ArcGIS Online Notebooks

Authentication

Always use notebook-native authentication:

from arcgis.gis import GIS
gis = GIS("home")  # NEVER use credentials in notebooks
print(f"Connected as: {gis.users.me.username}")

Feature Layer Operations

Query with Pagination (Large Datasets)

from arcgis.features import FeatureLayer
import pandas as pd

fl = FeatureLayer("https://services.arcgis.com/.../FeatureServer/0", gis=gis)
count = fl.query(return_count_only=True)

if count > 10000:
    all_data = []
    offset = 0
    while offset < count:
        chunk = fl.query(result_offset=offset, result_record_count=5000).sdf
        all_data.append(chunk)
        offset += 5000
    df = pd.concat(all_data, ignore_index=True)
else:
    df = fl.query(where="1=1", return_all_records=True).sdf

Update Features in Chunks

def push_updates(fl, df, key_field, chunk_size=200):
    """Update feature attributes from DataFrame, matching on key_field."""
    features = fl.query(where="1=1", out_fields="*").features
    df_indexed = df.set_index(key_field)
    updates = []
    
    for ft in features:
        key = ft.attributes.get(key_field)
        if key in df_indexed.index:
            row = df_indexed.loc[key]
            for col, val in row.items():
                if col != key_field:
                    ft.attributes[col] = None if pd.isna(val) else val
            updates.append(ft)
        
        if len(updates) >= chunk_size:
            result = fl.edit_features(updates=updates)
            print(f"Updated {len(updates)} features")
            updates = []
    
    if updates:
        fl.edit_features(updates=updates)

Add New Features

from arcgis.features import Feature
from arcgis.geometry import Point

new_features = [
    Feature(geometry=Point({"x": -77.0, "y": 38.9, "spatialReference": {"wkid": 4326}}),
            attributes={"name": "DC Office", "status": "Active"})
]
fl.edit_features(adds=new_features)

Delete Features

# By OID
fl.edit_features(deletes="1,2,3")

# By query
oids = fl.query(where="status='Inactive'", return_ids_only=True)['objectIds']
if oids:
    fl.edit_features(deletes=",".join(map(str, oids)))

Web Map Manipulation

import copy
import json

item = gis.content.get("ITEM_ID")
webmap_data = item.get_data()  # Returns dict, not JSON string

# Modify operational layers
for layer in webmap_data.get('operationalLayers', []):
    layer['visibility'] = False
    
    # Group layers have nested 'layers'
    for sublayer in layer.get('layers', []):
        sublayer['visibility'] = True

# Save changes
item.update(data=json.dumps(webmap_data))

# Or create new map
new_data = copy.deepcopy(webmap_data)
props = {
    'title': 'New Map',
    'type': 'Web Map',
    'tags': 'auto-generated',
    'text': json.dumps(new_data)
}
new_item = gis.content.add(item_properties=props)

Content Management

# Search with proper escaping
results = gis.content.search(
    f'title:"{title}" owner:{gis.users.me.username} type:"Web Map"'
)

# Check exists before create
if results:
    results[0].update(data=json.dumps(new_data))
else:
    gis.content.add(item_properties=props)

# Move to folder
item.move(folder="Analysis Results")

# Share
item.share(org=True)  # or groups=['group_id']

Common Gotchas

• get_data() returns dict, not string — use json.dumps() when saving
• edit_features() silently fails on mismatched field names — verify field names first
• NaN values must be converted to None before updating
• Chunk writes to avoid timeouts (200 features per batch is safe)
• Always pass gis=gis to FeatureLayer if using secured services
• return_all_records=True can timeout on large datasets — use pagination instead