Essential Operators

Operators are the core processing units in the Noodles.gl system. They take inputs, process data, and produce outputs that can be connected to other operators.

Primitives

• NumberOp, StringOp, BooleanOp

Data Sources

• FileOp: Load JSON and CSV data from files or URLs
• JSONOp: Parse a JSON string

Code

• CodeOp: Write custom JavaScript for data processing
• DuckDbOp: Query a DuckDB database using sql
• ExpressionOp: Run a JavaScript expression on the data

Visualization

For developers familiar with deck.gl and Maplibre, see the deck.gl and Maplibre Guide for details on how Noodles.gl builds on these libraries.

Layers

• Deck.gl Layers: Create any deck.gl layer, such as ScatterPlotLayerOp
• AccessorOp: Create an accessor function for use in deck.gl layers

Views

• MaplibreBasemapOp: Customize the Maplibre basemap
• MapViewStateOp: Create a react-map-gl ViewState for controlling the camera
• Deck.gl Views: Create any deck.gl view, such as FirstPersonViewOp

Output

• DeckRendererOp: Visualization deck.gl layers and Maplibre maps
• OutOp: Output a visualization

Routing

• DirectionsOp: Get a route between two points, as a path with timestamps for animating along it

Each mode uses a different routing service, and some inputs and outputs only work with one of them. Inputs that don't apply to the selected mode are hidden.

Mode	Service	API key	Extra inputs	Extra outputs
Driving (Mapbox / OSRM)	Mapbox Directions; without a Mapbox key, the free OSRM demo server	Mapbox (optional)	—	—
Driving with traffic (Google)	Google Routes API	Google Maps	Departure time, traffic model, avoid tolls	hasTolls, tollAmount, tollCurrency
Transit (Google)	Google Directions	Google Maps	—	—

All modes output distance (meters), duration (seconds), durationFormatted, path and timestamps. The toll outputs are blank in other modes.

Notes on Driving with traffic:

• Departure time is local time at the origin. Scheduled departures must be in the future.
• Traffic model sets the assumption Google uses for traffic. Best guess is the typical time and matches Google Maps. Pessimistic is a heavy-traffic estimate and Optimistic a light-traffic one.
• Tolls: tollAmount is Google's estimated cash price. If hasTolls is true but tollAmount is blank, Google expects tolls but doesn't know the price.

See API Keys for which Google APIs to enable.

Utilities

• SwitchOp: Switch between multiple values
• MathOp: Perform a mathematical operation
• Debugging: Use ViewerOp and ConsoleOp to inspect intermediate results

GeoJSON

• LineInterpolationOp: Resample LineString and MultiLineString geometry with Catmull–Rom, cardinal, basis, natural, or monotone curves. Its turn-radius mode preserves straight legs and replaces corners with circular arcs measured in meters; short legs automatically limit the effective radius to prevent adjacent turns from overlapping.

Organization

• ContainerOp: Use containers to group related operators