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pelias

Introduction

Welcome to the Pelias Documentation page! Here, you will find all the information you need to get started with the Pelias geocoding engine. Pelias is an open-source geocoder powered by Elasticsearch, designed to be used for address searching and geocoding. It provides accurate and efficient results for searching addresses, points of interest, and other location-based information.

Installation

To install and set up Pelias, follow the steps below:

  1. Ensure you have the minimum system requirements: Linux or macOS, Node.js, Docker, and Elasticsearch
  2. Create a new directory for your Pelias installation
  3. Clone the Pelias repository from GitHub: git clone https://github.com/pelias/pelias.git
  4. Navigate to the cloned repository: cd pelias
  5. Run the installation script: ./bin/setup
  6. Configure your desired Pelias settings in the pelias.json file. Update Elasticsearch settings, importers, and other parameters as needed.
  7. Start the Pelias services: npm start

Basic Usage

Once Pelias is up and running, you can start using its geocoding capabilities. Pelias provides both a command-line interface (CLI) and a RESTful API for geocoding. Here’s a quick overview of how to use both methods:

Command-Line Interface (CLI)

To geocode using the CLI, follow these steps:

  1. In your terminal, navigate to the Pelias installation directory
  2. Run the command: node cli.js [query] where [query] is the address or location you want to geocode
  3. Pelias will provide the geocoded results in the terminal output

RESTful API

To geocode using the Pelias RESTful API, follow these steps:

  1. Make a GET request to the API endpoint: /v1/search
  2. Include the necessary query parameters, such as text for the address or location you want to geocode
  3. Pelias will respond with the geocoded results in JSON format

Advanced Usage

In addition to the basic geocoding functionalities, Pelias offers several advanced features and configurations for more specialized use cases. Here are a few notable ones:

Customizing Data

Pelias allows you to customize the geocoded data by importing your own data or modifying the existing data. You can define custom data importers and prioritize certain data sources over others.

Reverse Geocoding

Pelias supports reverse geocoding, which allows you to obtain the address or location information for a given set of coordinates. You can achieve this by using the provided reverse geocoding endpoints.

Autocomplete

If you want to implement address autocomplete functionality, Pelias provides an autocomplete endpoint that suggests addresses and locations as the user types. This can greatly enhance the user experience of your application.

Contributing

Pelias is an open-source project and welcomes contributions from the community. If you would like to contribute code, documentation, or submit bug reports, please refer to the CONTRIBUTING.md file in the Pelias repository for detailed instructions on how to get involved.

Conclusion

Pelias is a powerful geocoding engine that provides accurate and efficient results for searching addresses and locations. With its extensible architecture and advanced features, you can customize and enhance your geocoding workflows. Start using Pelias today and unlock the full potential of geocoding in your applications.