iD

iD
Author:	openstreetmap/iD/graphs/contributors GitHub
License:	ISC
Platform:	Web
Version:	2.30.4 iD releases (2024-10-07) 6.8.1 iD tag.schema rel. (2024-08-19)
Languages:	English and multiple languages
Website:	ideditor.com
Source code:	openstreetmap/iD GitHub openstreetmap/id-tagging-schema GitHub
Programming language:	JavaScript
The easy-to-use OpenStreetMap editor in JavaScript.

For other uses, see Id (disambiguation).

iD is an in-browser app used to edit the OpenStreetMap, and is the default editor at the openstreetmap.org homepage.

The app aims to be simple and friendly. It is programmed in JavaScript so as to be usable without plugins.

It has been the most popular editor since 2013. In 2023 it was used by 210,139 mappers (76.8% of all mappers).

How to use it

You can use iD with your web browser on the OpenStreetMap.org home page. Simply zoom in on the area you are interested in and click the Edit button!

Note for advanced users: In your user preferences you can set the "Edit" button to launch different editors. If you do, you still can find "iD" in the "Edit ▼" menu drop-down. By default, though, new users would click simply "Edit".

There is an interactive walkthrough inside the editor, which you see when you first access it. This is always accessible later via the [?] icon at the bottom of the icon stack on the right-hand side (keyboard shortcut is H).

A more detailed tutorial for iD can be found at the LearnOSM web site.

A list of keyboard shortcuts is here.

You can browse the collection of questions related to iD on help.osm.org. If your question has not been asked already, just add it (though note that at 2023, users are being directed to newer forum pages).

There are many other channels where you can get help.

Community Chats

Regular online community meetups are organized to chat about the iD editor and the ecosystem around it.

Technical

iD uses d3js as a rendering layer and has a fast, modular core that manages OSM data. The primary mode of rendering is via SVG, though other renderers will be considered in the future.

• Project introduction
• Code on GitHub
• iD readme (how to contribute, translate, install on a server, etc.)
• iD GitHub wiki home page (all pages; technical and project information)
• versions
• Bug reports
• Uses the Name Suggestion Index for brand presets
• Uses the Editor Layer Index to manage the background layers
• Uses the OSM Community Index to suggest community contacts

Contributions are very warmly welcomed. Currently User:tyr, User:bhousel and others are contributing.

Test a prerelease version of iD

• Stable mirror of release branch: https://ideditor-release.netlify.app
• Development version (development mirror) of master branch + latest translations: http://preview.ideditor.com/master (v3)
• Development mirror of develop branch + latest translations preview: https://ideditor.netlify.com

Localisation / translation

iD uses transifex for translations https://www.transifex.com/openstreetmap/id-editor/ more information on GitHub.

Project history

Its development began in summer 2012 and it is available for use on the openstreetmap.org homepage since May 2013. In August 2013 it replaced Potlatch 2 as the default editor.

Alpha and beta

On July 13, 2012 Richard Fairhurst published a blog post where he announced he was working on a new JavaScript based OpenStreetMap editor. By the time he was already famous within the OSM community for his web editors Potlatch and Potlatch2 written in Flash, and as it was clear that there was no future for Flash based applications, iD was the consequential next step.

Some months later on September 20, Mapbox announced they had been granted 575,000 USD from Knight Foundation to improve the core infrastructure of OpenStreetMap, and that they were planning to use it for the development of the iD editor. The first alpha version was released on December 21, 2012 and the beta version on April 2, 2013. This initial development was primarily done at Mapbox by Tom MacWright, John Firebaugh, Saman Bemel-Benrud and Ansis Brammanis.

Version 1 onward

On May 9, 2013 version 1.0 was released.

Bryan Housel maintained the project until 2020. Quincy Morgan was the appointed iD maintainer until Apr. 26th, 2021. Milos Brzakovic was the interim maintainer from then until the appointment of Martin Raifer (known also as tyr_asd or tyrasd) in November 2021.

Validation

Since software version 2.14 (Feb. 2019) there is an implemented integrated Issue manager and advanced validation system available.

Controversial decisions

Main article: iD/Controversial Decisions

Some decisions by the maintainers were appearing controversial or were lacking support by the community. In June 2020, the OSMF board asked for comments on potential approaches to resolving controversies.

News

See also: entries of the Mapbox OSM Development blogs.

• In the works: iD 1.1 ("iD 1.1 is nearing release. I've just tagged 1.1.0rc1") (2013-07-31)
• Tuning OpenStreetMap Editing: iD Editor 1.1 (2013-06-06)
• Previewing User Interface Improvements in iD Version 1.1 (2013-05-30)
• iD launch on the osm.org (2013-05-07)
• iD reaches Beta 1 (2013-04-02)
• iD alpha3 (2013-03-11)
• Design iD (2013-01-11)
• iD Updates (2012-11-14)
• First steps with iD editor (2012-10-25)
• It all starts with an editor: the blog edit. (2012-10-14)
• Building a friendly editor for OpenStreetMap in JavaScript. The "initial post" on Open Geo Data (2012-07-13)

Press coverage

• ReadWriteWeb article
• The Verge article
• The Next Web article

Further reading

• Raifer, Martin. “10 Years iD Editor – The Road Ahead”. State of the Map 2022. Florence: OpenStreetMap Foundation. https://2022.stateofthemap.org/sessions/C9AKZK/. 

See also

• Comparison of editors
• JOSM - OpenStreetMap desktop editor written in Java
• Rapid - A fork of iD sponsored by Meta

External links

• iD (software) on Wikipedia
• Beginning of iD - description of how iD started
• iD version playground (hosted copies of versions 1.0 through 2.21)