---
title: "How to create a heatmap layer in Leaflet | Leaflet"
description: "Create heatmap layers in Leaflet using the maptilersdk plugin."
---

> For AI agents: a documentation index is available at [/llms.txt](https://docs.maptiler.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of all pages are available by appending .md to any URL.

# How to create a heatmap layer in Leaflet

Learn how to create a heatmap layer in Leaflet JavaScript library using the leaflet-maptilersdk plugin.

In this example, the heatmap layer is zoom-compensated and as a result the blobs roughly maintain their size in world-scale as we zoom-in/out. Download the [earthquake sample data](https://docs.maptiler.com/sdk-js/assets/earthquakes.geojson).

### NPM module setup

```bash
npm install --save @maptiler/leaflet-maptilersdk leaflet
```

#### main.js

```js
import { MaptilerLayer, MapStyle } from '@maptiler/leaflet-maptilersdk';
import L from 'leaflet';
import 'leaflet/dist/leaflet.css';

const map = L.map('map').setView([37.999, -119.715], 7);
const mtLayer = new MaptilerLayer({
  apiKey: 'YOUR_MAPTILER_API_KEY_HERE',
  style: MapStyle.DATAVIZ.LIGHT, // optional
}).addTo(map);

mtLayer.on("ready", () => {     
  
  // Leverage the MapTiler SDK layer helpers to easily add polyline / point / polygon / heatmap layers
  mtLayer.addHeatmap({
    data: 'earthquakes.geojson',
  });

});
```

#### index.html

```html
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8">
  <meta name="robots" content="noindex">
  <title>How to create a heatmap layer in Leaflet | NPM example</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="./style.css">
</head>
<body>
  <div id="map"></div>
  <script type="module" src="./main.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
```

#### style.css

```css
#map {position: absolute; top: 0; right: 0; bottom: 0; left: 0;}
```

### Basic JavaScript setup

```html
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <meta name="viewport" content="initial-scale=1,maximum-scale=1,user-scalable=no" />
    <title>Vector Tiles in Leaflet JS</title>
    <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://unpkg.com/leaflet@1.9.4/dist/leaflet.css" />
    <script src="https://unpkg.com/leaflet@1.9.4/dist/leaflet.js"></script>
    <script src="https://cdn.maptiler.com/maptiler-sdk-js/v4.2.0/maptiler-sdk.umd.min.js"></script>
    <link href="https://cdn.maptiler.com/maptiler-sdk-js/v4.2.0/maptiler-sdk.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <script src="https://cdn.maptiler.com/leaflet-maptilersdk/v4.1.0/leaflet-maptilersdk.umd.min.js"></script>
    <style>
      #map {position: absolute; top: 0; right: 0; bottom: 0; left: 0;}
    </style>
  </head>
  <body>
    <div id="map"></div>
    <script>
      const map = L.map('map').setView([37.999, -119.715], 7);
      const mtLayer = L.maptiler.maptilerLayer({
        apiKey: 'YOUR_MAPTILER_API_KEY_HERE',
        style: L.maptiler.MapStyle.DATAVIZ.LIGHT, // optional
      }).addTo(map);

      mtLayer.on("ready", () => {     
        
        // Leverage the MapTiler SDK layer helpers to easily add polyline / point / polygon / heatmap layers
        mtLayer.addHeatmap({
          data: 'earthquakes.geojson',
        });

      });
    </script>
  </body>
</html>
```

Replace `YOUR_MAPTILER_API_KEY_HERE` with [your own API key](https://cloud.maptiler.com/account/keys/). Make sure to [secure the key](https://docs.maptiler.com/guides/credentials/api-key/#secure-key) before you publish it.

## Learn more

Check out the [Heatmap Layer Helper](https://docs.maptiler.com/sdk-js/api/helpers/#heatmap) documentation and look at the [Heatmap Helper examples](https://docs.maptiler.com/sdk-js/examples/?q=heatmap+helper) to see the visualization possibilities.

## Related examples

### [Display thousands of lines in Leaflet](https://docs.maptiler.com/leaflet/examples/helpers-polyline/)

Examples

Display thousands of lines efficiently in Leaflet using maptilersdk.

### [Display thousands of polygons in Leaflet](https://docs.maptiler.com/leaflet/examples/helpers-polygon/)

Examples

Display thousands of polygons efficiently in Leaflet using maptilersdk.

### [Plotting millions of points in Leaflet](https://docs.maptiler.com/leaflet/examples/helpers-point/)

Examples

Display millions of points efficiently in Leaflet using maptilersdk.

### [Points as cluster](https://docs.maptiler.com/leaflet/examples/cluster/)

Examples

Visualize data points as cluster maps using Leaflet JS.
