Connect QGIS

You can open your organization's feature layers directly in QGIS and work with them live, using the open OGC API - Features standard. No QGIS plugins are required. What you see and change in QGIS is exactly what you can see and change in Rillium Maps, because QGIS connects as you.

What you can do

• View your feature layers in QGIS, always showing their current state.
• Edit features - move and reshape geometry, change attribute values, add new features, and delete features - and save those changes straight back to Rillium Maps.
• Style and analyze your data with QGIS's full toolset while it stays stored in Rillium Maps.

Before you start

• QGIS 3.32 or later. Viewing works in most recent versions. Editing (creating, changing, and deleting features) needs 3.32 or newer.
• A personal access token. This is how QGIS signs in as you. You create one in Rillium Maps in Step 1.

A token is yours and is tied to one organization. It only ever grants the access you already have: you only see layers your groups can access, and a read-and-write token still cannot edit a layer you are not allowed to edit.

Step 1: Create an access token

1. Open the organization whose data you want to use.
2. Open the profile menu in the top-right corner and click API access. This option appears only while you are inside an organization, because each token is tied to that one organization's data.
3. Check the card at the top of the page. It confirms the Organization the token will be for and that you are Signed in as yourself. Make sure both are correct.
4. Click Create token.
5. Give the token a Name you will recognize later, for example "QGIS laptop".
6. Choose the Access level:
   • Read only - view data in QGIS. Cannot make changes.
   • Read & write - view and edit data.
7. Optionally set an expiry. After it expires the token stops working and you create a new one.
8. Click Create token.

The token is shown once. Copy it now and keep it somewhere safe, such as a password manager. You will not be able to see it again. If you lose it, revoke it and create a new one.

Leave this page open, or note the connection URL shown in the "Connecting from QGIS" card. You will need both the token and that URL in the next steps. The URL looks like:

https://your-site/api/ogc/your-org

Step 2: Save the token in QGIS

QGIS stores your token in its built-in authentication manager and sends it automatically with every request.

1. In QGIS, open Settings > Options > Authentication. (You can also do this from the Authentication tab of the connection dialog in Step 3.)
2. Click the + to add a new configuration.
3. Give it a Name, for example "Rillium Maps".
4. Set the method to API Header.
5. Add a single header:
   • Header: Authorization
   • Value: the word Bearer, a space, then your token. For example: Bearer rmap_1a2b3c...
6. Save the configuration.

Step 3: Add the connection

1. In the Browser panel, find WFS / OGC API - Features, right-click it, and choose New Connection.
2. Enter a Name, for example your organization's name.
3. In URL, paste the connection URL from Step 1 (https://your-site/api/ogc/your-org).
4. Under Authentication, choose the configuration you created in Step 2.
5. Click OK.

Step 4: View your data

1. Expand the new connection in the Browser panel. Each feature layer you can access appears as a collection.
2. Double-click a layer, or drag it onto the map, to load it.

The data is fetched live, so you always see the current state of the layer. You only see layers your groups have access to. If a layer is missing, ask an organization admin to confirm your group's access. See Managing groups.

Step 5: Edit your data

Editing requires a Read & write token and edit permission on the layer.

1. Select the layer in the Layers panel.
2. Click Toggle Editing (the pencil icon) in the toolbar.
3. Make your changes with the normal QGIS tools:
   • Add features with the Add Feature tool.
   • Move or reshape geometry with the vertex and move tools.
   • Edit attribute values in the attribute table or the feature form.
   • Delete selected features.
4. Click Save Layer Edits to commit. Your changes are written back to Rillium Maps.

A few things to expect:

• Each created, changed, or deleted feature is sent as its own request, so saving a very large batch of edits can take a moment.
• New features must match the layer's geometry type (point, line, or polygon) and its attribute fields.
• If two people edit the same feature at once, the second save can be rejected to avoid overwriting the other person's change. Reload the layer to get the latest version, then re-apply your edit.

Choosing read-only vs read & write

• Use read only when you just need to view, map, or analyze data, or when you want to hand a token to someone or something that should never change your data.
• Use read & write only when you intend to edit. You can keep separate tokens for separate uses (for example a read-only token on a shared machine and a read-and-write token on your own).

Manage and revoke tokens

Your tokens are listed on the API access page, with when each was created, last used, and (if set) when it expires.

• To stop a token from working, click the trash icon and confirm to revoke it. Revocation is immediate and cannot be undone: any QGIS or other OGC API - Features client using that token stops working at once. To reconnect, create a new token.
• Changes to your group access apply immediately to existing tokens. If your access to a layer is removed, your tokens lose access to that layer right away.

Quick reference

Setting	Value
QGIS source type	WFS / OGC API - Features
Connection URL	shown on the API access page (https://your-site/api/ogc/your-org)
Authentication method	API Header
Header name	Authorization
Header value	Bearer + your token
Minimum QGIS version for editing	3.32

Troubleshooting

• "Authentication failed" or no layers load. Confirm your authentication configuration uses the API Header method with header Authorization and value Bearer <your token>, that the URL is correct, and that the token has not been revoked or expired.
• You can see a layer but cannot edit it. Your token may be Read only, or your group may have view-only access to that layer.
• Only some layers appear. You only see layers your groups can access. Ask an organization admin to review your group's access.
• Editing tools are greyed out. Make sure you are using QGIS 3.32 or later and that you clicked Toggle Editing on the selected layer.