Home

Welcome to the mbutil FAQ

Can mbutil convert pbf or mvt (vector tiles) to images?

No, it cannot. Think of it this way: vector tiles are wireframe outlines of what is eventually a map. They're like blueprints for a building. They don't tell the map what colors to use or whether to draw something as a line or as a point. Those details are hard and those are what tools like Mapbox Studio do. So, 'converting' isn't a very descriptive word for the process, since you aren't simply translating from one format to another - it's not apples to apples. It's more like 'rendering' and it includes a lot of opinions, hence the many map styles that exist.

tl;dr: no, use Mapbox Studio or one of the many tools listed here

Can mbutil export tiles stored as JPEG to PNG files?

Also no: mbutil simply pulls tiles into and out of MBTiles files. It doesn't convert image formats or render anything: you're welcome to contribute tools or PRs that do that, but currently it does not.