@placekit/client-js

PlaceKit JS Client

Location data, search and autocomplete for your apps

Features • Quick start • Reference • License • Examples

---

PlaceKit JavaScript Client abstracts interactions with our API, making your life easier. We highly recommend to use it instead of accessing our API directly.

👉 If you're looking for a full Autocomplete experience, have a look at our standalone PlaceKit Autocomplete JS library, or check out our examples to learn how to integrate with an existing components library.

✨ Features

• Featherweight, zero-dependency HTTP client
• Works both on the browser and node.js
• Integrates with your preferred stack and autocomplete components (see examples)
• TypeScript compatible

🎯 Quick start

NPM

First, install PlaceKit JavaScript Client using npm package manager:

npm install --save @placekit/client-js

Then import the package and perform your first address search:

// CommonJS syntax:
const placekit = require("@placekit/client-js/lite");

// ES6 Modules syntax:
import placekit from "@placekit/client-js/lite";

const pk = placekit("<your-api-key>", {
  //...
});

pk.search("Paris").then((res) => {
  console.log(res.results);
});

👉 Check out our examples for different use cases and advance usages!

CDN

First, add this line before the closing </body> tag in your HTML to import PlaceKit JavaScript Client:

<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/@placekit/client-js@2.3.0/dist/placekit-lite.umd.js"></script>

Then it works the same as the node example above. After importing the library, placekit becomes available as a global:

<script>
  const pk = placekit("<your-api-key>", {
    //...
  });

  pk.search("Paris").then((res) => {
    console.log(res.results);
  });
</script>

Or if you are using native ES Modules:

<script type="module">
  import placekit from "https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/@placekit/client-js@2.3.0/dist/placekit-lite.js";
  const pk = placekit(/* ... */);
  // ...
</script>

🧰 Reference

PlaceKit Client JS exports two versions of the client:

Version	Path	Methods	Modules
Lite	@placekit/client-js/lite	Search methods	ESM, CJS, UMD
Extended	@placekit/client-js	All methods	ESM, CJS

• Lite version has an optimized bundle size for the browser, but works also in the back-end.
• Extended version methods require a private API key that you should never expose to the browser–it is intended for the back-end only.

---

• placekit()

Lite and Extended:

• pk.search()
• pk.reverse()
• pk.options
• pk.configure()
• pk.requestGeolocation()
• pk.clearGeolocation()
• pk.hasGeolocation

Extended-only:

• pk.patch.list()
• pk.patch.create()
• pk.patch.get()
• pk.patch.update()
• pk.patch.delete()
• pk.patch.deleteLang()
• pk.keys.list()
• pk.keys.create()
• pk.keys.get()
• pk.keys.update()
• pk.keys.delete()

---

placekit()

PlaceKit initialization function returns a PlaceKit client, named pk in all snippets below.

// Lite version, CommonJS syntax:
const placekit = require("@placekit/client-js/lite");

// Lite version, ES6 Modules syntax:
import placekit from "@placekit/client-js/lite";

// Extended version, CommonJS syntax:
const placekit = require("@placekit/client-js");

// Extended version, ES6 Modules syntax:
import placekit from "@placekit/client-js";

// Initialize PlaceKit client
const pk = placekit("<your-api-key>", {
  countries: ["fr"],
  language: "en",
  maxResults: 10,
});

Parameter	Type	Description
apiKey	string	API key
options	key-value mapping (optional)	Global parameters (see options).

pk.search()

Performs a search and returns a Promise, which response is a list of results alongside some request metadata. The options passed as second parameter override the global parameters only for the current query.

pk.search("Paris", {
  countries: ["fr"],
  maxResults: 5,
}).then((res) => {
  console.log(res.results);
});

Parameter	Type	Description
query	string	Search terms
opts	key-value mapping (optional)	Search-specific parameters (see options).

pk.reverse()

Performs a reverse geocoding search and returns a Promise, which response is a list of results alongside some request metadata. The options passed as first parameter override the global parameters only for the current query. Any coordinates previously set as option would be overriden by the coordinates passed as first argument.

pk.reverse({
  coordinates: "48.871086,2.3036339",
  countries: ["fr"],
  maxResults: 5,
}).then((res) => {
  console.log(res.results);
});

Parameter	Type	Description
opts	key-value mapping (optional)	Search-specific parameters (see options).

Notes:

• If you omit options.coordinates, it'll use coordinates from global parameters set when instanciating with placekit() or with pk.configure().

pk.options

Read-only to access global options persistent across all API calls that are set at initialization and with pk.configure(). Options passed at query time in pk.search() override global parameters only for that specific query.

console.log(pk.options); // { "language": "en", "maxResults": 10, ... }

Option	Type	Default	Description
countries	string[]?	undefined	Countries to search in, default to current IP country. Array of two-letter ISO country codes(1).
language	string?	undefined	Preferred language for the results(1), two-letter ISO language code. Supported languages are en and fr. By default the results are displayed in their country's language.
types	string[]?	undefined	Type of results to show. Array of accepted values: street, city, country, administrative, airport, bus, county, train, townhall, tourism. Prepend - to omit a type like ['-bus']. Unset to return all.
maxResults	integer?	5	Number of results per page.
coordinates	string?	undefined	Coordinates to search around. Automatically set when calling pk.requestGeolocation().
forwardIP	string?	undefined	Set x-forwarded-for header to forward the provided IP for back-end usages (otherwise it'll use the server IP).

[1]: See Coverage for more details.

pk.configure()

Updates global parameters. Returns void.

pk.configure({
  language: "fr",
  maxResults: 5,
});

Parameter	Type	Description
opts	key-value mapping (optional)	Global parameters (see options)

pk.requestGeolocation()

Requests device's geolocation (browser-only). Returns a Promise with a GeolocationPosition object.

pk.requestGeolocation({ timeout: 10000 }).then((pos) =>
  console.log(pos.coords)
);

Parameter	Type	Description
opts	key-value mapping (optional)	navigator.geolocation.getCurrentPosition options.

The location will be store in the coordinates global options, you can still manually override it.

pk.clearGeolocation()

Clear device's geolocation stored with pk.requestGeolocation.

pk.clearGeolocation();

The global option coordinates will be deleted and pk.hasGeolocation will be set to false.

pk.hasGeolocation

Reads if device geolocation is activated or not (read-only).

console.log(pk.hasGeolocation); // true or false

pk.patch.list()

⚠️ Restricted to private API keys, do NOT expose the private key to the browser.

List, filter and paginate patch records.

// get all patches, paginated
pk.patch.list().then((res) => {
  console.log(res.results);
});

// filter and paginate patches
pk.patch
  .list({
    status: "approved",
    maxResults: 10,
    offset: 10,
  })
  .then((res) => {
    console.log(res.results);
  });

Parameter	Type	Description
opts	key-value mapping (optional)	Search options.
opts.status	('pending' | 'approved')?	Publication status.
opts.query	string?	Terms filter.
opts.countries	string[]?	Countries filter, array of two-letter ISO country codes.
opts.types	string[]?	Types filter, array of accepted values: street, city, administrative, airport, bus, county, train, townhall, tourism. Prepend - to omit a type like ['-bus']. Unset to return all.
opts.language	string?	undefined
opts.maxResults	number?	Maximum number of results to return.
opts.offset	number?	Paginate results starting from the offset.

Patch Record status explained

• pending: only available through Live Patching endpoints,
• approved: available to end-users through Search endpoints.

pk.patch.create()

⚠️ Restricted to private API keys, do NOT expose the private key to the browser.

Add a missing location or fix an existing one.

// Adding a missing location
const record = {
  type: 'street',
  name: 'New street',
  city: 'Los Angeles',
  county: 'Los Angeles',
  administrative: 'California',
  country: 'United States of America',
  countrycode: 'us',
  coordinates: '33.9955095,-118.472482',
  zipcode: ['90291'],
  population: 3849000,
};
pk.patch.create(record, { status: 'approved' }).then((record) => {
  console.log(record);
});

// Fixing an existing location
pk.patch.create(
  { population: 3849000 },
  { status: 'approved' }
  originalRecord, // original record from `pk.search` or `pk.reverse`
).then((record) => {
  console.log(record);
});

Parameter	Type	Description
update	key-value mapping	Full patch record if adding, at least one property if fixing.
update.type	string	Record type, one of administrative, airport, bus, city, county, street, tourism, townhall, train.
update.name	string	Record display name (street name, city name, station name...).
update.city	string	Record city name.
update.county	string (optional)	Record county/province/department.
update.administrative	string (optional)	Record administrative/region/state.
update.country	string	Record country name.
update.countrycode	string	Record two-letter ISO country code.
update.coordinates	string	Record coordinates in format lat,lng.
update.zipcode	string[]	Record postal/zip code(s).
update.population	number	Record population of its city.
opts	key-value mapping (optional)	Patch record options.
opts.status	('pending' | 'approved')?	Record status.
opts.language	string?	Language in which the record is written, two-letter ISO language code.
origin	key-value mapping (optional)	Original (and complete) record to fix, from pk.search() or pk.reverse().

Patch Record language explained

Language is always considered as "preferred display language", which means:

• If you omit opts.language, then details will be set in the default language.
• If the patch record has a translation but no default, then the first available translation will be used as default.
• If the patch record misses some translation, it will show the default value for non-translated properties.

pk.patch.get()

⚠️ Restricted to private API keys, do NOT expose the private key to the browser.

Retrieve a patch record by ID.

// get record default language
pk.patch.get("<patch-id>").then((record) => {
  console.log(record);
});

// get record FR translation
pk.patch.get("<patch-id>", "fr").then((record) => {
  console.log(record);
});

Parameter	Type	Description
id	string	Record ID.
language	string?	Language to get, two-letter ISO language code.

pk.patch.update()

⚠️ Restricted to private API keys, do NOT expose the private key to the browser.

Update a patch record.

// update and publish
pk.patch
  .update(
    "<patch-id>",
    { coordinates: "33.9955095,-118.472482" },
    { status: "approved" }
  )
  .then((record) => {
    console.log(record);
  });

// update translation
pk.patch
  .update("<patch-id>", { name: "Rue Nouvelle" }, { language: "fr" })
  .then((record) => {
    console.log(record);
  });

// unpublish
pk.patch
  .update("<patch-id>", undefined, { status: "pending" })
  .then((record) => {
    console.log(record);
  });

Parameter	Type	Description
id	string	Record ID.
update	key-value mapping (optional)	Updated fields, at least one property must be set if defined.
update.type	string	One of administrative, airport, bus, city, county, street, tourism, townhall, train.
update.name	string	Record display name (street name, city name, station name...).
update.city	string	Record city name.
update.county	string (optional)	Record county/province/department.
update.administrative	string (optional)	Record administrative/region/state.
update.country	string	Record country name.
update.countrycode	string	Record two-letter ISO country code.
update.coordinates	string	Record coordinates in format lat,lng.
update.zipcode	string[]	Record postal/zip code(s).
update.population	number	Record population of its city.
opts	key-value mapping (optional)	Patch options.
opts.status	('pending' | 'approved')?	Publication status.
opts.language	string?	Target language, two-letter ISO language code.

pk.patch.delete()

⚠️ Restricted to private API keys, do NOT expose the private key to the browser.

Delete a patch record.

pk.patch.delete("<patch-id>");

Parameter	Type	Description
id	string	Record ID.

pk.patch.deleteLang()

⚠️ Restricted to private API keys, do NOT expose the private key to the browser.

Delete a patch translation.

pk.patch.deleteLang("<patch-id>", "fr");

Parameter	Type	Description
id	string	Record ID.
language	string	Language to unset, two-letter ISO language code.

NOTES:

• Deleting a translation will return a 409 error if there is no default language and no other translation available.

pk.keys.list()

⚠️ Restricted to private API keys, do NOT expose the private key to the browser.

Retrieve all application API keys.

pk.keys.list();

pk.keys.create()

⚠️ Restricted to private API keys, do NOT expose the private key to the browser.

Create an application API key.

pk.keys.create("<role>", { domains: [] });

Parameter	Type	Description
role	('public' | 'private')	API key role.
options	object?	API key options.
options.domains	string[]?	Domain restriction.

pk.keys.get()

⚠️ Restricted to private API keys, do NOT expose the private key to the browser.

Retrieve an API key by ID.

pk.keys.get("<key-id>");

Parameter	Type	Description
id	string	API key ID.

pk.keys.update()

⚠️ Restricted to private API keys, do NOT expose the private key to the browser.

Update an API key.

pk.keys.update("<key-id>", { domains: [] });

Parameter	Type	Description
id	string	API key ID.
options	object?	API key options.
options.domains	string[]?	Domain or IP restriction (for public keys only).

pk.keys.delete()

⚠️ Restricted to private API keys, do NOT expose the private key to the browser.

Delete an API key.

pk.keys.delete("<key-id>");

Parameter	Type	Description
id	string	API key ID.

⚖️ License

PlaceKit JavaScript Client is an open-sourced software licensed under the MIT license.