ArcGIS Smart Mapping Skill

ArcGIS Smart Mapping

Use this skill to auto-generate renderers based on data, calculate statistics, and create intelligent visualizations.

Import Patterns

Direct ESM Imports

import * as colorRendererCreator from "@arcgis/core/smartMapping/renderers/color.js";
import * as sizeRendererCreator from "@arcgis/core/smartMapping/renderers/size.js";
import * as typeRendererCreator from "@arcgis/core/smartMapping/renderers/type.js";
import summaryStatistics from "@arcgis/core/smartMapping/statistics/summaryStatistics.js";
import histogram from "@arcgis/core/smartMapping/statistics/histogram.js";

CDN Dynamic Imports

const colorRendererCreator = await $arcgis.import("@arcgis/core/smartMapping/renderers/color.js");
const summaryStatistics = await $arcgis.import("@arcgis/core/smartMapping/statistics/summaryStatistics.js");

Note: Examples below use Direct ESM imports. For CDN usage, replace import X from "path" with const X = await $arcgis.import("path").

Smart Mapping Module Overview

| Module | Import Path | Purpose | |--------|-------------|---------| | renderers/color | @arcgis/core/smartMapping/renderers/color.js | Color-based renderers | | renderers/size | @arcgis/core/smartMapping/renderers/size.js | Size-based renderers | | renderers/type | @arcgis/core/smartMapping/renderers/type.js | Unique value renderers | | renderers/heatmap | @arcgis/core/smartMapping/renderers/heatmap.js | Heatmap renderers | | renderers/dotDensity | @arcgis/core/smartMapping/renderers/dotDensity.js | Dot density renderers | | renderers/opacity | @arcgis/core/smartMapping/renderers/opacity.js | Opacity renderers | | renderers/relationship | @arcgis/core/smartMapping/renderers/relationship.js | Bivariate renderers | | renderers/predominance | @arcgis/core/smartMapping/renderers/predominance.js | Predominance renderers | | renderers/pieChart | @arcgis/core/smartMapping/renderers/pieChart.js | Pie chart renderers | | renderers/univariateColorSize | @arcgis/core/smartMapping/renderers/univariateColorSize.js | Combined color+size | | renderers/location | @arcgis/core/smartMapping/renderers/location.js | Simple location renderers | | statistics/classBreaks | @arcgis/core/smartMapping/statistics/classBreaks.js | Class break values | | statistics/histogram | @arcgis/core/smartMapping/statistics/histogram.js | Histogram bins | | statistics/summaryStatistics | @arcgis/core/smartMapping/statistics/summaryStatistics.js | Min/max/avg/stddev | | statistics/uniqueValues | @arcgis/core/smartMapping/statistics/uniqueValues.js | Unique field values | | statistics/predominantCategories | @arcgis/core/smartMapping/statistics/predominantCategories.js | Dominant categories | | statistics/heatmapStatistics | @arcgis/core/smartMapping/statistics/heatmapStatistics.js | Heatmap density stats | | statistics/summaryStatisticsForAge | @arcgis/core/smartMapping/statistics/summaryStatisticsForAge.js | Age from date fields | | symbology/color | @arcgis/core/smartMapping/symbology/color.js | Color schemes | | symbology/support/colorRamps | @arcgis/core/smartMapping/symbology/support/colorRamps.js | Color ramp library | | heuristics/sizeRange | @arcgis/core/smartMapping/heuristics/sizeRange.js | Optimal size range | | heuristics/scaleRange | @arcgis/core/smartMapping/heuristics/scaleRange.js | Optimal scale range | | labels/clusters | @arcgis/core/smartMapping/labels/clusters.js | Cluster labels | | labels/bins | @arcgis/core/smartMapping/labels/bins.js | Bin labels | | popup/clusters | @arcgis/core/smartMapping/popup/clusters.js | Cluster popups | | popup/templates | @arcgis/core/smartMapping/popup/templates.js | Popup templates |

Renderer Creators

Color Renderer (Continuous)

Creates a renderer with color gradient based on numeric values.

import * as colorRendererCreator from "@arcgis/core/smartMapping/renderers/color.js";

const { renderer, visualVariable, colorScheme } = await colorRendererCreator.createContinuousRenderer({
  layer: featureLayer,
  view: view,
  field: "population",
  theme: "high-to-low" // high-to-low, above, below, centered-on, extremes
});

featureLayer.renderer = renderer;

Color Renderer (Class Breaks)

Creates a renderer with distinct color classes.

const { renderer, classBreakInfos } = await colorRendererCreator.createClassBreaksRenderer({
  layer: featureLayer,
  view: view,
  field: "income",
  classificationMethod: "natural-breaks", // equal-interval, quantile, standard-deviation
  numClasses: 5,
  colorScheme: {
    id: "esri-orange-9"
  }
});

featureLayer.renderer = renderer;

Size Renderer (Continuous)

import * as sizeRendererCreator from "@arcgis/core/smartMapping/renderers/size.js";

const { renderer, visualVariable } = await sizeRendererCreator.createContinuousRenderer({
  layer: featureLayer,
  view: view,
  field: "magnitude"
});

featureLayer.renderer = renderer;

Size Renderer (Class Breaks)

const { renderer } = await sizeRendererCreator.createClassBreaksRenderer({
  layer: featureLayer,
  view: view,
  field: "sales",
  classificationMethod: "quantile",
  numClasses: 4
});

Type (Unique Values) Renderer

import * as typeRendererCreator from "@arcgis/core/smartMapping/renderers/type.js";

const { renderer, uniqueValueInfos } = await typeRendererCreator.createRenderer({
  layer: featureLayer,
  view: view,
  field: "landuse",
  numTypes: 10, // Maximum categories before "Other"
  sortBy: "count" // value, count
});

featureLayer.renderer = renderer;

Heatmap Renderer

import * as heatmapRendererCreator from "@arcgis/core/smartMapping/renderers/heatmap.js";

const { renderer } = await heatmapRendererCreator.createRenderer({
  layer: featureLayer,
  view: view,
  field: "magnitude", // Optional: weight by field
  radius: 18,
  minDensity: 0,
  maxDensity: 0.05
});

featureLayer.renderer = renderer;

Dot Density Renderer

import * as dotDensityRendererCreator from "@arcgis/core/smartMapping/renderers/dotDensity.js";

const { renderer } = await dotDensityRendererCreator.createRenderer({
  layer: featureLayer,
  view: view,
  attributes: [
    { field: "dem_votes", color: "blue", label: "Democrat" },
    { field: "rep_votes", color: "red", label: "Republican" }
  ],
  dotValue: 1000,
  dotBlendingEnabled: true
});

featureLayer.renderer = renderer;

Relationship Renderer

Shows relationship between two variables in a bivariate map.

import * as relationshipRendererCreator from "@arcgis/core/smartMapping/renderers/relationship.js";

const { renderer } = await relationshipRendererCreator.createRenderer({
  layer: featureLayer,
  view: view,
  field1: { field: "population" },
  field2: { field: "income" },
  numClasses: 3, // 2, 3, or 4
  focus: "HH"    // HH, HL, LH, LL
});

Predominance Renderer

Shows which category has the highest value per feature.

import * as predominanceRendererCreator from "@arcgis/core/smartMapping/renderers/predominance.js";

const { renderer } = await predominanceRendererCreator.createRenderer({
  layer: featureLayer,
  view: view,
  fields: [
    { name: "dem_votes", label: "Democrat" },
    { name: "rep_votes", label: "Republican" },
    { name: "ind_votes", label: "Independent" }
  ],
  includeSizeVariable: true,
  includeOpacityVariable: true
});

Pie Chart Renderer

import * as pieChartRendererCreator from "@arcgis/core/smartMapping/renderers/pieChart.js";

const { renderer } = await pieChartRendererCreator.createRenderer({
  layer: featureLayer,
  view: view,
  attributes: [
    { field: "asian", label: "Asian" },
    { field: "black", label: "Black" },
    { field: "white", label: "White" },
    { field: "other", label: "Other" }
  ],
  sizeOptimizationEnabled: true
});

Univariate Color-Size Renderer

Combines color and size to emphasize a single variable.

import * as univariateRendererCreator from "@arcgis/core/smartMapping/renderers/univariateColorSize.js";

const { renderer } = await univariateRendererCreator.createContinuousRenderer({
  layer: featureLayer,
  view: view,
  field: "population",
  theme: "above-and-below"
});

Location Renderer

Simple location-based visualization (no data-driven styling).

import * as locationRendererCreator from "@arcgis/core/smartMapping/renderers/location.js";

const { renderer } = await locationRendererCreator.createRenderer({
  layer: featureLayer,
  view: view,
  color: [0, 112, 255]
});

Statistics Functions

Summary Statistics

import summaryStatistics from "@arcgis/core/smartMapping/statistics/summaryStatistics.js";

const result = await summaryStatistics({
  layer: featureLayer,
  field: "temperature"
});

console.log(result.avg);      // Mean
console.log(result.count);    // Feature count
console.log(result.max);      // Maximum
console.log(result.min);      // Minimum
console.log(result.stddev);   // Standard deviation
console.log(result.sum);      // Sum
console.log(result.variance); // Variance

Class Breaks

import classBreaks from "@arcgis/core/smartMapping/statistics/classBreaks.js";

const result = await classBreaks({
  layer: featureLayer,
  field: "population",
  classificationMethod: "natural-breaks", // equal-interval, quantile, standard-deviation
  numClasses: 5,
  normalizationField: "area" // Optional
});

console.log(result.classBreakInfos);
// [{ minValue: 0, maxValue: 1000, count: 50 }, ...]

Histogram

import histogram from "@arcgis/core/smartMapping/statistics/histogram.js";

const result = await histogram({
  layer: featureLayer,
  field: "income",
  numBins: 20,
  minValue: 0,
  maxValue: 200000
});

console.log(result.bins);
// [{ minValue: 0, maxValue: 10000, count: 150 }, ...]

Unique Values

import uniqueValues from "@arcgis/core/smartMapping/statistics/uniqueValues.js";

const result = await uniqueValues({
  layer: featureLayer,
  field: "category"
});

console.log(result.uniqueValueInfos);
// [{ value: "Type A", count: 100 }, ...]

Summary Statistics for Age

import summaryStatisticsForAge from "@arcgis/core/smartMapping/statistics/summaryStatisticsForAge.js";

const result = await summaryStatisticsForAge({
  layer: featureLayer,
  field: "construction_date",
  unit: "years" // years, months, days, hours, minutes, seconds
});

console.log(result.avg); // Average age in years

Predominant Categories

import predominantCategories from "@arcgis/core/smartMapping/statistics/predominantCategories.js";

const result = await predominantCategories({
  layer: featureLayer,
  fields: ["typeA_count", "typeB_count", "typeC_count"]
});

console.log(result.predominantCategoryInfos);

Heatmap Statistics

import heatmapStatistics from "@arcgis/core/smartMapping/statistics/heatmapStatistics.js";

const result = await heatmapStatistics({
  layer: featureLayer,
  view: view,
  field: "magnitude"
});

console.log(result.maxDensity);
console.log(result.minDensity);

Symbology (Color Schemes)

Get Color Schemes

import * as symbologyColor from "@arcgis/core/smartMapping/symbology/color.js";

const schemes = symbologyColor.getSchemes({
  geometryType: "polygon",
  theme: "high-to-low"
});

console.log(schemes.primaryScheme);    // Best match
console.log(schemes.secondarySchemes); // Alternatives

Color Scheme Themes

| Theme | Description | |-------|-------------| | high-to-low | Sequential (low to high values) | | above-and-below | Diverging (center point) | | centered-on | Centered on specific value | | extremes | Emphasize high and low values |

Get Color Ramps

import * as colorRamps from "@arcgis/core/smartMapping/symbology/support/colorRamps.js";

const allRamps = colorRamps.all();
const byName = colorRamps.byName("Green-Brown");

Heuristics

Size Range

import sizeRange from "@arcgis/core/smartMapping/heuristics/sizeRange.js";

const result = await sizeRange({
  layer: featureLayer,
  view: view,
  field: "population"
});

console.log(result.minSize); // Suggested minimum
console.log(result.maxSize); // Suggested maximum

Scale Range

import scaleRange from "@arcgis/core/smartMapping/heuristics/scaleRange.js";

const result = await scaleRange({
  layer: featureLayer,
  view: view
});

console.log(result.minScale);
console.log(result.maxScale);

Cluster & Bin Labels

Cluster Labels

import * as clusterLabels from "@arcgis/core/smartMapping/labels/clusters.js";

const { labelingInfo } = await clusterLabels.getLabelSchemes({
  layer: featureLayer,
  view: view
});

Bin Labels

import * as binLabels from "@arcgis/core/smartMapping/labels/bins.js";

const { labelingInfo } = await binLabels.getLabelSchemes({
  layer: featureLayer,
  view: view
});

Raster Smart Mapping

Class Breaks Raster Renderer

import * as rasterClassBreaks from "@arcgis/core/smartMapping/raster/renderers/classBreaks.js";

const { renderer } = await rasterClassBreaks.createRenderer({
  layer: imageryLayer,
  view: view,
  classificationMethod: "natural-breaks",
  numClasses: 5
});

imageryLayer.renderer = renderer;

Stretch Raster Renderer

import * as rasterStretch from "@arcgis/core/smartMapping/raster/renderers/stretch.js";

const { renderer } = await rasterStretch.createRenderer({
  layer: imageryLayer,
  view: view,
  stretchType: "standard-deviation", // min-max, standard-deviation, histogram-equalization
  numberOfStandardDeviations: 2
});

RGB Raster Renderer

import * as rasterRGB from "@arcgis/core/smartMapping/raster/renderers/rgb.js";

const { renderer } = await rasterRGB.createRenderer({
  layer: imageryLayer,
  view: view,
  bandIds: [4, 3, 2] // NIR, Red, Green (false color)
});

Flow Renderer

import * as rasterFlow from "@arcgis/core/smartMapping/raster/renderers/flow.js";

const { renderer } = await rasterFlow.createRenderer({
  layer: imageryLayer,
  view: view
});

Common Patterns

Complete Smart Mapping Workflow

// 1. Create renderer
const { renderer } = await colorRendererCreator.createContinuousRenderer({
  layer: featureLayer,
  view: view,
  field: "population"
});

// 2. Get histogram for slider widget
const histogramResult = await histogram({
  layer: featureLayer,
  field: "population",
  numBins: 50
});

// 3. Apply renderer
featureLayer.renderer = renderer;

// 4. Create histogram range slider
const slider = new HistogramRangeSlider({
  bins: histogramResult.bins,
  min: histogramResult.minValue,
  max: histogramResult.maxValue,
  values: [histogramResult.minValue, histogramResult.maxValue]
});

Multi-Variable Visualization

// Color by one variable, size by another
const colorResult = await colorRendererCreator.createContinuousRenderer({
  layer: featureLayer,
  view: view,
  field: "income"
});

const sizeResult = await sizeRendererCreator.createVisualVariables({
  layer: featureLayer,
  view: view,
  field: "population"
});

colorResult.renderer.visualVariables.push(sizeResult.visualVariable);
featureLayer.renderer = colorResult.renderer;

Create Visual Variable Only

const { visualVariable } = await colorRendererCreator.createVisualVariable({
  layer: featureLayer,
  view: view,
  field: "temperature",
  theme: "high-to-low"
});

// Add to existing renderer
renderer.visualVariables = [visualVariable];

Reference Samples

visualization-sm-color - Smart mapping with color renderers
visualization-sm-size - Smart mapping with size renderers
visualization-sm-types - Smart mapping for unique value types
visualization-sm-relationship - Relationship smart mapping
visualization-sm-predominance - Predominance visualization
visualization-sm-dotdensity - Smart mapping dot density
visualization-sm-uni-colorsize - Univariate color-size
visualization-sm-multivariate - Multi-variable smart mapping
visualization-sm-classbreaks - Smart mapping class breaks
visualization-histogram-color - Histogram-driven color visualization

Common Pitfalls

View required: Most smart mapping functions require a view parameter for scale-dependent calculations.

// Anti-pattern: missing view
const { renderer } = await colorRendererCreator.createContinuousRenderer({
  layer: featureLayer,
  field: "population"
});

// Correct: include view
const { renderer } = await colorRendererCreator.createContinuousRenderer({
  layer: featureLayer,
  view: view,
  field: "population"
});

Async operations: All smart mapping functions return promises. Always await results.
Field type mismatch: Numeric fields for color/size continuous renderers. String/coded-value fields for type/unique value renderers.

Layer must be loaded: The layer needs to be loaded and have the specified field.

await featureLayer.load();
const { renderer } = await colorRendererCreator.createContinuousRenderer({...});

Color scheme geometry: Color schemes are geometry-type specific.

const schemes = symbologyColor.getSchemes({
  geometryType: featureLayer.geometryType, // point, polyline, polygon
  theme: "high-to-low"
});

Related Skills

arcgis-visualization - Manual renderer and symbol configuration
arcgis-feature-effects - Visual effects and filters
arcgis-layers - Layer types and configuration
arcgis-core-maps - Map and view setup

Agent Skills: ArcGIS Smart Mapping

Install this agent skill to your local

Skill Files