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 # mbtiles
 
-Utilities and [tilelive][1] integration for the [MBTiles][2] format.
+Node.js utilities and [tilelive](https://github.com/mapbox/tilelive.js) integration for the [MBTiles](http://mbtiles.org) format.
 
 [![Build Status](https://travis-ci.org/mapbox/node-mbtiles.svg?branch=master)](https://travis-ci.org/mapbox/node-mbtiles)
 [![Build status](https://ci.appveyor.com/api/projects/status/04wbok5rs3eroffe)](https://ci.appveyor.com/project/Mapbox/node-mbtiles)
 
-### Installation
+# Installation
 
-    npm install @mapbox/mbtiles
+```
+npm install @mapbox/mbtiles
+```
 
+```javascript
+var MBTiles = require('@mapbox/mbtiles');
+```
 
-[1]: https://github.com/mapbox/tilelive.js
-[2]: http://mbtiles.org
+# API
+
+### Constructor
+
+All MBTiles instances need to be constructed before any of the methods become available. *NOTE: All methods described below assume you've taken this step.*
+
+```javascript
+new MBTiles('./path/to/file.mbtiles', function(err, mbtiles) {
+  console.log(mbtiles) // mbtiles object with methods listed below
+});
+```
+
+### Reading
+
+**`getTile(z, x, y, callback)`**
+
+Get an individual tile from the MBTiles table. This can be a raster or gzipped vector tile. Also returns headers that are important for serving over HTTP.
+
+```javascript
+mbtiles.getTile(z, x, y, function(err, data, headers) {
+  // `data` is your gzipped buffer - use zlib to gunzip or inflate
+});
+```
+
+**`getInfo(callback)`**
+
+Get info of an MBTiles file, which is stored in the `metadata` table. Includes information like zoom levels, bounds, vector_layers, that were created during generation. This performs fallback queries if certain keys like `bounds`, `minzoom`, or `maxzoom` have not been provided.
+
+```javascript
+mbtiles.getInfo(function(err, info) {
+  console.log(info); // info
+});
+```
+
+**`getGrid(z, x, y, callback)`**
+
+Get a [UTFGrid](https://github.com/mapbox/utfgrid-spec) tile from the MBTiles table.
+
+```javascript
+mbtiles.getGrid(z, x, y, function(err, data) {
+  // continue onwards
+});
+```
+
+### Writing
+
+**`startWriting`** AND **`stopWriting`**
+
+In order to write a new (or currently existing) MBTiles file you need to "start" and "stop" writing. First, [construct](#constructor) the MBTiles object.
+
+```javascript
+mbtiles.startWriting(function(err) {
+  // start writing with mbtiles methods (putTile, putInfo, etc)
+  mbtiles.stopWriting(function(err) {
+    // stop writing to your mbtiles object
+  });
+});
+```
+
+**`putTile(z, x, y, buffer, callback)`**
+
+Add a new tile buffer to a specific ZXY. This can be a raster tile or a _gzipped_ vector tile (we suggest using `require('zlib')` to gzip your tiles).
+
+```javascript
+var zlib = require('zlib');
+
+zlib.gzip(fs.readFileSync('./path/to/file.mvt'), function(err, buffer) {
+  mbtiles.putTile(0, 0, 0, buffer, function(err) {
+    // continue onward
+  });
+});
+```
+
+**`putInfo(data, callback)`**
+
+Put an information object into the metadata table. Any nested JSON will be stringified and stored in the "json" row of the metadata table. This will replace any matching key/value fields in the table.
+
+```javascript
+var exampleInfo = {
+  "name": "hello-world",
+  "description":"the world in vector tiles",
+  "format":"pbf",
+  "version": 2,
+  "minzoom": 0,
+  "maxzoom": 4,
+  "center": "0,0,1",
+  "bounds": "-180.000000,-85.051129,180.000000,85.051129",
+  "type": "overlay",
+  "json": `{"vector_layers": [ { "id": "${layername}", "description": "", "minzoom": 0, "maxzoom": 4, "fields": {} } ] }`
+};
+
+mbtiles.putInfo(exampleInfo, function(err) {
+  // continue onward
+});
+```
+
+**`putGrid(z, x, y, grid, callback)`**
+
+Inserts a [UTFGrid](https://github.com/mapbox/utfgrid-spec) tile into the MBTiles store. Grids are in JSON format.
+
+```javascript
+var fs = require('fs');
+var grid = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync('./path/to/grid.json', 'utf8'));
+mbtiles.putGrid(0, 0, 0, grid, function(err) {
+  // continue onward
+});
+```
+
+## Hook up to tilelive
+
+When working at scale, node-mbtiles is meant to be used within a [Tilelive](https://github.com/mapbox/tilelive) ecosystem. For example, you could set up an MBTiles file as a "source" and an S3 destination as a "sink" (using tilelive-s3). Assuming you have a system set up with an `mbtiles://` protocol that points to a specific file and authorized to write to the s3 bucket:
+
+```javascript
+var tilelive = require('@mapbox/tilelive');
+var MBTiles = require('@mapbox/mbtiles');
+var s3 = require('@mapbox/tilelive-s3');
+
+s3.registerProtocols(tilelive);
+MBTiles.registerProtocols(tilelive);
+
+var sourceUri = 'mbtiles:///User/hello/path/to/file.mbtiles';
+var sinkUri = 's3://my-bucket/tiles/{z}/{x}/{y}';
+
+// load the mbtiles source
+tilelive.load(sourceUri, function(err, src) {
+  // load the s3 sink
+  tilelive.load(sinkUri, function(err, dest) {
+
+    var options = {}; // prepare options for tilelive copy
+    options.listScheme = src.createZXYStream(); // create ZXY stream from mbtiles
+
+    // now copy all tiles to the destination
+    tilelive.copy(src, dst, options, function(err) {
+      console.log('tiles are now on s3!');
+    });
+  });
+});
+```
+
+# Test
+
+```
+npm test
+```