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name: interactive-earth-engine-maps description: "Route geemap interactive Earth Engine maps, backend choice, layers, basemaps, widgets, and HTML or Streamlit map output." disable-model-invocation: true metadata: disco-role: operating license: MIT

Interactive Earth Engine Maps

Use this operating sub-skill when the user asks for geemap map construction or debugging: creating a map, choosing the ipyleaflet or folium backend, adding Earth Engine layers, adding basemaps or tile services, adding map widgets, comparing layers, and saving or embedding an interactive map.

Route here for

• geemap.Map, geemap.geemap.Map, and geemap.core.Map when the desired map is the default ipyleaflet-backed geemap map.
• geemap.foliumap.Map or USE_FOLIUM=1 when the desired map is the folium-backed HTML-oriented map.
• Earth Engine layer methods: add_layer, addLayer, and add_ee_layer.
• Map positioning methods: set_center, setCenter, center_object, and centerObject.
• Basemap and external layer methods: add_basemap, add_tile_layer, add_wms_layer, split_map, add_raster, add_cog_layer, and add_stac_layer.
• Presentation and widget controls: add_legend, add_colorbar, add_draw_control, add_layer_manager, and add_inspector.
• Map output methods: to_html and to_streamlit.
• Module surfaces that support interactive maps: geemap.ee_tile_layers, geemap.basemaps, geemap.map_widgets, and geemap.toolbar.

Route elsewhere

• Data conversion, local/remote data movement, Earth Engine exports, shp_to_ee, ee_export_*, ee_to_numpy, COG/STAC URL helpers, and format troubleshooting: conversion-and-io.
• Charts, static cartography, cartoee, legends/colormaps beyond map attachment, Plotly, pydeck, kepler, and maplibre style depth: visualization-and-charts.
• Timelapse generation, GIF/MP4 processing, app packaging, and deployment workflows: timelapse-and-apps.
• Earth Engine classifier conversion and ML/AI helper workflows: machine-learning-and-ai.

First actions for future agents

1. For map recipes, backend choice, and Earth Engine layer patterns, read references/workflows.md.
2. For signatures, aliases, backend differences, and method ownership, read references/api-reference.md.
3. For failures, credentials, optional services, widget display, basemaps, palettes, legends, or colorbars, read references/troubleshooting.md.
4. If the active Python environment is uncertain, run scripts/map_smoke.py with --backend ipyleaflet --skip-ee-init or --backend folium --skip-ee-init.
5. For package-wide installation and Earth Engine account setup, use the root skill's installation/auth guidance if integration provides it.

Backend policy

• Prefer ipyleaflet for notebooks, drawing, layer manager, inspector, split-map UI, bidirectional widget interaction, and the richest geemap toolset.
• Prefer folium for simple map rendering, saved HTML, static Leaflet output, or lightweight Streamlit embedding.
• Use explicit imports when backend behavior matters:
  • import geemap.geemap as geemap for ipyleaflet.
  • import geemap.foliumap as geemap for folium.
• Treat top-level import geemap as environment-dependent: if USE_FOLIUM is set, it loads folium behavior; otherwise it attempts the ipyleaflet implementation.
• Use ee_initialize=False for offline or pre-auth smoke checks. Remove that flag only after the user has an Earth Engine account, project, credentials, and network access.

Safety boundaries

• This sub-skill can create offline map objects and inspect method availability without Earth Engine authentication.
• Adding real Earth Engine imagery, sampling data, centering on remote EE objects, or using Inspector values requires Earth Engine initialization and network access.
• add_raster usually requires optional local tile serving support; add_cog_layer and add_stac_layer usually require reachable titiler or catalog services.
• Keep generated answers self-contained: do not ask future agents to open the original repository checkout. Use only this subtree and sibling generated skill references.

Workflow checklist

• For a map-only offline check, import the chosen backend, create Map(..., ee_initialize=False), add a basemap or tile URL, and run the smoke script if imports are uncertain.
• For an authenticated EE layer, initialize Earth Engine first, then call add_layer, addLayer, or add_ee_layer with a supported EE object and a validated vis_params dictionary.
• For external web layers, use add_tile_layer for XYZ URLs and add_wms_layer for WMS services; match argument names to the active backend.
• For COG/STAC/local raster layers, confirm optional raster dependencies, local file paths, remote URLs, and titiler or local tile serving requirements before blaming EE auth.
• For interactive controls, stay on ipyleaflet and use add_draw_control, add_layer_manager, add_inspector, add_toolbar, or add_gui as appropriate.
• For portable output, call to_html; use to_streamlit only when Streamlit is installed and route larger app deployment to the app sub-skill.

Troubleshooting start points

• Auth, project, proxy, or EE service failures: use references/troubleshooting.md, section "Earth Engine auth, project, and network".
• Import, kernel, Colab, Jupyter, or widget display failures: use the troubleshooting sections on kernel restart and widget display.
• Backend mismatch or USE_FOLIUM surprises: use the backend policy above plus scripts/map_smoke.py and the troubleshooting backend section.
• Basemap registry versus module-helper confusion: use the troubleshooting section "Basemap catalog and shadowing".
• Palette, legend, and colorbar validation errors: use the troubleshooting section "Invalid palette, legend, or colorbar values".
• Raster, COG, STAC, WMS, or XYZ layer failures: use the troubleshooting section "Optional localtileserver, titiler, and network layers".

Bundled-source policy

• scripts/map_smoke.py is the only bundled executable helper for this sub-skill.
• The credentialed Earth Engine map example from the repository is intentionally reference-only and distilled into references/workflows.md; do not ask future agents to run or open it.
• references/api-reference.md owns the verified method and module surface; keep new API detail there rather than expanding this router.
• references/troubleshooting.md owns the operational failure matrix; keep new failure notes there rather than scattering them through workflows.
• Verification cases and reports belong outside this runtime subtree; this sub-skill only contains operating instructions and helpers.