Mobile Tile Server

Mobile Tile Server is an open-source Android application that runs an HTTP server on the device. It serves map tiles and other static files from storage so they can be accessed by different mapping applications. It is intended for Android users who have local map data or MBTiles files and need to make that data available through local HTTP addresses.

The application provides access to local map tiles through the /tiles path, access to local MBTiles files through the /mbtiles path, redirection to a tile server that uses the QuadKey tile schema, and access to static files. For local map tiles, the user selects a storage directory as the server root, and files in that directory and its subdirectories can be requested. This arrangement allows separate folders under one root to hold different tile sets while remaining available through the same server. The listening port is set in the application settings, and the local service uses an address in the form http://localhost:PORT/tiles for tile access.

MBTiles files are also read from a directory selected in the settings and are requested through http://localhost:PORT/mbtiles. A request for an MBTiles tile identifies the file, zoom level, and x and y coordinates, with the file name including its extension. Because MBTiles uses the TMS tile scheme, an application using the XYZ scheme must provide a negative y value to account for the row transformation.

As an Android application in the Navigation & Travel category, Mobile Tile Server fits uses involving locally stored map resources and mapping software on the same device. Its open-source license makes the source-available nature of the product part of its stated software model. MirrorNest distributes the official build by mirroring it directly on its own storage and scans it for malware before publishing.