Quick Start

Creating your first Export

Overview

Anyone can create a custom OpenStreetMap epxort with the Export Tool - just register an account. You can register with an OpenStreetMap account from OpenStreetMap.org and a valid email address.

1. Defining an Area of Interest


There are 4 ways to define an Area of Interest for your export:
  • Search Bar: input a minX,minY,maxX,maxY string into the search bar. This will define a rectangular area of interest.
  • Bounding Box: Use the "Box" tool to the right to click and drag a rectangle, or use the "Current View" tool to match the map's viewport.
  • Draw Polygon: Draw a freeform polygon. This must be a simple (not multi-) polygon.
  • Current View: Use "Current View" to match the map's viewport.
  • Upload: By uploading a GeoJSON polygon in WGS84 (geographic) coordinates.

The maximum extent of an export on the Export Tool is determined by the density of OSM data in the defined area.The bounding box of the area can contain at most 10,000,000 OSM nodes. This limitation means that a 10,000 square kilometer box over a heavily mapped area like Western Europe or North America will likely be rejected, but an equal sized box over a sparsely mapped area will be accepted by the Export Tool. If you need larger exports, please Contact Us or use an alternative resource such as downloads from Geofabrik or Mapzen.

2. Naming and Describing your Export

  • Name (required): choose a short, descriptive name.
  • Description: a longer text body, perhaps describing what relevant features the export includes.
  • Project: Helps to group together exports particular to a project, e.g. "HOT Activation in Haiti"

3. Choosing File Formats

Check at least one file format to export. To learn more about each individual format, read the documentation: Export Formats

4. Choosing Map Features


For your first time using the export tool, it's recommended to use the Tag Tree, which curates a set of filters and tags for common map features. As an example, check the box "Buildings" to create an export of all building geometries, as well as related data such as name and address keys.

For more information about feature selection, see the documentation: Feature Selections

The export tool exports features for only a selected region. Some complex features that need to be processed globally, such as land and ocean polygons created from OSM coastlines, are available through other sites such as osmdata.openstreetmap.de.

5. Downloading your Files


After you submit your export using Create Export, you will be redirected to the Export Detail Page, which shows a list of Export Runs. You'll see the first run at the top of the page. It will be in one of the following states:

  • Submitted: The export is waiting to be processed. This should be brief, depending on server load.
  • Running: The export is waiting to be processed. City-sized regions should be a few minutes - larger regions can take upwards of 20 minutes, depending on the density of OSM data.
  • Completed: Your export files are available for download. Each export format has a separate download link for its ZIP archive.