The Map Management API is a RESTful API that you can use to programmatically
manage your cloud-based maps styling resources. With this API, you can
define the visual appearance of your maps, manage map identities, and associate
custom styles and datasets with specific map variants---all without using the
Cloud console.

The Map Management API is designed for developers who want to perform large-scale
management of map configurations or integrate map styling into their own
automated workflows and internal tools.

## Key Resources

- **StyleConfig**: Contains the JSON representation of a map style. This defines the colors, visibility, and density of map features.
- **MapConfig**: Represents a unique map identity (Map ID). It acts as a container for styling settings and features like POI boosting or building flattening.
- **MapContextConfig** : Associates a `StyleConfig` (and optionally one or more Datasets) with specific `MapVariants` within a `MapConfig`.

## API Versioning Channels

The Map Management API uses channel-based versioning to provide a clear path from
experimental features to stable, general availability.

- **v2alpha (Experimental)**: Contains the latest experimental features. Features in this channel may change without notice and are not recommended for production use.
- **v2beta (Preview)**: Contains features that are stable and being prepared for general availability. This channel is suitable for early adoption and testing in pre-production environments.
- **v2 (General Availability)**: Contains fully supported, production-ready features.

Most v2 features are available across both the `v2alpha` and `v2beta` endpoints
during their respective rollout phases. For new users, Google recommends
starting with the `v2beta` endpoint.

## Authentication

You can **only** use OAuth 2.0 to authenticate with Map Management API, which does
not support API keys. For more information, see [Use
OAuth](https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/mapmanagement/oauth_token).

## Limitations

- **Developer Roles**: To use the Map Management API, you must have the necessary IAM permissions to manage Google Maps Platform resources within your Google Cloud project.
- **Resource Scope**: This API focuses on management of Cloud-based Map Styling resources. Other Google Maps Platform configurations may still require the Cloud console.

## Costs

There is no charge for using Map Management API. API calls appear on the Billing
page in the Cloud Console, but charges will be $0. However, requests are
constrained as follows:

- 3 QPS (queries per second)
- 180 QPM (queries per minute) for a project, refreshed each minute
- 100,000 QPD (queries per day) for a project, refreshed each day

See [Usage and billing](https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/mapmanagement/usage-and-billing.md.txt).