The JavaScript API is hosted by ESRI on ArcGIS Online and is available for free use, subject to the Terms and Conditions.

Hosted Version

The recommended approach for accessing the API is to use the hosted version by adding the following script tag to your page:

<script src="http://js.arcgis.com/3.6/"></script>

• Delivered via a content delivery network (CDN). CDN's are a collection of geographically distributed web servers that deliver content efficiently.
• The servers are load balanced and monitored 24/7
• No need to download and re-install the API when new versions are released. You just need to modify the script tag in your application to point to the new version.

HTTPS

The ArcGIS API for JavaScript is available securely over https. You will need to peform the following steps to access the API via https:

• Reference the ArcGIS API for JavaScript via https.

  <script src="https://js.arcgis.com/3.6/"></script>
      

• Run the application using https, this is necessary because the API uses the document protocol to determine whether the ArcGIS API for JavaScript should make http or https requests after the page loads.

Download

In some cases, you may need to use a local version, for example, if you are in a restricted environment with no internet access. You can also download and install the SDK which includes the API reference, samples and documentation. The SDK is a snapshot of the help at the time of the release and will not include sample updates, documentation fixes etc.

To download and install the API and SDK navigate to the ArcGIS API for JavaScript download page and log-in with your ESRI global account.

Note: If you do not have access to the internet, contact ESRI Customer Service to have a DVD mailed.