---
title: "Resolve a name to a geographic entity"
method: GET
path: "/entities/resolve"
tags: ["discovery"]
---

# Resolve a name to a geographic entity

`GET /entities/resolve`

## Request

- Base URL: `https://api.mapsource.io`
- URL: `https://api.mapsource.io/entities/resolve`
- Auth: HTTP bearer

Resolves a place name to an entity ID, type, display name, center, source ID, and confidence score. Similar-scoring candidates produce an ambiguous result.

When to use: Resolve a place once and reference its entity ID in subsequent operations.

When not to use: Use nearby search for features around a point, or readEntity for an existing entity ID.

## Query parameters

- `q` string, required
- `lat` number
- `lon` number
- `limit` integer

## Response `200`

Resolve a name to a geographic entity

- object
  - `schema` string
  - `query` string
  - `ambiguous` boolean: True when candidates were too close to choose between; entity is then null.
  - `entity` object, nullable
  - `candidates` object[]
    - `entityId` string
    - `type` string
    - `name` string, nullable
    - `displayName` string, nullable
    - `center` unknown
    - `source` string
    - `sourceId` string, nullable
    - `confidence` number

## Other responses

- `400`: Error with a stable machine code.
- `401`: Error with a stable machine code.
- `429`: Error with a stable machine code.
- `500`: Error with a stable machine code.

---

[API](https://skmtc.dev/mapsource/apis/mapsource-overpass-api.md) · [All operations](https://skmtc.dev/mapsource/apis/mapsource-overpass-api/llms.txt) · [OpenAPI document](https://skmtc.dev/mapsource/apis/mapsource-overpass-api/revisions/8af8c2769e7b?raw)