Feature services

Feature services allow you to serve feature data and nonspatial tables over the internet or your intranet. This makes your data available for use in web clients, desktop apps, and field apps.

As the publisher of a feature service, you determine the functionality that is available to the people who use the feature service, define the styling used when displaying the features, and define templates for editing data. When people access a feature service, they access the data and the data associated with it through relationship classes. They can use the feature service in the maps and apps they create, they can run analysis on the layers in the service, and, if you allow it, they can edit the data in the feature service.

Feature services run on ArcGIS GIS Server sites.

License:

For information about the functionality that is available in feature services based on the ArcGIS Enterprise licensing, see the functionality matrix.

Feature service creation

To publish a feature service, you must prepare the data and publish it. The specific steps you take to do so depend on the functionality you require for the feature service.

Required functionality	Summary of steps to create	What you get
I need my data to remain in my source enterprise geodatabase or database because it is my system of record that other applications access. I want to share all the feature classes and tables accessed through a database connection file to allow other members of my ArcGIS Enterprise organization to view the data. Custom settings such as editing, offline use, symbology, and extents are not immediately required in the layers, and can be configured for each layer.	If you are using one of the databases listed in User-managed data stores in ArcGIS Enterprise, do the following to create a database data store item and bulk publish ArcGIS Server map and feature services (map services with feature access enabled): Grant access to a single database user on the feature classes and tables you want to publish. See Controlling access to data published from data store items for more information. Create a database connection as the user who has access to the data to be published. Add a database data store item. When you add the data store, specify the federated sites with which the database will be registered. As the owner of the data store item, publish all the accessible layers to a federated GIS Server site.	A map service with feature access enabled running on the ArcGIS GIS Server site. A map image layer and feature layer in ArcGIS Enterprise. The feature layers do not have editing enabled. You can share the layers with groups, your organization, or the public.
I need my data to remain in my source enterprise geodatabase or database because it is my system of record that other applications access. Editors will update data directly in the data source, and I want the changes to be reflected in the feature service. Tip: To access the data in an enterprise geodatabase or database as read-only features, you can alternatively publish a map service.	Prepare the source data for use in a feature service. Author a map in ArcGIS Pro that contains the feature classes and tables you want in the feature service. Publish to a federated server or stand-alone ArcGIS GIS Server site.	A map service with feature access enabled running on the ArcGIS GIS Server site. If you publish to a federated server, you also get a map image layer, feature layer, and service definition file in ArcGIS Enterprise that you can share with groups, your organization, or the public.
In addition to the previous requirements, I also want people to edit data through the feature service, and I want to see the changes in the data source when accessed through other clients.	Complete the previous three steps, and enable editing capabilities on the feature service when you publish.	A map service with feature access enabled running on the ArcGIS GIS Server site. If you publish to a federated server, you also get a service definition file, map image layer, and an editable feature layer in ArcGIS Enterprise, that you can share with groups, your organization, or the public.
People need to edit the feature service when disconnected from the network, but I want the edits they make while offline to be synchronized with my system of record.	Prepare the source data for use in a feature service. Perform additional preparatory steps needed to take the data offline. Author a map in ArcGIS Pro that contains the feature classes and tables you want in the feature service. Publish to a federated server or stand-alone ArcGIS GIS Server site. Enable editing and sync when you publish.	A map service with feature access enabled running on the ArcGIS GIS Server site. If you publish to a federated server, you also get a service definition file, map image layer, and an editable, sync-enabled feature layer in ArcGIS Enterprise that you can share with groups, your organization, or the public. To complete the workflow, create a web map containing the feature layer and configure styling and other settings. Configure the web map so it has the same sharing settings as the feature layer, and configure the web map to be taken offline. If people will use the web map offline in apps such as ArcGIS Field Maps, you also need to configure the basemap in the web map so it can be taken offline.
I have file data sources—such as CSV, Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, and shapefiles—from which I want to create feature services.	Prepare the file for publishing. For example, define the data types for columns in the spreadsheet or compress the shapefile or file geodatabase in a .zip file. Upload the file to ArcGIS Enterprise or ArcGIS Online and publish a hosted feature layer. Configure styles and settings on the hosted feature layer. Share the hosted feature layer to specific groups, your organization, or the public.	A file (.csv, Microsoft Excel, shapefile, geoJSON, OGC GeoPackage, or file geodatabase). A hosted feature layer. If you published to ArcGIS Enterprise, the hosted feature layer data is stored in the hosting server's relational store. If you published to ArcGIS Online, the hosted feature layer data is stored in ArcGIS Online. If you published to ArcGIS Enterprise, there's a feature service running on the hosting server.
I have data in a geodatabase or database, but I want to create a copy of the data to share with the public for community input.	Author a map in ArcGIS Pro that contains the feature classes and tables you want copied and accessible through the feature service. Publish to ArcGIS Online. (You can also publish to ArcGIS Enterprise, though for the public to engage, it must be accessible outside of the organization's firewall.) Enable editing, configure the layer to allow public editing, and share the layer with everyone (public) to allow community input.	An editable hosted feature layer on ArcGIS Online that is shared with the public. The data for the hosted feature layer is stored in ArcGIS Online. A service definition file that is shared with the public. You may want to change the sharing setting on this file so it is only available to you and the administrators in your organization. To complete the workflow, create a web map containing the hosted feature layer and configure styling and other settings. Share the web map with everyone (public). Add the web map to a web app and configure the app with the tools the public will need to provide input. Share the web app with everyone (public).
I have data in a geodatabase or database, but I want to create a copy of the data to share with my organization or a subset of the members of my organization.	Author a map in ArcGIS Pro that contains the feature classes and tables you want copied and accessible through the feature service. Publish to ArcGIS Enterprise or ArcGIS Online. Configure styling and other settings on the hosted feature layer. Share the layer with your organization or specific groups.	A hosted feature layer in an ArcGIS organization that is shared with your target users. The data for the hosted feature layer is stored in the relational store of the hosting server or in ArcGIS Online. A service definition file that is shared with the same people as the hosted feature layer. You may want to change the sharing setting on this file so it is only available to you and the administrators in your organization. If you published to ArcGIS Enterprise, there's a feature service running on the hosting server.
I use ArcGIS GeoEvent Server to stream live data, but I want to archive some of that data locally.	Configure an input connector for the streaming data. Configure a spatiotemporal big data store output connector to archive the data.	Connectors in ArcGIS GeoEvent Server. A feature layer in ArcGIS Enterprise. A feature service running on the hosting server. The feature layer data is stored in the hosting server's spatiotemporal big data store.
My data is stored in an enterprise geodatabase and it is registered for branch versioning.	Prepare the source data for use in a feature service. Ensure that the database connection file is configured for branch versioning. Author a map in ArcGIS Pro that contains the feature classes and tables you want in the feature service. Publish to a federated server and enable Version Management when publishing.	A map service with feature access and version management enabled running on the ArcGIS GIS Server site. A map image layer, feature layer, and service definition file in ArcGIS Enterprise that you can share with groups, your organization, or the public. To edit the versioned data, add the feature layer to a map in ArcGIS Pro.

Feature services created as a result of running a tool or app

You also create hosted feature layers as a result of running certain tools or apps, such as the following:

• Certain standard feature analysis tools in an ArcGIS organization create hosted feature layers as output.

• Some of the GeoAnalytics Tools you run in ArcGIS Pro create hosted feature layers or hosted spatiotemporal feature layers as output.

• When you create a survey in ArcGIS Survey123, an editable hosted feature layer is created to record survey input.

• When you create a ArcGIS Workforce project, a hosted feature layer is created for data collection.

• Location sharing uses a hosted spatiotemporal feature layer. The organization administrator can create hosted feature layer views from this feature layer.

• ArcGIS Mission Manager creates a hosted feature layer each time you create a mission.

• When you publish a Reservations layer that conforms to the ArcGIS Indoors information model to an ArcGIS Enterprise organization that is licensed for ArcGIS Indoors Spaces, a hosted Indoors Spaces feature layer is created.