kepler.gl

Kepler.gl is a web-based tool for visualizing large sets of location data on a map. It can handle millions of data points and still run in a browser, which makes it practical for datasets that would slow down most mapping tools. You can upload CSV or GeoJSON files containing coordinates, then choose how to display them: as individual dots, as a heatmap of density, as arcs between origin and destination points, or as hexagonal grid aggregations that summarize many points into regional buckets.

The project has two main forms. One is a standalone demo application you can open in a browser and use directly without writing any code. You load your data, pick a layer type, adjust colors and sizes, and share or export the result. The other form is a React component that developers can embed into their own web applications. When used as a component, it connects to the application state management system and can be controlled programmatically.

Both forms require a Mapbox access token to render the base map tiles underneath the data layers. The token is free to obtain from Mapbox for reasonable usage volumes. The library is installed via npm or Yarn using individual packages, since kepler.gl is split into separate modules for components, reducers, and other functionality.

The tool is described as data-agnostic, meaning it works with location data regardless of what the points represent: taxi trips, earthquake records, delivery routes, or anything else that has coordinates. Filters can be applied to focus on time ranges or other attributes, and spatial aggregations happen in real time as you adjust settings.

Kepler.gl is open source under the MIT license and was created by the team at Uber. The repository includes documentation, a user guide, and several example projects.