With ArcGIS Pro, you can save a service definition for a geocode service to be published to a stand-alone ArcGIS Server site at a later time. A service definition file (.sd) contains information about the geocode service's properties and capabilities. See Introduction to saving service definitions to learn more about how service definitions can be used in your organization's sharing workflows.
You can save a service definition for a geocode service with a specific connection or without a connection when offline or disconnected from the server.
Save a connected service definition for a geocode service
A connected service definition is configured for a specific server connection. The option to save a service definition is available in the Publish Geocode Service pane when you are connected to a stand-alone ArcGIS Server site.
Tip:
In the Publish Geocode Service pane, click the Publish drop-down arrow and click Save As SD to save a service definition file.
The workflow to save a service definition for a geocode service is similar to publishing a geocode service and is not discussed in detail here. To learn about publishing a locator as a geocode service, see Publish a geocode service.
Save an offline service definition for a geocode service
An offline service definition is connection-neutral; it is not configured for a specific server connection. You can save an offline service definition if you are offline or not connected to the server. This workflow explains how to save an offline service definition for a geocode service with default settings to be later published to a stand-alone server. To change the default configuration, see Configure a geocode service.
To save a service definition for a geocode service in a disconnected environment, complete the following steps:
- Do one of the following:
- Right-click the name of the locator
in the Locators folder in the Catalog pane, point to Save As Offline Service Definition, and click Geocode Service on Standalone Server
. - Right-click the name of the locator in the folder connection
under the Folders category 
in the Catalog pane, point to Save As Offline Service Definition, and click Geocode Service on Standalone Server .
The Save As Offline Service Definition pane appears.
- Right-click the name of the locator
in the Locators folder in the Catalog pane, point to Save As Offline Service Definition, and click Geocode Service on Standalone Server
- Provide a name for the geocode service.
- Optionally, complete the Summary and Tags fields.
You can enter a maximum of 128 tags.
- Choose a Data option.
- To avoid having a copy of the data placed on the server, register your data to the server using ArcGIS Server Manager and choose the Reference all data option.
- To maintain a separate copy of the data for web use, choose the Copy all data option.
For more information on data registration, see Register your data with ArcGIS Server using ArcGIS Desktop or ArcGIS Pro.
- Under Location, for Folder, optionally provide a name of an existing server folder or a new folder.
By default, the service is stored in the root folder of the server.
- Under Finish Staging, click Analyze
to identify potential issues or limitations.The Messages tab displays errors and warnings raised by the analysis. Right-click a message to get more information, access the associated help topic, or access suggested fixes. Errors
must be resolved before you can save the service definition. Resolving warnings 
is recommended but not required. - After you resolve errors, and optionally resolve warnings, click Save.
The Save As Service Definition File dialog box appears.
- On the dialog box, specify the location and name of the service definition file and click Save.
- Once the service definition has been successfully staged, click the Manage the service definition link at the bottom of the pane to open the location of the service definition file.
If you are ready to publish your geocode service to a stand-alone ArcGIS Server site, see Publish a service definition.