geocoder
A flexible, extensible Elixir geocoding library with built-in caching and support for multiple providers.
What is geocoder?
Geocoder is an Elixir library that provides geocoding and reverse geocoding functionality, converting addresses to geographic coordinates and vice versa. It solves the problem of integrating location-based services into Elixir applications by offering a simple, cached, and extensible interface.
Elixir developers building applications that require location lookup, such as mapping services, logistics platforms, or any app needing address-to-coordinate conversion.
Developers choose Geocoder for its flexibility and extensibility—it supports multiple providers, allows custom components, and includes built-in caching to optimize performance and reduce external API costs.
Overview
The defacto geocoder for Elixir
Use Cases
Best For
- Adding geocoding to Elixir web applications
- Building location-aware APIs with caching
- Switching between geocoding providers (e.g., Google Maps to OpenStreetMaps)
- Reducing API calls with in-memory caching
- Customizing geocoding components like HTTP clients or JSON parsers
- Implementing reverse geocoding for coordinate-based lookups
Not Ideal For
- Applications requiring distributed or persistent caching without custom implementation
- Teams looking for a zero-configuration, drop-in geocoding service
- Projects using Elixir versions older than 1.9 without access to legacy library versions
Pros & Cons
Pros
Comes with built-in support for Google Maps, OpenCageData, and OpenStreetMaps, allowing easy switching between services without code changes.
Enables custom implementations for caching stores, HTTP clients, JSON codecs, and providers, as highlighted in the extensibility features for tailored solutions.
Includes an in-memory cache to reduce API calls and improve performance, essential for cost-sensitive applications handling frequent geocoding.
Allows per-call overrides for providers and API keys, providing fine-grained control over geocoding requests, as demonstrated in the usage examples.
Cons
Requires specific Elixir versions; for versions < 1.9, older library versions are needed, which may lack updates or support, adding maintenance overhead.
Integration into the supervision tree and configuration of multiple components can be complex for simple applications or rapid prototyping, compared to lighter libraries.
The default in-memory cache is not persistent or distributed, necessitating custom work for production scaling or shared caching across nodes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Projects
geoA collection of GIS functions for Elixir
geolixIP information lookup provider
topoA Geometry library for Elixir that calculates spatial relationships between two geometries
geocalcGeographic calculations for Elixir
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