Protocols

One runtime. Six protocol families. Every client gets in.

Honua serves GeoServices REST, OGC API, OData, gRPC, MCP, and cloud-native tiles from a single PostGIS-backed process. Legacy GIS clients, business tools, new apps, and AI agents all connect without separate products.

Modern Protocols

gRPC and MCP go beyond legacy GIS.

gRPC

Typed binary transport for apps and mobile

gRPC gives applications and mobile clients a fast typed path for high-throughput requests, service-to-service calls, and field workflows that outperform REST/XML.

Strong fit for typed SDKs, field apps, and service integrations.
Roughly 60-70% lower bandwidth and 5x faster parsing in benchmark/spec work.
Protocol direction is aimed at OGC working-group submission, not a private wire format.

MCP

Agent-native geospatial access

MCP lets coding agents, copilots, and analyst assistants discover services, inspect schemas, and run filtered queries through a supported interface instead of brittle scraping and custom wrappers.

Discovery and query workflows for AI assistants and coding agents.
Direct bridge from geospatial data into agent ecosystems.
No legacy GIS platform has native agent access today. Honua does.

Connection Model

Which protocol fits which client.

Use the path that matches the client you already have or the application you are building.

Client type	Protocol	Typical use
ArcGIS Pro, QGIS, web map clients	GeoServices REST, OGC API, WMS, WMTS, tiles	Migration, compatibility, standards-based access
Excel, Power BI, Tableau, ERP, low-code	OData v4	Business analytics with spatial data outside GIS tools
App backends, services, mobile clients	gRPC	Typed access, higher throughput, faster mobile sync
AI assistants, copilots, coding agents	MCP	Discovery, schema inspection, filtered queries

One Honua deployment serves all of these at the same time. No separate products for migration, analytics, mobile, and agent workflows.

Conformance

CITE certified with exact test counts.

These are not marketing claims. They are published conformance results from the OGC CITE test suite.

OGC API Features

137/137 CITE tests passing.

OGC API Tiles

16/16 CITE tests passing.

WMS 1.3

227/227 tests passing.

WMTS 1.0

118/118 tests passing.

Coverage

What each protocol family does.

GeoServices REST

ArcGIS compatibility

FeatureServer (query, edit, attachments, related records, replicas), MapServer (export, identify, legend, find), ImageServer, and Geometry Service (buffer, intersect, project, union, and more).

OGC API

Features, Tiles, and Maps

OGC API Features with transactions and CQL2 filtering, OGC API Tiles for vector and raster, and OGC API Maps for server-rendered images. All CITE certified.

OData v4

Spatial data in business tools

Full CRUD with $filter, $select, $orderby, $top, $skip, $count, $search, $apply, $batch, and spatial functions. Connect Excel, Power BI, Tableau, and ERPs directly.

gRPC

Binary transport

Typed binary protocol for high-throughput queries, batch edits, and streaming. Unary access in base platform; streaming in Pro/Enterprise.

MCP

Agent access

Service discovery, schema inspection, and filtered query workflows for AI assistants and coding agents. REST-backed in community; lower-latency transport in higher editions.

Tiles + WMS + WMTS

Raster and vector tiles

PostGIS-native MVT generation with TileJSON and auto-generated MapLibre styles. WMS 1.3 (227/227 passing) and WMTS 1.0 (118/118 passing) for legacy integrations.

Editions

Every edition includes the full protocol family.

Capability	Community	Pro / Enterprise
GeoServices REST, OGC API, OData, tiles, WMS, WMTS	Included	Same protocols, stronger scale and governance
gRPC	Unary access included	Streaming unlocks high-throughput binary paths
MCP	REST-backed MCP server	Lower-latency transport and richer agent capabilities
SDK access	All SDKs included (Apache 2.0)	Paid tiers add scale and governance, not SDK access

Engineering

Built for production workloads.

Native AOT compiled .NET runtime. PostGIS-native tile generation with ST_AsMVT. Optional Redis-backed distributed cache. Prepared statements and connection pooling for sustained throughput.

Migration

Protocol coexistence makes migration practical.

Keep ArcGIS-style clients alive while new apps move to gRPC, OGC, OData, or MCP at their own pace. No forced cutover.

Build On Top

Pick the SDK for your stack.

JavaScript for web apps and Esri migration. .NET for enterprise services and MAUI. Python for data workflows. MCP for agent integration.

View SDKs View Mobile Open Docs