Getting started

NTHMAP is a physical-world intelligence platform. It layers live vessels, infrastructure, world events, commodity prices, and AI insights on a single interactive map. The same data is available through a REST API, a command-line tool, and an MCP server for AI agents.

This page gets you from zero to a working request in five minutes.

1. Create an account

Visit the app and click Sign in. Create an account with an email and password. You'll start on the free tier — enough to explore the vessels and infrastructure layers.

Upgrade to Pro ($199/mo) to unlock events, chokepoints, draw tools, AI flow analysis, saved prompts, full API + CLI + MCP access, and 10 alert regions.

2. Explore the map

The app is divided into:

• Topbar — universal search (vessels, ports, signals, terminals), AI dock toggle (✨), Tables dropdown (Vessels & Fleet, Infrastructure, Route Planner, Charter Board, Storms, Inventories, Prices, Arb Monitor, Briefing), CLI playground (>_), satellite/globe toggles
• Left sidebar — layer toggles, per-layer filters, draw tools, saved views, saved prompts, scheduled queries
• Map — Leaflet canvas with vessel markers (60k+ MMSIs), infrastructure icons (56 categories), event pulses, chokepoint pressure zones, and Google-style place labels
• Right panel — appears when you click any vessel, asset, or event. For vessels: position, speed, estimated cargo, load %, destination, sanctions badge if applicable, and (on Pro) AI trading context summary + 7-day track with speed sparkline
• AI chat dock — bottom-center floating panel for natural-language queries. Open with the ✨ icon
• Bottom ticker — live commodity prices

Pro-tier highlights

• Route Planner (Tables → Route Planner) — pick origin + destination, toggle 12 maritime gateways (Suez, Panama, Malacca, Drake, Magellan, Kiel, Oresund, Corinth, Messina, NE/NW Passage, Gibraltar). Save planners for later
• Polygon Flow A↔B — draw two polygons, see how many vessels moved A→B and B→A in the lookback window
• OFAC sanctioned vessel directory — auto-cross-references your live AIS data
• Scheduled queries — automate any view (daily on Pro, hourly/10-min on Enterprise)

3. Create your first API key

On Pro, you can generate API keys for automated access:

1. Launch the map at /app
2. Click your avatar in the top-right
3. Click Account settings (coming soon — use the CLI login command for now to generate a key)

Or via the API directly while logged in:

curl https://nthmap.com/api/keys/ \
  -X POST \
  -H "content-type: application/json" \
  -b cookies.txt \
  -d '{"name":"My laptop","scopes":["read"]}'

The response includes a token field starting with ntm_live_ — copy it now, it's only shown once.

4. Make your first API request

With your API key, you can hit any read endpoint:

curl "https://nthmap.com/api/vessels?bbox=54,25,58,28&types=Crude+Tanker" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ntm_live_..."

You'll get a JSON array of crude tankers in the Persian Gulf. That same query from the CLI:

$ nthmap vessels list --bbox 54,25,58,28 --types "Crude Tanker"

Or via an AI agent using the MCP server:

"How many crude tankers are currently in the Strait of Hormuz?"

5. Where to next

• Concepts — how NTHMAP models the physical world
• API reference — every endpoint, every parameter
• CLI — command-line tool installation and usage
• MCP server — give your AI agents physical-world context
• Use cases — 16 vertical market playbooks

Status & support

NTHMAP is under active development. File issues, request features, or ask questions by emailing hello@nthmap.com.