API Overview
GIS.PH exposes a REST API for Philippine admin geography, thematic layers (starting with waterways paint), and custom data (datasets & features), plus auth/keys and a few operational surfaces.
Documentation layers
Section titled “Documentation layers”| Layer | Owns | Does not own |
|---|---|---|
Code / OpenAPI (api.gis.ph) | Technical contract: paths, params, schemas, operation summaries | Product narrative and onboarding essays |
This site (docs.gis.ph) | Intent, decisions, getting started, CLI/SDK/MCP guides | A second full OpenAPI field catalog |
See Interactive API Reference for Scalar and the generated OpenAPI document.
Public Scalar visibility is controlled on the API (OPENAPI_VISIBLE_TAGS). Use https://api.gis.ph/reference as the always-current operation list.
Public resource groups
Section titled “Public resource groups”Focus of the public product surface:
| Area | Typical base paths | Guide on this site |
|---|---|---|
| Admin geography | /v1/regions, /v1/provinces, /v1/municities, /v1/barangays | Regions, Provinces, Municities, Barangays |
| Reverse geocode | GET /v1/geocode/reverse | Reverse geocode |
| Thematic paint (waterways) | GET /v1/tiles, POST /v1/tiles/sessions, /tiles/pmtiles/:slug | Waterways |
| Custom data | /v1/datasets, /v1/features | Datasets & Features |
| API keys | /v1/api-keys | Authentication + Scalar |
| Webhooks / Admin | /v1/webhooks/*, /v1/admin/* | Scalar only (operational; no dedicated guides here) |
Free tier: JSON metadata for admin geography is available without an API key (rate-limited). GeoJSON / geometry parameters require authentication. See Authentication. Reverse geocode and waterways paint are not free-tier.
Identifiers: for admin geography, get-by-id path params use PSGC codes (e.g. /v1/barangays/0730600041), not internal serial row ids. Batch POST search also takes PSGC codes. Response bodies may still include a numeric id field for convenience; do not use it in URLs.
Other API families (places, politics, orgs, projects, etc.) may still exist on the live API for product/dashboard use but are not part of the public OpenAPI/Scalar surface and are not covered by guides on this site.
Clients
Section titled “Clients”| Client | Package / service | Coverage today |
|---|---|---|
| CLI | gis.ph-cli | Regions, provinces, municities, barangays, politicians |
| JS SDK | gis.ph-sdk | Provinces, barangays |
| PHP SDK | gisph/sdk (Laravel-friendly) | Provinces, barangays |
| MCP | mcp.gis.ph | Regions, provinces, municities, barangays, datasets |
SDKs and CLI intentionally cover the most common admin-geography workflows first. For field-level detail on datasets, features, and keys, use Scalar.