ArcGIS REST Service Explorer

What an ArcGIS REST services directory is

ArcGIS Server and ArcGIS Enterprise expose every published map, feature and image service through a REST interface. Its root usually looks like …/arcgis/rest/services, and below it sit folders, services (MapServer, FeatureServer, ImageServer and others) and the layers and tables of each service. Feature layers hosted in ArcGIS Online follow the same structure. Add ?f=json to any of these URLs and the resource describes itself in machine-readable form: its name, geometry type, spatial reference, fields and supported operations.

This explorer reads those JSON descriptions and turns them into a tidy tree and summary tables. You no longer need to click through REST pages one by one to see which layers a service contains, check a field type or its coded values, find out how many features a layer holds or take a quick look at it on a map.

How to use it

1. Paste a services directory, folder, service or single layer URL, for example …/rest/services, …/rest/services/Folder/Service/MapServer or …/FeatureServer/0. Suffixes such as ?f=pjson are fine.
2. Press Read Service. Folders and services are listed in the tree; clicking a folder or service loads its contents. Group layers are shown with their sublayers.
3. Select a layer or table. The details panel shows the name, type, geometry type, spatial reference (wkid and latestWkid), extent, maxRecordCount, capabilities, version and feature count, with the field table below. The map zooms to the layer extent, drawn as a dashed outline.
4. Optionally enter a where clause and pick only the fields you need. Preview on Map loads features page by page while a progress bar shows how many have arrived. Click a feature on the map to see its attributes.
5. Download the loaded records as GeoJSON, CSV or KML.

Filters, paging and the record limit

The where field is an SQL-like condition passed directly to the service's query operation. Write numbers as POP2000 > 100000 and text in single quotes, as in STATE_NAME = 'Texas'. Field names must match those in the field table. After changing the condition, the # button refreshes the feature count.

A service returns at most maxRecordCount features per request. To go beyond that, the tool pages through the data: if the service supports it, it steps through features in ObjectID order with resultOffset and resultRecordCount; otherwise it first fetches the list of ObjectIDs and then requests features in batches. The default limit is 2,000 features and can be raised to 10,000. For larger layers, splitting the download with a where clause is kinder to both your browser and the service.

Export formats

• GeoJSON: Coordinates are WGS84 (EPSG:4326) in longitude, latitude order. If the service supports GeoJSON output it is used directly; otherwise the Esri JSON response is converted to GeoJSON in the browser, separating polygon outer rings from holes by ring orientation.
• CSV: The selected fields become columns. Geometry is written to a single WKT column; for point layers you can choose X (longitude) and Y (latitude) columns instead. Date fields are converted to ISO 8601. The file is saved as UTF-8 with a BOM so that accented characters display correctly in spreadsheets.
• KML: Each feature becomes a Placemark named after the layer's display field, with attributes stored in ExtendedData.

Secured services and tokens

Services that are not public return 499 (Token Required). If you are authorised, you can enter a token from your own portal or server in the optional token field. It stays in memory, travels in the request body to the server you entered only, and is never added to the URLs shown on screen. In organisations, deciding who can reach secured services, for how long and through which applications, and how tokens are issued and renewed, is a management task of its own. Rodosto's Proxy Token Manager addresses it at the proxy and token layer; you can find it on rodostoteknoloji.com.

Data and method

The tool uses the standard endpoints of the ArcGIS REST API: f=json for directory, service and layer definitions, returnCountOnly for feature counts, returnExtentOnly for extents, and the query operation with outSR=4326 for the preview. Every request goes straight from your browser to the server you entered and does not pass through Rodosto's servers, so the server must allow browser requests (CORS). Icons come from Lucide (ISC licence). Basemaps are provided by Esri and OpenStreetMap contributors. Open-source libraries used and their licences: Data Sources.

Limitations

• CORS and internal networks: Servers that block browser requests or are only reachable from an internal network cannot be read from this page. The tool says so when it happens.
• HTTP URLs: Because the page runs over HTTPS, URLs starting with http are tried over https first. If the server has no HTTPS, the browser blocks the request.
• Imagery services: For ImageServer and cached map services the details and extent are shown; pixel data is not downloaded.
• Right to use: A public service is not automatically free to use for any purpose. Only download data from services you have the right to use; the service owner's terms of use apply.

For organisations

Rodosto is an Esri Partner working on ArcGIS Enterprise deployments, service publishing and secure access to ArcGIS services. More about our work is on rodostoteknoloji.com, and you can reach us through the contact page.