Maps in your app — no API key needed
In shortEvery MonstarX app can draw two kinds of map with no key and no setup — a world map of countries you can click and colour, and a street map with pins you can pan and zoom. Ask for the map in the chat. Connect Mapbox or Google Maps only for address search, directions, places or satellite views.
A map makes some apps click: a store finder, a travel journal, sales by country, the venues of a festival. Maps usually mean signing up for a map service and pasting an API key. In MonstarX they do not. Every app can show maps for free, with no key, no sign-up and no request limits.
Which maps can my app show?
Section titled “Which maps can my app show?”A world map of countries
Section titled “A world map of countries”A clean map of every country (236 of them). People can click a country to choose it, the map can colour countries by a number, and it can zoom to a region like Europe or South America. It works everywhere, even without an internet connection for the map itself, and people can pick countries with the keyboard too.
Good for: choosing a country, “where our customers are”, results by market, a list of places visited, news by country.
A street map you can pan and zoom
Section titled “A street map you can pan and zoom”A detailed map of streets, parks and buildings anywhere in the world, with pins you can click. It comes in streets, light, dark and terrain styles, can fit itself around all your pins, and tells your app where someone clicked.
Good for: store locators, venue maps, “what’s near me”, delivery zones, a map on each listing.
How do I add a map?
Section titled “How do I add a map?”Ask for it and say what goes on it:
Add an Explore page with a world map. Shade each country by how many recipes come from it, and when someone clicks a country, list its recipes below the map.
On each café page, show a street map with a pin at the café. On the Find a café page, show all cafés as pins, and open the café when someone clicks its pin.
MonstarX always uses these built-in maps. It never draws a map by hand or loads another map library, so your maps look right and load fast.
When do I need Mapbox or Google Maps?
Section titled “When do I need Mapbox or Google Maps?”The built-in maps show places you already know the position of. Connect a map service for the things they cannot do:
| You want | You need |
|---|---|
| A world map, a street map, pins, choosing a country | Nothing — built in |
| Turning a typed address into a pin on the map (geocoding) | Mapbox or Google Maps |
| Directions and routes | Mapbox or Google Maps |
| Searching for places and businesses, address autocomplete | Google Maps or Mapbox |
| Satellite views | Mapbox |
Connect them under BackendCloud, in Connectors — see Connectors. Once Mapbox is connected, your street maps switch to Mapbox’s own map styles by themselves, satellite included, with nothing to change in your app.
Frequently asked questions
Section titled “Frequently asked questions”Do the built-in maps cost anything?
No. They need no account and no key, and have no request limits.
Can people type an address and see it on the map?
Turning an address into a position needs a map service. Connect Mapbox or Google Maps and ask MonstarX to add address search.
Can I show a satellite view?
Yes, with the Mapbox connector. Without it, the satellite style shows the detailed street map instead.
Will my map show in link previews and QA screenshots?
The world map, yes: it is drawn as part of the page. The street map is drawn in the browser, and a browser that cannot draw it shows a short message instead of an empty box.