popupTemplate: { title: "{name}" }
});

graphicsLayer.add(pointGraphic);

// Add multiple graphics
graphicsLayer.addMany([graphic1, graphic2, graphic3]);

// Remove graphics
graphicsLayer.remove(pointGraphic);
graphicsLayer.removeAll();

GeoJSONLayer

import GeoJSONLayer from "@arcgis/core/layers/GeoJSONLayer.js";

const geojsonLayer = new GeoJSONLayer({
  url: "https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/feed/v1.0/summary/all_month.geojson",
  copyright: "USGS Earthquakes",
  popupTemplate: {
    title: "Earthquake Info",
    content: "Magnitude {mag} hit {place} on {time}",
    fieldInfos: [{
      fieldName: "time",
      format: { dateFormat: "short-date-short-time" }
    }]
  },
  renderer: {
    type: "simple",
    symbol: { type: "simple-marker", color: "orange" },
    visualVariables: [{
      type: "size",
      field: "mag",
      stops: [
        { value: 2.5, size: "4px" },
        { value: 8, size: "40px" }
      ]
    }]
  },
  orderBy: [{ field: "mag" }] // Draw smaller on top
});

map.add(geojsonLayer);

CSVLayer

import CSVLayer from "@arcgis/core/layers/CSVLayer.js";

const csvLayer = new CSVLayer({
  url: "https://example.com/data.csv",
  latitudeField: "latitude",  // Column name for lat
  longitudeField: "longitude", // Column name for lon
  delimiter: ",",
  popupTemplate: {
    title: "{name}",
    content: "{description}"
  }
});

TileLayer (Cached Tiles)

import TileLayer from "@arcgis/core/layers/TileLayer.js";

const tileLayer = new TileLayer({
  url: "https://services.arcgisonline.com/ArcGIS/rest/services/World_Street_Map/MapServer"
});

map.add(tileLayer);

VectorTileLayer

import VectorTileLayer from "@arcgis/core/layers/VectorTileLayer.js";

// From portal item
const vtl = new VectorTileLayer({
  portalItem: { id: "VECTOR_TILE_ITEM_ID" }
});

// From URL
const vtl = new VectorTileLayer({
  url: "https://basemaps.arcgis.com/v1/arcgis/rest/services/World_Basemap/VectorTileServer"
});

ImageryTileLayer

import ImageryTileLayer from "@arcgis/core/layers/ImageryTileLayer.js";

const imageryLayer = new ImageryTileLayer({
  url: "https://tiledimageservices.arcgis.com/...",
  // Or from COG (Cloud Optimized GeoTIFF)
  url: "https://example.com/image.tif"
});

3D Layers

SceneLayer (3D Buildings)

import SceneLayer from "@arcgis/core/layers/SceneLayer.js";

const sceneLayer = new SceneLayer({
  portalItem: { id: "2e0761b9a4274b8db52c4bf34356911e" },
  popupEnabled: false
});

// Add to SceneView map
map.add(sceneLayer);

// Custom 3D symbology
sceneLayer.renderer = {
  type: "simple",
  symbol: {
    type: "mesh-3d",
    symbolLayers: [{
      type: "fill",
      material: { color: [244, 247, 134] }
    }]
  }
};

IntegratedMeshLayer

import IntegratedMeshLayer from "@arcgis/core/layers/IntegratedMeshLayer.js";

const meshLayer = new IntegratedMeshLayer({
  url: "https://tiles.arcgis.com/tiles/.../IntegratedMeshServer"
});

PointCloudLayer

import PointCloudLayer from "@arcgis/core/layers/PointCloudLayer.js";

const pcLayer = new PointCloudLayer({
  url: "https://tiles.arcgis.com/tiles/.../SceneServer"
});

Specialized Layers

For WMS, WFS, KML, MapImageLayer, and CatalogLayer, see arcgis-advanced-layers.

StreamLayer (Real-time)

import StreamLayer from "@arcgis/core/layers/StreamLayer.js";

const streamLayer = new StreamLayer({
  url: "wss://example.com/stream/service",
  purgeOptions: {
    displayCount: 10000
  }
});

ParquetLayer (File-based)

import ParquetLayer from "@arcgis/core/layers/ParquetLayer.js";

const parquetLayer = new ParquetLayer({
  urls: [
    "https://example.com/data.parquet"
  ],
  title: "Parquet Data",
  renderer: {
    type: "simple",
    symbol: { type: "simple-marker", color: "blue" }
  },
  popupTemplate: {
    title: "{name}",
    content: [{
      type: "fields",
      fieldInfos: [
        { fieldName: "field1", label: "Field 1" }
      ]
    }]
  }
});

// Query feature count
const count = await parquetLayer.queryFeatureCount();

GeoRSSLayer

import GeoRSSLayer from "@arcgis/core/layers/GeoRSSLayer.js";

const georssLayer = new GeoRSSLayer({
  url: "https://example.com/feed.xml"
});

map.add(georssLayer);

// Zoom to layer extent
await view.whenLayerView(georssLayer);
view.goTo(georssLayer.fullExtent);

WebTileLayer

import WebTileLayer from "@arcgis/core/layers/WebTileLayer.js";

// OpenStreetMap tiles
const osmLayer = new WebTileLayer({
  urlTemplate: "https://{subDomain}.tile.openstreetmap.org/{z}/{x}/{y}.png",
  subDomains: ["a", "b", "c"],
  copyright: "OpenStreetMap contributors"
});

// Custom tile service
const customTileLayer = new WebTileLayer({
  urlTemplate: "https://tiles.example.com/{level}/{col}/{row}.png"
});

map.add(osmLayer);

MapNotesLayer

import MapNotesLayer from "@arcgis/core/layers/MapNotesLayer.js";

// Layer for sketches and annotations
const notesLayer = new MapNotesLayer();
map.add(notesLayer);

// Access sublayers
const pointLayer = notesLayer.pointLayer;
const polylineLayer = notesLayer.polylineLayer;
const polygonLayer = notesLayer.polygonLayer;
const textLayer = notesLayer.textLayer;

// Add a text annotation
const textGraphic = new Graphic({
  geometry: point,
  symbol: {
    type: "text",
    text: "Note here",
    color: [255, 255, 255],
    haloColor: [0, 0, 0],
    haloSize: 2,
    font: { family: "Arial", size: 14 }
  }
});
textLayer.add(textGraphic);

Layer Management

Adding Layers

// Add single layer
map.add(layer);

// Add at specific index (0 = bottom)
map.add(layer, 0);

// Add multiple layers
map.addMany([layer1, layer2, layer3]);

// Add to Map Component
const viewElement = document.querySelector("arcgis-map");
viewElement.map.add(layer);

Removing Layers

map.remove(layer);
map.removeMany([layer1, layer2]);
map.removeAll();

Layer Ordering

// Reorder layer
map.reorder(layer, newIndex);

// Get layer position
const index = map.layers.indexOf(layer);

// Find layer by id
const layer = map.findLayerById("myLayerId");

// Find layer by title
const layer = map.layers.find(l => l.title === "Cities");

Visibility and Opacity

layer.visible = false;
layer.opacity = 0.5; // 0-1

// Watch visibility changes
import * as reactiveUtils from "@arcgis/core/core/reactiveUtils.js";

reactiveUtils.watch(
  () => layer.visible,
  (newValue) => console.log("Visibility changed:", newValue)
);

Querying Features

Basic Query

// Create query from layer settings
const query = featureLayer.createQuery();
query.where = "population > 100000";
query.outFields = ["name", "population"];
query.returnGeometry = true;

const result = await featureLayer.queryFeatures(query);
console.log(result.features); // Array of Graphic objects

Query with Pagination

const query = featureLayer.createQuery();
query.start = 0;       // Start index
query.num = 20;        // Number of features
query.orderByFields = ["population DESC"];

const result = await featureLayer.queryFeatures(query);

Spatial Query

const query = featureLayer.createQuery();
query.geometry = view.extent; // Or any geometry
query.spatialRelationship = "intersects"; // contains, crosses, etc.
query.returnGeometry = true;

const result = await featureLayer.queryFeatures(query);

Count Query

const count = await featureLayer.queryFeatureCount();
console.log("Total features:", count);

Extent Query

const result = await featureLayer.queryExtent();
console.log("Feature count:", result.count);
await view.goTo(result.extent);

Statistics Query

const query = featureLayer.createQuery();
query.outStatistics = [{
  statisticType: "sum",
  onStatisticField: "population",
  outStatisticFieldName: "totalPop"
}, {
  statisticType: "avg",
  onStatisticField: "population",
  outStatisticFieldName: "avgPop"
}];

const result = await featureLayer.queryFeatures(query);
console.log(result.features[0].attributes.totalPop);

Query from LayerView (Client-side)

const layerView = await view.whenLayerView(featureLayer);

// Query only currently visible features
const query = layerView.createQuery();
query.geometry = view.extent;

const result = await layerView.queryFeatures(query);

Layer Loading

// Wait for layer to load
await featureLayer.load();
console.log("Fields:", featureLayer.fields);
console.log("Extent:", featureLayer.fullExtent);

// Wait for layer view
const layerView = await view.whenLayerView(featureLayer);

// Check if updating
reactiveUtils.watch(
  () => layerView.updating,
  (updating) => {
    if (!updating) {
      console.log("Layer view finished updating");
    }
  }
);

Definition Expressions (Filters)

// SQL WHERE clause filter
featureLayer.definitionExpression = "state = 'California'";

// Clear filter
featureLayer.definitionExpression = null;

// Dynamic filter
function filterByYear(year) {
  featureLayer.definitionExpression = `year = ${year}`;
}

TypeScript Usage

Layer configurations with type properties support autocasting. For TypeScript safety, use as const:

// Use 'as const' for type safety
const featureLayer = new FeatureLayer({
  source: graphics,
  fields: [
    { name: "ObjectID", type: "oid" },
    { name: "name", type: "string" }
  ],
  geometryType: "point",
  renderer: {
    type: "simple",
    symbol: { type: "simple-marker", color: "blue" }
  } as const
});

For complex layer configurations, use type annotations:

const renderer: __esri.SimpleRendererProperties = {
  type: "simple",
  symbol: { type: "simple-marker", color: "blue" }
};

layer.renderer = renderer;

Tip: See arcgis-core-maps skill for detailed guidance on autocasting vs explicit classes.

Reference Samples

• intro-layers - Introduction to working with layers
• layers-featurelayer - FeatureLayer configuration and usage
• layers-geojson - Loading GeoJSON data as a layer
• featurelayer-query - Querying features from a FeatureLayer
• get-started-graphics - Working with Graphics and GraphicsLayer

Common Pitfalls

1. CORS errors with GeoJSON: GeoJSON URLs must be CORS-enabled or use a proxy

2. Missing outFields: Queries return no attribute values unless outFields is specified.

   // Anti-pattern: querying without outFields
   const results = await featureLayer.queryFeatures({
     where: "population > 100000",
     returnGeometry: true
   });
   console.log(results.features[0].attributes.name); // undefined

   // Correct: specify outFields to include desired attributes
   const results = await featureLayer.queryFeatures({
     where: "population > 100000",
     returnGeometry: true,
     outFields: ["name", "population", "state"]
   });
   console.log(results.features[0].attributes.name); // "Los Angeles"

   Impact: Feature attributes come back as undefined or null. The query succeeds but the response contains no usable attribute data, leading to silent data bugs.

3. Not waiting for layer load: Layer metadata (fields, extent, renderer) is unavailable until the layer finishes loading.

   // Anti-pattern: accessing properties before load
   const layer = new FeatureLayer({ url: "https://services.arcgis.com/.../FeatureServer/0" });
   console.log(layer.fields); // null - layer has not loaded yet
   console.log(layer.fullExtent); // null

   // Correct: await layer.load() first
   const layer = new FeatureLayer({ url: "https://services.arcgis.com/.../FeatureServer/0" });
   await layer.load();
   console.log(layer.fields); // Array of Field objects
   console.log(layer.fullExtent); // Extent object

   Impact: fields is null or an empty array, fullExtent is null, and any code that depends on layer metadata throws errors or silently fails.

4. Wrong layer for MapView vs SceneView: Some layers only work in 3D (SceneLayer, IntegratedMeshLayer)

5. Spatial reference mismatch: Adding layers with a different spatial reference than the view without projection support.

   // Anti-pattern: adding a layer in a different SR without handling projection
   const view = new MapView({
     spatialReference: { wkid: 4326 } // WGS84
   });
   const layer = new FeatureLayer({
     url: "https://services.arcgis.com/.../FeatureServer/0" // Data in Web Mercator (3857)
   });
   view.map.add(layer); // Features may render in wrong location

   // Correct: match spatial references or load the projection engine
   import * as projection from "@arcgis/core/geometry/projection";
   await projection.load();
   
   const view = new MapView({
     spatialReference: { wkid: 4326 }
   });
   const layer = new FeatureLayer({
     url: "https://services.arcgis.com/.../FeatureServer/0"
   });
   view.map.add(layer); // Projection engine handles the transformation

   Impact: Features appear in the wrong location, are offset by thousands of kilometers, or do not display at all when spatial references are incompatible.