Tile Creator and MBTiles Generator

This project automates the process of downloading satellite imagery tiles for a specified region and converting them into an MBTiles file. The workflow uses Go, Bash, and Docker, making it easy to configure, run, and package tile downloads.

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Project Structure

tile_creator/
├── Dockerfile             # Dockerfile to build the environment
├── download_tiles.go      # Go script to download tiles
└── entrypoint.sh          # Bash script to convert tiles and add metadata

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Features

• Concurrent Downloads: Speeds up tile downloads using Go's concurrency.
• Configurable Regions and Zoom Levels: Specify latitude, longitude, and zoom levels.
• MBTiles Generation: Converts downloaded tiles to MBTiles using mb-util.
• Metadata Injection: Adds essential metadata to the MBTiles file.
• Dockerized Workflow: Encapsulates dependencies in a Docker container for easy setup.

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Installation

1. Clone the Repository:

   git clone <repo-url>
   cd tile_creator

2. Build the Docker Image:

   docker build -t tile_creator .

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Usage

Run the following command to download tiles and generate an MBTiles file:

docker run --rm -it \
  -e HIGHEST_ZOOM=10 \
  -e MIN_LAT=16.5 \
  -e MAX_LAT=26.5 \
  -e MIN_LON=51.8 \
  -e MAX_LON=60.0 \
  -e OUTPUT_DIR="/app/tiles" \
  -e OUTPUT_MBTILES="/app/output/output.mbtiles" \
  -v $(pwd)/output:/app/output \
  -v $(pwd)/tiles:/app/tiles \
  tile_creator

Explanation of Parameters

Parameter	Description	Example
HIGHEST_ZOOM	Maximum zoom level for the download	10
MIN_LAT	Minimum latitude of the region	16.5
MAX_LAT	Maximum latitude of the region	26.5
MIN_LON	Minimum longitude of the region	51.8
MAX_LON	Maximum longitude of the region	60.0
OUTPUT_DIR	Directory to store downloaded tiles	./tiles
OUTPUT_MBTILES	Name of the generated MBTiles file	./output.mbtiles

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Understanding Zoom Levels

Zoom levels determine the scale and detail of the map tiles. Here’s a breakdown of typical zoom levels:

Zoom Level	Description	Approximate Scale	Tile Grid Size
0	Entire world in one tile	1:500 million	1 x 1
1	World divided into 4 tiles	1:250 million	2 x 2
5	Large countries visible	1:4 million	32 x 32
10	Cities and towns visible	1:70,000	1024 x 1024
15	Streets and buildings visible	1:2,000	32,768 x 32,768
20	Individual buildings and details	1:500	1,048,576 x 1,048,576

• Zoom Level 0: The entire world fits in a single tile.
• Each increase in zoom level doubles the number of tiles along each axis.

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Dependencies

All dependencies are installed within the Docker container:

• Go (1.23)
• Python 3 with mb-util
• SQLite3
• Docker

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Generated MBTiles

After running the script, you'll get an MBTiles file (e.g., output.mbtiles) in the specified directory. This file can be used with:

• Map Servers: TileServer-GL, GeoServer
• GIS Tools: QGIS, Mapbox
• Custom Applications: Web or mobile mapping apps

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Example Command for Oman at Zoom Level 10

To download tiles for Oman with a maximum zoom level of 10, run:

docker run --rm -it \
  -e HIGHEST_ZOOM=10 \
  -e MIN_LAT=16.5 \
  -e MAX_LAT=26.5 \
  -e MIN_LON=51.8 \
  -e MAX_LON=60.0 \
  -e OUTPUT_DIR="./tiles" \
  -e OUTPUT_MBTILES="./oman.mbtiles" \
  tile_creator

This will generate an MBTiles file named oman.mbtiles.