API v0.6

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API v0.6 is the current version of the OSM Editing API originally deployed 17-21 April 2009.

This page and the API has been extended and updated multiple times since April 2009:

Forthcoming / planned changes: (none)

General information

Please note that this is not official documentation[1]. Documented here behavior may change in the future[2].

The code powering the API can be found on GitHub at openstreetmap/openstreetmap-website/tree/master/app/controllers/api GitHub.

Some of the API calls on osm.org are handled by CGImap and its source code is also available on GitHub at zerebubuth/openstreetmap-cgimap GitHub

This Editing API is based on the ideas of the RESTful API. For more information on RESTful APIs see wikipedia's Representational State Transfer page.

The API is the server component to which REST requests are addressed. The REST requests take the form of HTTP GET, PUT, POST, and DELETE messages. Any payload is in XML form, using the MIME type "text/xml" and UTF-8 character encoding, and may be compressed on the HTTP layer if the client indicates through the HTTP "Accept" header that it can handle compressed messages.

Requests to modify the database are authorized using or OAuth. Read requests do not require authorization (except user details).

Changes between API v0.5 and API v0.6

For downloading data for purposes other than editing see Downloading data - you will likely use Overpass API (maybe with Overpass turbo), Planet.osm or extracts.

URL + authentication

For more information about using OAuth, also see the main article about OAuth

The API is currently accessible using the following URL: https://api.openstreetmap.org/

When testing your software against the API you should consider using https://master.apis.dev.openstreetmap.org/ instead of the live-api. Your account for the live service is not in the same database, so you probably need a new username and password for the test service; please visit that page in a browser to sign up.

All of the calls to the API which update, create or delete data have to be made by an authenticated and authorized user. Authentication works by using OAuth 2.0.

Required scopes for Oauth 2.0

The required OAuth scopes to be able to use the full API v0.6 are:

  • read_prefs
  • write_prefs
  • write_api
  • read_gpx
  • write_gpx
  • write_notes
  • write_diary (Supported scope by OAuth2 but is not required by the API v0.6)
  • write_redactions
  • consume_messages
  • send_messages

Error codes

HTTP status code 400 (Bad request)
If you are accessing the cgimap version of the API, this error code will be returned when OAuth fails with a "Bad OAuth request.".
HTTP status code 401 (Unauthorized)
Login was unsuccessful.
HTTP status code 403 (Forbidden)
Login was successful but the user is not allowed to carry out the operation.
The user may have been blocked, or the OAuth application may not have been given the required permissions. An application should display the error message (which will be translated if necessary) and, if it has an end-user UI, provide an easy way to access openstreetmap.org and view any messages there.

Elements

There are API calls to create, read, update and delete the three basic elements that make up the map data for OpenStreetMap. They each return or expect the data for the elements in a XML format.

Changesets

Every modification of one or more of the elements has to reference an open changeset.

Tags

Every element and changeset may have any number of tags. A tag is a Key-Value pair of Unicode strings of up to 255 full unicode characters (not bytes) each.

Maximum string lengths

The current rails and CGImap implementation of the API limits the length of key and value strings for object, changeset and user preference tags, and relation member roles, to a maximum of 255 UTF-8 unicode characters.

Note: the limit is really 255 and NOT 256 unicode characters.

Reliably identifying users

The previous API v0.5 returned only the user display name. The user can update this at any time and there is no history stored for display name changes. This means there was no way to reliably identify which user made a specific change. API v0.6 includes the numeric user ID of the account in addition to the display name. E.g., 

<node id="68" ... user="fred" uid="123" />

This still requires the user to have made his edits public. User ID for users who have previously made anonymous changes will not be visible. In accordance with a recommendation from the OpenStreetMap Foundation Board, anonymous edits are no longer allowed.

Version numbers/optimistic locking

The planet dump, diffs and the API calls for elements will return a version attribute for each Node, Way and Relation. 

<node id="68" ... version="12" />

These version numbers are used for optimistic locking. To upload a new version of an object, the client will need to provide the version of the object it is modifying. If the version supplied is not the same as the server's current version, an error will be returned (HTTP status code 409: Conflict). This means that any client that is updating data will need to save the version numbers of the original data. One element can be updated multiple times during one changeset and its version number is increased each time so there can be multiple history versions of a single element for one changeset.

In addition, clients can now ask for specific versions of an element.

Version numbers will always begin at 1 and increase by 1 every time an element is changed. Clients should not, however, rely on the increase by 1 when updating an element, but instead retrieve the new version number from the server response.

XML Format

Main article: OSM XML

Every XML response from the server is wrapped in an <osm> element unless specified otherwise (e.g., for diff uploads, or changeset downloads). In most of the later examples this wrapper is left out. 

<osm version="0.6" generator="OpenStreetMap server">
	...
	...
</osm>

Every call to the API has to be wrapped in an <osm> element as well but the version and generator attributes can be left out.

JSON Format

Main article: OSM JSON

The OSM API JSON format is based on (but is not completely compatible with) the Overpass API JSON format description and is supported for the following endpoints:

  • Retrieving map data by bounding box: GET /api/0.6/map
  • Read: GET /api/0.6/[node|way|relation]/#id
  • History: GET /api/0.6/[node|way|relation]/#id/history
  • Version: GET /api/0.6/[node|way|relation]/#id/#version
  • Multi fetch: GET /api/0.6/[nodes|ways|relations]?#parameters
  • Relations for element: GET /api/0.6/[node|way|relation]/#id/relations
  • Ways for node: GET /api/0.6/node/#id/ways
  • Full: GET /api/0.6/[way|relation]/#id/full

In addition, the following endpoints support JSON format:

  • Retrieving API versions: GET /api/versions
  • Retrieving API capabilities: GET /api/capabilities and GET /api/0.6/capabilities
  • Retrieving permissions: GET /api/0.6/permissions
  • Methods for user data
    • Details of a user: GET /api/0.6/user/#id
    • Details of multiple users: GET /api/0.6/users?users=#id1,#id2,...,#idn
    • Details of the logged-in user: GET /api/0.6/user/details
    • Preferences of the logged-in user: GET /api/0.6/preferences
  • Map Notes API
    • Retrieving notes data by bounding box: GET /api/0.6/notes
    • Read: GET /api/0.6/notes/#id
    • Create a new note: POST /api/0.6/notes
    • Search for notes: GET /api/0.6/notes/search
  • Changesets
    • Query: GET /api/0.6/changesets
    • Read: GET /api/0.6/changeset/#id?include_discussion=true
    • Subscribe: POST /api/0.6/changeset/#id/subscribe (JSON response)
    • Unsubscribe: POST /api/0.6/changeset/#id/unsubscribe (JSON response)
    • Comment: POST /api/0.6/changeset/#id/comment (JSON response)
    • Hide changeset comment: POST /api/0.6/changeset/comment/#comment_id/hide (JSON response)
    • Unhide changeset comment: POST /api/0.6/changeset/comment/#comment_id/unhide (JSON response)

To request JSON format, either set the HTTP Accept header to application/json, or use a .json URL suffix.

(Github issue)

Faking the correct HTTP methods

Faking the HTTP request method by providing an X_HTTP_METHOD_OVERRIDE header is not supported anymore (as of February 2024). It is not known when this feature was removed.

Internal errors while generating a response

In the unlikely event of an internal error occurring while generating the response to an API call, an error element will be inserted. Further processing stops at this point.

Even though the HTTP return code is 200, and the response is syntactically correct, the message will be incomplete, and MUST be discarded by editing applications. For further analysis, editing applications SHOULD report an internal API error back to the user, along with the error message returned by the API call.


XML example payload containing an error element 

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<osm version="0.6" generator="CGImap 0.8.7 (26234 ubuntu)" copyright="OpenStreetMap and contributors" attribution="http://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright" license="http://opendatacommons.org/licenses/odbl/1-0/">
 <way id="4000392204" visible="true" version="1" changeset="1874689" timestamp="2022-07-26T20:56:27Z" user="mmd2" uid="1">
  <nd ref="5004686582"/>
  <nd ref="5004686236"/>
  <nd ref="5004686540"/>
  <nd ref="5004686705"/>
  <nd ref="5004686546"/>
  <nd ref="5004686468"/>
  <nd ref="5004686472"/>
  <tag k="bicycle" v="use_sidepath"/>
  <tag k="highway" v="secondary"/>
  <tag k="maxspeed" v="50"/>
  <tag k="name" v="Bunderstraat"/>
  <tag k="old_ref" v="N586"/>
  <tag k="surface" v="asphalt"/>
 </way>
 <error>Mismatch in tags key and value size</error>
</osm>


JSON example payload containing an error element 

{
  "version": "0.6",
  "generator": "CGImap 0.8.7 (22730 ubuntu)",
  "copyright": "OpenStreetMap and contributors",
  "attribution": "http://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright",
  "license": "http://opendatacommons.org/licenses/odbl/1-0/",
  "elements": [
    {
      "type": "way",
      "id": 4000392204,
      "timestamp": "2022-07-26T20:56:27Z",
      "version": 1,
      "changeset": 1874689,
      "user": "mmd2",
      "uid": 1,
      "nodes": [
        5004686582,
        5004686236,
        5004686540,
        5004686705,
        5004686546,
        5004686468,
        5004686472
      ],
      "tags": {
        "bicycle": "use_sidepath",
        "highway": "secondary",
        "maxspeed": "50",
        "name": "Bunderstraat",
        "old_ref": "N586",
        "surface": "asphalt"
      }
    },
    {
      "error": "Mismatch in tags key and value size"
    }
  ]
}

API calls

Miscellaneous

Available API versions: GET /api/versions

Returns a list of API versions supported by this instance.

Response XML

GET /api/versions

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<osm generator="OpenStreetMap server" copyright="OpenStreetMap and contributors" attribution="https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright" license="https://opendatacommons.org/licenses/odbl/1-0/">
	<api>
		<version>0.6</version>
	</api>
</osm>

Response JSON

GET /api/versions.json

{
 "version": "0.6",
 "generator": "OpenStreetMap server",
 "api": {
  "versions": ["0.6"]
 }
}

Capabilities: GET /api/capabilities

Also available as: GET /api/0.6/capabilities.

This API call is meant to provide information about the capabilities and limitations of the current API.

Response

Returns a XML document (content type text/xml) 

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<osm version="0.6" generator="OpenStreetMap server" copyright="OpenStreetMap and contributors" attribution="https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright" license="https://opendatacommons.org/licenses/odbl/1-0/">
	<api>
		<version minimum="0.6" maximum="0.6"/>
		<area maximum="0.25"/>
		<note_area maximum="25"/>
		<tracepoints per_page="5000"/>
		<waynodes maximum="2000"/>
		<relationmembers maximum="32000"/>
		<changesets maximum_elements="10000" default_query_limit="100" maximum_query_limit="100"/>
		<notes default_query_limit="100" maximum_query_limit="10000"/>
		<timeout seconds="300"/>
		<status database="online" api="online" gpx="online"/>
	</api>
	<policy>
		<imagery>
			<blacklist regex=".*\.google(apis)?\..*/(vt|kh)[\?/].*([xyz]=.*){3}.*"/>
			<blacklist regex="http://xdworld\.vworld\.kr:8080/.*"/>
			<blacklist regex=".*\.here\.com[/:].*"/>
		</imagery>
	</policy>
</osm>

Please note that actual returned values may change at any time and this XML document only serves as an example.

  • Copyright, attribution, and license: referring to legal information

API:

  • version minimum and maximum are the API call versions that the server will accept.
  • area maximum is the maximum area in square degrees that can be queried by API calls.
  • tracepoints per_page is the maximum number of points in a single GPS trace. (Possibly incorrect)
  • waynodes maximum is the maximum number of nodes that a way may contain.
  • relationmembers maximum is the maximum number of members that a relation may contain. (added in February 2022)
  • changesets maximum_elements is the maximum number of combined nodes, ways and relations that can be contained in a changeset.
  • changesets default_query_limit and maximum_query_limit are the default and maximum values of the limit parameter of changeset queries. (added in August 2023 GitHub)
  • notes default_query_limit and maximum_query_limit are the default and maximum values of the limit parameter of notes bounding box queries and search. (added in August 2023 GitHub)
  • The status element returns either online, readonly or offline for each of the database, API and GPX API. The database field is informational, and the api/gpx fields indicate whether a client should expect read and write requests to work (online), only read requests to work (readonly) or no requests to work (offline).

Policy:

  • Imagery blacklist lists all aerial and map sources, which are not permitted for OSM usage due to copyright. Editors must not show these resources as background layer.

Notes

  • Currently both versioned (/api/0.6/capabilities) and unversioned (/api/capabilities) version of this call exist. The unversioned one is deprecated GitHub in favor of checking the available versions first, then accessing the capabilities of a particular version.
  • Element and relation member ids are currently implementation dependent limited to 64bit signed integers, this should not be a problem :-).

Retrieving map data by bounding box: GET /api/0.6/map

The following command returns:

  • All nodes that are inside a given bounding box and any relations that reference them.
  • All ways that reference at least one node that is inside a given bounding box, any relations that reference them [the ways], and any nodes outside the bounding box that the ways may reference.
  • All relations that reference one of the nodes, ways or relations included due to the above rules. (Does not apply recursively, see explanation below.)
GET /api/0.6/map?bbox=left,bottom,right,top

where:

  • left is the longitude of the left (westernmost) side of the bounding box.
  • bottom is the latitude of the bottom (southernmost) side of the bounding box.
  • right is the longitude of the right (easternmost) side of the bounding box.
  • top is the latitude of the top (northernmost) side of the bounding box.

Note that, while this command returns those relations that reference the aforementioned nodes and ways, the reverse is not true: it does not (necessarily) return all of the nodes and ways that are referenced by these relations. This prevents unreasonably-large result sets. For example, imagine the case where:

  • There is a relation named "England" that references every node in England.
  • The nodes, ways, and relations are retrieved for a bounding box that covers a small portion of England.

While the result would include the nodes, ways, and relations as specified by the rules for the command, including the "England" relation, it would (fortuitously) not include every node and way in England. If desired, the nodes and ways referenced by the "England" relation could be retrieved by their respective IDs.

Also note that ways which intersect the bounding box but have no nodes within the bounding box will not be returned.

Error codes

HTTP status code 400 (Bad Request)
When any of the node/way/relation limits are exceeded, in particular if the call would return more than 50'000 nodes. See above for other uses of this code.
HTTP status code 509 (Bandwidth Limit Exceeded)
"Error: You have downloaded too much data. Please try again later." See Developer FAQ.


Retrieving permissions: GET /api/0.6/permissions

Returns the permissions granted to the current API connection.

  • If the API client is not authorized, an empty list of permissions will be returned.
  • If the API client uses Basic Auth, the list of permissions will contain all permissions.
  • If the API client uses OAuth 1.0a, the list will contain the permissions actually granted by the user.
  • If the API client uses OAuth 2.0, the list will be based on the granted scopes.

Note that for compatibility reasons, all OAuth 2.0 scopes will be prefixed by "allow_", e.g. scope "read_prefs" will be shown as permission "allow_read_prefs".

Response XML

GET /api/0.6/permissions

Returns the single permissions element containing the permission tags (content type text/xml) 

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<osm version="0.6" generator="OpenStreetMap server">
	<permissions>
		<permission name="allow_read_prefs"/>
		...
		<permission name="allow_read_gpx"/>
		<permission name="allow_write_gpx"/>
	</permissions>
</osm>

Response JSON

GET /api/0.6/permissions.json

Returns the single permissions element containing the permission tags (content type application/json) 

{
 "version": "0.6",
 "generator": "OpenStreetMap server",
 "permissions": ["allow_read_prefs", ..., "allow_read_gpx", "allow_write_gpx"]
}

Notes

Currently the following permissions can appear in the result, corresponding directly to the ones used in the OAuth 1.0a application definition:

  • allow_read_prefs (read user preferences)
  • allow_write_prefs (modify user preferences)
  • allow_write_diary (create diary entries, comments and make friends)
  • allow_write_api (modify the map)
  • allow_write_redactions (redact element versions)
  • allow_read_gpx (read private GPS traces)
  • allow_write_gpx (upload GPS traces)
  • allow_write_notes (modify notes)

Changesets

To make it easier to identify related changes the concept of changesets is introduced. Every modification of the standard OSM elements has to reference an open changeset. A changeset may contain tags just like the other elements. A recommended tag for changesets is the key comment=* with a short human readable description of the changes being made in that changeset, similar to a commit message in a revision control system. A new changeset can be opened at any time and a changeset may be referenced from multiple API calls. Because of this it can be closed manually as the server can't know when one changeset ends and another should begin. To avoid stale open changesets a mechanism is implemented to automatically close changesets upon one of the following three conditions:

  • 10,000 edits on a single changeset (see the capabilities endpoint for specific limits)
  • The changeset has been open for more than 24 hours
  • There have been no changes/API calls related to a changeset in 1 hour (i.e. idle timeout)

Note that some older changesets may contain slightly more than 10k (or previously 50k) changes due to some glitches in the API.

Changesets are specifically not atomic - elements added within a changeset will be visible to other users before the changeset is closed. Given how many changes might be uploaded in one step it's not feasible. Instead optimistic locking is used as described above. Anything submitted to the server in a single request will be considered atomically. To achieve transactionality for multiple changes there is the new diff upload API call.

Changesets facilitate the implementation of rollbacks. By providing insight into the changes committed by a single person it becomes easier to identify the changes made, rather than just rolling back a whole region. Direct support for rollback will not be in the API, instead they will be a form of reverse merging, where client can download the changeset, examine the changes and then manipulate the API to obtain the desired results. Rolling back a changeset can be be an extremely complex process especially if the rollback conflicts with other changes made in the mean time; we expect (hope) that in time, expert applications will be created that make rollback on various levels available to the average user.

To support easier usage, the server stores a bounding box for each changeset and allows users to query changesets in an area. This will be calculated by the server, since it needs to look up the relevant nodes anyway. Client should note that if people make many small changes in a large area they will be easily matched. In this case clients should examine the changeset directly to see if it truly overlaps.

It is not possible to delete changesets at the moment, even if they don't contain any changes. The server may at a later time delete changesets which are closed and which do not contain any changes. This is not yet implemented.

Bounding box computation

This is how the API computes the bounding box associated with a changeset:

  • Nodes: Any change to a node, including deletion, adds the node's old and new location to the bbox.
  • Ways: Any change to a way, including deletion, adds all of the way's nodes to the bbox.
  • Relations:
    • adding or removing nodes or ways from a relation causes them to be added to the changeset bounding box.
    • adding a relation as a member or changing tag values causes all node and way members to be added to the bounding box.
    • this is similar to how the map call does things and is reasonable on the assumption that adding or removing members doesn't materially change the rest of the relation.

As an optimisation the server will create a buffer slightly larger than the objects to avoid having to update the bounding box too often. Thus a changeset may have a different bounding box than its reversion, and the distance between bounding box and the next node may not be constant for all four directions.


Create: PUT /api/0.6/changeset/create

The payload of a changeset creation request is the metadata of this changeset. The body of the request has to include one or more changeset elements, which optionally include an arbitrary number of tags (such as 'comment', 'created_by", ...). All changeset elements need to be enclosed in an osm element. 

<osm>
	<changeset>
		<tag k="created_by" v="JOSM 1.61"/>
		<tag k="comment" v="Just adding some streetnames"/>
		...
	</changeset>
	...
</osm>

If there are multiple changeset elements in the XML the tags from all of them are used, later ones overriding the earlier ones in case of duplicate keys.

Response

The ID of the newly created changeset with a content type of text/plain

Error codes

HTTP status code 400 (Bad Request)
When there are errors parsing the XML
HTTP status code 405 (Method Not Allowed)
If the request is not a HTTP PUT request

Notes

Any number of possibly editor-specific, tags are allowed. An editor might, for example, automatically include information about which background image was used, or even a bit of internal state information that will make it easier to revisit the changeset with the same editor later, etc.

Clients should include a created_by=* tag. Clients are advised to make sure that a comment=* is present, which the user has entered. It is optional at the moment but this might change in later API versions. Clients should not automatically generate the comment tag, as this tag is for the end-user to describe their changes. Clients may add any other tags as they see fit.


Read: GET /api/0.6/changeset/#id?include_discussion=true

Returns the changeset with the given id in OSM-XML format.

Parameters

id
The id of the changeset to retrieve
include_discussion
Indicates whether the result should contain the changeset discussion or not. If this parameter is set to anything, the discussion is returned. If it is empty or omitted, the discussion will not be in the result.

Response XML

Returns the single changeset element containing the changeset tags with a content type of text/xml 

GET /api/0.6/changeset/#id?include_discussion=true

<osm version="0.6" generator="CGImap 0.9.3 (987909 spike-08.openstreetmap.org)" copyright="OpenStreetMap and contributors" attribution="http://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright" license="http://opendatacommons.org/licenses/odbl/1-0/">
	<changeset id="10" created_at="2008-11-08T19:07:39+01:00" open="true" user="fred" uid="123" min_lon="7.0191821" min_lat="49.2785426" max_lon="7.0197485" max_lat="49.2793101" comments_count="3" changes_count="10">
		<tag k="created_by" v="JOSM 1.61"/>
		<tag k="comment" v="Just adding some streetnames"/>
		...
		<discussion>
			<comment id="1234" date="2015-01-01T18:56:48Z" uid="1841" user="metaodi">
				<text>Did you verify those street names?</text>
			</comment>
			<comment id="5678" date="2015-01-01T18:58:03Z" uid="123" user="fred">
				<text>sure!</text>
			</comment>
			...
		</discussion>
	</changeset>
</osm>

Response JSON

Returns the single changeset element containing the changeset tags with a content type of application/json 

GET /api/0.6/changeset/#id.json?include_discussion=true

Please note that the JSON format has changed on August 25, 2024 with the release of openstreetmap-cgimap 2.0.0, to align it with the existing Rails format. 

{
  "version": "0.6",
  "generator": "openstreetmap-cgimap 2.0.0 (4003517 spike-08.openstreetmap.org)",
  "copyright": "OpenStreetMap and contributors",
  "attribution": "http://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright",
  "license": "http://opendatacommons.org/licenses/odbl/1-0/",
  "changeset": {
    "id": 10,
    "created_at": "2005-05-01T16:09:37Z",
    "open": false,
    "comments_count": 1,
    "changes_count": 10,
    "closed_at": "2005-05-01T17:16:44Z",
    "min_lat": 59.9513092,
    "min_lon": 10.7719727,
    "max_lat": 59.9561501,
    "max_lon": 10.7994537,
    "uid": 24,
    "user": "Petter Reinholdtsen",
    "comments": [
      {
        "id": 836447,
        "visible": true,
        "date": "2022-03-22T20:58:30Z",
        "uid": 15079200,
        "user": "Ethan White of Cheriton",
        "text": "wow no one have said anything here 3/22/2022\n"
      }
    ]
  }
}

Error codes

HTTP status code 404 (Not Found)
When no changeset with the given id could be found

Notes

  • The uid might not be available for changesets auto generated by the API v0.5 to API v0.6 transition?
  • The bounding box attributes will be missing for an empty changeset.
  • The changeset bounding box is a rectangle that contains the bounding boxes of all objects changed in this changeset. It is not necessarily the smallest possible rectangle that does so.
  • This API call only returns information about the changeset itself but not the actual changes made to elements in this changeset. To access this information use the download API call.


Update: PUT /api/0.6/changeset/#id

For updating tags on the changeset, e.g. changeset comment=foo.

Payload should be an OSM document containing the new version of a single changeset. Bounding box, update time and other attributes are ignored and cannot be updated by this method. Only those tags provided in this call remain in the changeset object. For updating the bounding box see the expand_bbox method. 

<osm>
	<changeset>
		<tag k="comment" v="Just adding some streetnames and a restaurant"/>
	</changeset>
</osm>

Parameters

id
The id of the changeset to update. The user issuing this API call has to be the same that created the changeset

Response

An OSM document containing the new version of the changeset with a content type of text/xml

Error codes

HTTP status code 400 (Bad Request)
When there are errors parsing the XML
HTTP status code 404 (Not Found)
When no changeset with the given id could be found
HTTP status code 405 (Method Not Allowed)
If the request is not a HTTP PUT request
HTTP status code 409 (Conflict) - text/plain
If the changeset in question has already been closed (either by the user itself or as a result of the auto-closing feature). A message with the format "The changeset #id was closed at #closed_at." is returned
Or if the user trying to update the changeset is not the same as the one that created it

Notes

Unchanged tags have to be repeated in order to not be deleted.


Close: PUT /api/0.6/changeset/#id/close

Closes a changeset. A changeset may already have been closed without the owner issuing this API call. In this case an error code is returned.

Parameters

id
The id of the changeset to close. The user issuing this API call has to be the same that created the changeset.

Response

Nothing is returned upon successful closing of a changeset (HTTP status code 200)

Error codes

HTTP status code 404 (Not Found)
When no changeset with the given id could be found
HTTP status code 405 (Method Not Allowed)
If the request is not a HTTP PUT request
HTTP status code 409 (Conflict) - text/plain
If the changeset in question has already been closed (either by the user itself or as a result of the auto-closing feature). A message with the format "The changeset #id was closed at #closed_at." is returned
Or if the user trying to update the changeset is not the same as the one that created it

Download: GET /api/0.6/changeset/#id/download

Returns the OsmChange document describing all changes associated with the changeset.

Parameters

id
The id of the changeset for which the OsmChange is requested.

Response

The OsmChange XML with a content type of text/xml.

Error codes

HTTP status code 404 (Not Found)
When no changeset with the given id could be found

Notes

  • The result of calling this may change as long as the changeset is open.
  • The elements in the OsmChange are sorted by timestamp and version number.
  • There is a separate call to get only information about the changeset itself


Expand Bounding Box: POST /api/0.6/changeset/#id/expand_bbox (deprecated, gone)

Note: This endpoint was removed in December 2019. See this GitHub issue.


Query: GET /api/0.6/changesets

This is an API method for getting a list of changesets. It supports filtering by different criteria.

Where multiple queries are given the result will be those which match all of the requirements. The contents of the returned document are the changesets and their tags. To get the full set of changes associated with a changeset, use the download method on each changeset ID individually.

Modification and extension of the basic queries above may be required to support rollback and other uses we find for changesets.

This call returns changesets matching criteria, ordered by their creation time. The default ordering is newest first, but you can specify order=oldest to reverse the sort order[3]. Reverse ordering cannot be combined with time.

Parameters

bbox=min_lon,min_lat,max_lon,max_lat (W,S,E,N)
Find changesets within the given bounding box
user=#uid or display_name=#name
Find changesets by the user with the given user id or display name. Providing both is an error.
time=T1
Find changesets closed after T1. Compare with from=T1 which filters by creation time instead.
time=T1,T2
Find changesets that were closed after T1 and created before T2. In other words, any changesets that were open at some time during the given time range T1 to T2.
from=T1 [& to=T2]
Find changesets created at or after T1, and (optionally) before T2. to requires from, but not vice-versa. If to is provided alone, it has no effect.
open=true
Only finds changesets that are still open but excludes changesets that are closed or have reached the element limit for a changeset (10.000 at the moment[4])
closed=true
Only finds changesets that are closed or have reached the element limit
changesets=#cid{,#cid}
Finds changesets with the specified ids (since 2013-12-05)
order=[newest|oldest]
If newest (default), sort newest changesets first. If oldest, reverse order.
limit=N
Specifies the maximum number of changesets returned. A number between 1 and the maximum limit value (currently 100). If omitted, the default limit value is used (currently 100). The actual maximum and default limit values can be found with a capabilities request.

Time format: Anything that Time.parse Ruby function will parse.

Response

Returns a list of all changeset ordered by creation date. The <osm> element may be empty if there were no results for the query. The response is sent with a content type of text/xml.

Error codes

HTTP status code 400 (Bad Request) - text/plain
On misformed parameters. A text message explaining the error is returned. In particular, trying to provide both the UID and display name as user query parameters will result in this error.
HTTP status code 404 (Not Found)
When no user with the given uid or display_name could be found.

Notes

  • Only changesets by public users are returned.
  • Returns at most 100 changesets

Diff upload: POST /api/0.6/changeset/#id/upload

With this API call files in the OsmChange format can be uploaded to the server. This is guaranteed to be running in a transaction. So either all the changes are applied or none.

To upload an OSC file it has to conform to the OsmChange specification with the following differences:

  • each element must carry a changeset and a version attribute, except when you are creating an element where the version is not required as the server sets that for you. The changeset must be the same as the changeset ID being uploaded to.
  • a <delete> block in the OsmChange document may have an if-unused attribute (the value of which is ignored). If this attribute is present, then the delete operation(s) in this block are conditional and will only be executed if the object to be deleted is not used by another object. Without the if-unused, such a situation would lead to an error, and the whole diff upload would fail. Setting the attribute will also cause deletions of already deleted objects to not generate an error.
  • OsmChange documents generally have user and uid attributes on each element. These are not required in the document uploaded to the API.

Parameters

id
The ID of the changeset this diff belongs to.
POST data
The OsmChange file data

Response

If a diff is successfully applied a XML (content type text/xml) is returned in the following format 

<diffResult generator="OpenStreetMap Server" version="0.6">
	<node|way|relation old_id="#" new_id="#" new_version="#"/>
	...
</diffResult>

with one element for every element in the upload. Note that this can be counter-intuitive when the same element has appeared multiple times in the input then it will appear multiple times in the output.

Attribute create modify delete
old_id same as uploaded element.
new_id new ID new ID or same as uploaded not present
new_version new version not present

Error codes

HTTP status code 400 (Bad Request) - text/plain
When there are errors parsing the XML. A text message explaining the error is returned.
When an placeholder ID is missing or not unique (this will occur for circular relation references)
HTTP status code 404 (Not Found)
When no changeset with the given id could be found
Or when the diff contains elements that could not be found for the given id
HTTP status code 405 (Method Not Allowed)
If the request is not a HTTP POST request
HTTP status code 409 (Conflict) - text/plain
If the changeset in question has already been closed (either by the user itself or as a result of the auto-closing feature). A message with the format "The changeset #id was closed at #closed_at." is returned
If, while uploading, the max. size of the changeset is exceeded. A message with the format "The changeset #id was closed at #closed_at." is returned
Or if the user trying to update the changeset is not the same as the one that created it
Or if the diff contains elements with changeset IDs which don't match the changeset ID that the diff was uploaded to
Or any of the error messages that could occur as a result of a create, update or delete operation for one of the elements
HTTP status code 413 (Payload too large/Content too large)
If, while uploading, the permitted bounding box size is exceeded, an error "Changeset bounding box size limit exceeded." is returned.
HTTP status code 429 (Too many requests)
When the request has been blocked due to rate limiting
Other status codes
Any of the error codes and associated messages that could occur as a result of a create, update or delete operation for one of the elements
See the according sections in this page

Notes

  • Processing stops at the first error, so if there are multiple conflicts in one diff upload, only the first problem is reported.
  • Refer to /api/capabilities --> changesets -> maximum_elements for the maximum number of changes permitted in a changeset.
  • There is currently no limit in the diff size on the Rails port. CGImap limits diff size to 50MB (uncompressed size).
  • Forward referencing of placeholder ids is not permitted and will be rejected by the API.

Changeset summary

The procedure for successful creation of a changeset is summarized in the following picture.

Note that the picture demonstrates single object operations to create/update/delete elements as per API 0.5. For performance reasons, API users are advised to use the API 0.6 diff upload endpoint instead.

OSM API0.6 Changeset successful creation V0.1.png

Changeset discussion

Changeset discussions were added in November 2014 (See blog)


Comment: POST /api/0.6/changeset/#id/comment

Add a comment to a changeset. The changeset must be closed.

URL: https://api.openstreetmap.org/api/0.6/changeset/#id/comment (example)
Return type: application/xml

This request needs to be done as an authenticated user.

Parameters

text
The comment text. The content type is "application/x-www-form-urlencoded".

Error codes

HTTP status code 400 (Bad Request)
if the text field was not present
HTTP status code 409 (Conflict)
The changeset is not closed

Subscribe: POST /api/0.6/changeset/#id/subscribe

Subscribe to the discussion of a changeset to receive notifications for new comments.

URL: https://api.openstreetmap.org/api/0.6/changeset/#id/subscribe (example)
Return type: application/xml

This request needs to be done as an authenticated user.

Error codes

HTTP status code 409 (Conflict)
if the user is already subscribed to this changeset


Unsubscribe: POST /api/0.6/changeset/#id/unsubscribe

Unsubscribe from the discussion of a changeset to stop receiving notifications.

URL: https://api.openstreetmap.org/api/0.6/changeset/#id/unsubscribe (example)
Return type: application/xml

This request needs to be done as an authenticated user.

Error codes

HTTP status code 404 (Not Found)
if the user is not subscribed to this changeset


Hide changeset comment: POST /api/0.6/changeset/comment/#comment_id/hide

Sets visible flag on changeset comment to false.

URL: https://api.openstreetmap.org/api/0.6/changeset/comment/#comment_id/hide
Return type: application/xml

This request needs to be done as an authenticated user with moderator role.

Note that the changeset comment id differs from the changeset id.

Error codes

HTTP status code 403 (Forbidden)
if the user is not a moderator
HTTP status code 404 (Not Found)
if the changeset comment id is unknown


Unhide changeset comment: POST /api/0.6/changeset/comment/#comment_id/unhide

Sets visible flag on changeset comment to true.

URL: https://api.openstreetmap.org/api/0.6/changeset/comment/#comment_id/unhide
Return type: application/xml

This request needs to be done as an authenticated user with moderator role.

Note that the changeset comment id differs from the changeset id.

Error codes

HTTP status code 403 (Forbidden)
if the user is not a moderator
HTTP status code 404 (Not Found)
if the changeset comment id is unknown


Elements

There are create, read, update and delete calls for all of the three basic elements in OpenStreetMap (Nodes, Ways and Relations). These calls are very similar except for the payload and a few special error messages so they are documented only once.


Create: PUT /api/0.6/[node|way|relation]/create

Creates a new element of the specified type. Note that the entire request should be wrapped in a <osm>...</osm> element.

A Node: 

<osm>
	<node changeset="12" lat="..." lon="...">
		<tag k="note" v="Just a node"/>
		...
	</node>
</osm>

A Way: 

<osm>
	<way changeset="12">
		<tag k="note" v="Just a way"/>
		...
		<nd ref="123"/>
		<nd ref="4345"/>
		...
	</way>
</osm>

A Relation: 

<osm>
	<relation changeset="12">
		<tag k="note" v="Just a relation"/>
		...
		<member type="node" role="stop" ref="123"/>
		<member type="way" ref="234"/>
	</relation>
</osm>

If multiple elements are provided only the first is created. The rest is discarded (this behavior differs from changeset creation).

Response

The ID of the newly created element (content type is text/plain)

Error codes

HTTP status code 400 (Bad Request) - text/plain
When there are errors parsing the XML. A text message explaining the error is returned.
When a changeset ID is missing (unfortunately the error messages are not consistent)
When a node is outside the world
When there are too many nodes for a way
HTTP status code 405 (Method Not Allowed)
If the request is not a HTTP PUT request
HTTP status code 409 (Conflict) - text/plain
If the changeset in question has already been closed (either by the user itself or as a result of the auto-closing feature). A message with the format "The changeset #id was closed at #closed_at." is returned
Or if the user trying to update the changeset is not the same as the one that created it
HTTP status code 412 (Precondition Failed)
When a way has nodes that do not exist or are not visible (i.e. deleted): "Way #{id} requires the nodes with id in (#{missing_ids}), which either do not exist, or are not visible."
When a relation has elements that do not exist or are not visible: "Relation with id #{id} cannot be saved due to #{element} with id #{element.id}"
HTTP status code 429 (Too many requests)
When the request has been blocked due to rate limiting

Notes

  • This updates the bounding box of the changeset.
  • The role attribute for relations is optional. An empty string is the default.
  • To avoid performance issues when uploading multiple objects, the use of the Diff upload endpoint is highly recommended.


Read: GET /api/0.6/[node|way|relation]/#id

Returns the XML representation of the element.

Response XML

GET /api/0.6/[node|way|relation]/#id

XML representing the element, wrapped in an <osm> element: 

<osm>
	<node id="123" lat="..." lon="..." version="142" changeset="12" user="fred" uid="123" visible="true" timestamp="2005-07-30T14:27:12+01:00">
		<tag k="note" v="Just a node"/>
		...
	</node>
</osm>

Response JSON

GET /api/0.6/[node|way|relation]/#id.json

JSON representing the element, wrapped in an <json> element: 

{
 "version": "0.6",
 "elements": [
  {"type": "node", "id": 4326396331, "lat": 31.9016302, "lon": -81.5990471, "timestamp": "2016-07-31T00:08:11Z", "version": 2, "changeset": 41136027, "user": "maven149", "id": 136601}
 ]
}

Error codes

HTTP status code 404 (Not Found)
When no element with the given id could be found
HTTP status code 410 (Gone)
If the element has been deleted


Update: PUT /api/0.6/[node|way|relation]/#id

Updates data from a preexisting element. A full representation of the element as it should be after the update has to be provided. Any tags, way-node refs, and relation members that remain unchanged must be in the update as well. A version number must be provided as well, it must match the current version of the element in the database.

This example is an update of the node 4326396331, updating the version 1 to alter existing tags. This change is made while the changeset with id 188021 is still open: 

<osm>
	<node changeset="188021" id="4326396331" lat="50.4202102" lon="6.1211032" version="1" visible="true">
		<tag k="foo" v="barzzz" />
	</node>
</osm>

Example for way 22935194 adding a new key zoning_code with value B. Remember that when making the PUT to an existing way, you need to add all existing tags (excluded here some for brevity) and the same version as the version from OSM 

 <osm>
     <way id="22935194" changeset="152700179" version="9">
          <tag k="highway" v="residential"/>
          <tag k="zoning_code" v="B"/>
          <tag k="name" v="Strada Desseanu"/>
     </way>
</osm>


Response

Returns the new version number with a content type of text/plain.

Error codes

HTTP status code 400 (Bad Request) - text/plain
When there are errors parsing the XML. A text message explaining the error is returned. (Example: Version is required when updating) This can also happen if you forget to pass the Content-Length header.
When a changeset ID is missing (unfortunately the error messages are not consistent)
When a node is outside the world
When there are too many nodes for a way
HTTP status code 409 (Conflict) - text/plain
When the version of the provided element does not match the current database version of the element
If the changeset in question has already been closed (either by the user itself or as a result of the auto-closing feature). A message with the format "The changeset #id was closed at #closed_at." is returned
Or if the user trying to update the changeset is not the same as the one that created it
HTTP status code 404 (Not Found)
When no element with the given id could be found
HTTP status code 412 (Precondition Failed)
When a way has nodes that do not exist or are not visible (i.e. deleted): "Way #{id} requires the nodes with id in (#{missing_ids}), which either do not exist, or are not visible."
When a relation has elements that do not exist or are not visible: "Relation with id #{id} cannot be saved due to #{element} with id #{element.id}"
HTTP status code 429 (Too many requests)
When the request has been blocked due to rate limiting

Notes

  • This updates the bounding box of the changeset.
  • To avoid performance issues when updating multiple objects, the use of the Diff upload endpoint is highly recommended. This is also the only way to ensure that multiple objects are updated in a single database transaction.

Delete: DELETE /api/0.6/[node|way|relation]/#id

Expects a valid XML representation of the element to be deleted.

For example: 

<osm>
	<node id="..." version="..." changeset="..." lat="..." lon="..." />
</osm>

Where the node ID in the XML must match the ID in the URL, the version must match the version of the element you downloaded and the changeset must match the ID of an open changeset owned by the current authenticated user. It is allowed, but not necessary, to have tags on the element except for lat/long tags which are required, without lat+lon the server gives 400 Bad request.

Response

Returns the new version number with a content type of text/plain.

Error codes

HTTP status code 400 (Bad Request) - text/plain
When there are errors parsing the XML. A text message explaining the error is returned.
When a changeset ID is missing (unfortunately the error messages are not consistent)
When a node is outside the world
When there are too many nodes for a way
When the version of the provided element does not match the current database version of the element
HTTP status code 404 (Not Found)
When no element with the given id could be found
HTTP status code 409 (Conflict) - text/plain
If the changeset in question has already been closed (either by the user itself or as a result of the auto-closing feature). A message with the format "The changeset #id was closed at #closed_at." is returned
Or if the user trying to update the changeset is not the same as the one that created it
HTTP status code 410 (Gone)
If the element has already been deleted
HTTP status code 412 (Precondition Failed)
When a node is still used by a way: Node #{id} is still used by way #{way.id}.
When a node is still member of a relation: Node #{id} is still used by relation #{relation.id}.
When a way is still member of a relation: Way #{id} still used by relation #{relation.id}.
When a relation is still member of another relation: The relation #{id} is used in relation #{relation.id}.
Note when returned as a result of a OsmChange upload operation the error messages contain a spurious plural "s" as in "... still used by ways ...", "... still used by relations ..." even when only 1 way or relation id is returned, as this implies multiple ids can be returned if the deleted object was/is a member of multiple parent objects, these ids are seperated by commas.
HTTP status code 429 (Too many requests)
When the request has been blocked due to rate limiting

Notes

  • In earlier API versions no payload was required. It is needed now because of the need for changeset IDs and version numbers.
  • To avoid performance issues when updating multiple objects, the use of the Diff upload endpoint is highly recommended. This is also the only way to ensure that multiple objects are updated in a single database transaction.


History: GET /api/0.6/[node|way|relation]/#id/history

Retrieves all old versions of an element, sorted by version number from oldest to newest. (example)

Error codes

HTTP status code 404 (Not Found)
When no element with the given id could be found

Version: GET /api/0.6/[node|way|relation]/#id/#version

Retrieves a specific version of the element.

Error codes

HTTP status code 403 (Forbidden)
When the version of the element is not available (due to redaction)
HTTP status code 404 (Not Found)
When no element with the given id could be found


Multi fetch: GET /api/0.6/[nodes|ways|relations]?#parameters

Allows a user to fetch multiple elements at once.

Parameters

[nodes|ways|relations]=comma separated list
The parameter has to be the same in the URL (e.g. /api/0.6/nodes?nodes=123,456,789)
Version numbers for each object may be optionally provided following a lowercase "v" character, e.g. /api/0.6/nodes?nodes=421586779v1,421586779v2 (Currently supported only in CGImap, used on osm.org [1] GitHub)

Error codes

HTTP status code 400 (Bad Request)
On a malformed request (parameters missing or wrong)
HTTP status code 404 (Not Found)
If one of the elements could not be found (By "not found" is meant never existed in the database, if the object was deleted, it will be returned with the attribute visible="false")
HTTP status code 414 (Request-URI Too Large)
If the URI was too long (tested to be > 8213 characters in the URI, or > 725 elements for 10 digit IDs when not specifying versions)

Notes

As the multi fetch call returns deleted objects it is the practical way to determine the version at which an object was deleted (useful for example for conflict resolution), the alternative to using this would be the history call that however may potentially require 1000's of version to be processed.


Relations for element: GET /api/0.6/[node|way|relation]/#id/relations

Returns a XML document containing all (not deleted) relations in which the given element is used.

Notes

  • There is no error if the element does not exist.
  • If the element does not exist or it isn't used in any relations an empty XML document is returned (apart from the <osm> elements)


Ways for node: GET /api/0.6/node/#id/ways

Returns a XML document containing all the (not deleted) ways in which the given node is used.

Notes

  • There is no error if the node does not exist.
  • If the node does not exist or it isn't used in any ways an empty XML document is returned (apart from the <osm> elements)


Full: GET /api/0.6/[way|relation]/#id/full

This API call retrieves a way or relation and all other elements referenced by it

  • For a way, it will return the way specified plus the full XML of all nodes referenced by the way.
  • For a relation, it will return the following:
    • The relation itself
    • All nodes, ways, and relations that are members of the relation
    • Plus all nodes used by ways from the previous step
    • The same recursive logic is not applied to relations. This means: If relation r1 contains way w1 and relation r2, and w1 contains nodes n1 and n2, and r2 contains node n3, then a "full" request for r1 will give you r1, r2, w1, n1, and n2. Not n3.

Error codes

HTTP status code 404 (Not Found)
When no element with the given id could be found
HTTP status code 410 (Gone)
If the element has been deleted


Redaction: POST /api/0.6/[node|way|relation]/#id/#version/redact?redaction=#redaction_id

This is an API method originally created for the ODbL license change to hide contributions from users that did not accept the new CT/licence. It is now used by the DWG to hide old versions of elements containing data privacy or copyright infringements. All API retrieval request for the element #version will return an HTTP error 403.

Notes

  • only permitted for OSM accounts with the moderator role (DWG and server admins)
  • requires write_redactions OAuth scope; before September 2024 required either write_api or write_redactions, and before December 2023 required write_api; those older scope requirements may still be around on other openstreetmap-website-based servers such as OpenHistoricalMap
  • the #redaction_id is listed on https://www.openstreetmap.org/redactions
  • more information can be found in the source
  • This is an extremely specialized call

Error codes

HTTP status code 400 (Bad Request)
"Cannot redact current version of element, only historical versions may be redacted."

GPS traces

In violation of the GPX standard when downloading public GPX traces through the API, all waypoints of non-trackable traces are randomized (or rather sorted by lat/lon) and delivered as one trackSegment for privacy reasons. Trackable traces are delivered, sorted by descending upload time, before the waypoints of non-trackable traces.


Get GPS Points: Get /api/0.6/trackpoints?bbox=left,bottom,right,top&page=pageNumber

Use this to retrieve the GPS track points that are inside a given bounding box (formatted in a GPX format).

where:

  • left is the longitude of the left (westernmost) side of the bounding box.
  • bottom is the latitude of the bottom (southernmost) side of the bounding box.
  • right is the longitude of the right (easternmost) side of the bounding box.
  • top is the latitude of the top (northernmost) side of the bounding box.
  • pageNumber specifies which group of 5,000 points, or page, to return. Since the command does not return more than 5,000 points at a time, this parameter must be incremented—and the command sent again (using the same bounding box)—in order to retrieve all of the points for a bounding box that contains more than 5,000 points. When this parameter is 0 (zero), the command returns the first 5,000 points; when it is 1, the command returns points 5,001–10,000, etc.

The maximal width (right - left) and height (top - bottom) of the bounding box is 0.25 degree.

Examples

Retrieve the first 5,000 points for a bounding box: 

https://api.openstreetmap.org/api/0.6/trackpoints?bbox=0,51.5,0.25,51.75&page=0

Retrieve the next 5,000 points (points 5,001–10,000) for the same bounding box: 

https://api.openstreetmap.org/api/0.6/trackpoints?bbox=0,51.5,0.25,51.75&page=1

Response

  • This response is NOT wrapped in an OSM xml parent element.
  • The file format is GPX Version 1.0 which is not the current version. Verify that your tools support it.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<gpx version="1.0" creator="OpenStreetMap.org" xmlns="http://www.topografix.com/GPX/1/0">
	<trk>
		<name>20190626.gpx</name>
		<desc>Footpaths near Blackweir Pond, Epping Forest</desc>
		<url>https://api.openstreetmap.org/user/John%20Leeming/traces/3031013</url>
		<trkseg>
			<trkpt lat="51.6616100" lon="0.0534560">
				<time>2019-06-26T14:27:58Z</time>
			</trkpt>
			...
		</trkseg>
		...
	</trk>
	...
</gpx>


Create: POST /api/0.6/gpx

Also available at POST /api/0.6/gpx/create (deprecated)

Use this to upload a GPX file or archive of GPX files. Requires authentication.

The following parameters are required in a multipart/form-data HTTP message:

parameter description
file The GPX file containing the track points. Note that for successful processing, the file must contain trackpoints (<trkpt>), not only waypoints, and the trackpoints must have a valid timestamp. Since the file is processed asynchronously, the call will complete successfully even if the file cannot be processed. The file may also be a .tar, .tar.gz or .zip containing multiple gpx files, although it will appear as a single entry in the upload log.
description The trace description. Cannot be empty.
tags A string containing tags for the trace. Can be empty.
public 1 if the trace is public, 0 if not. This exists for backwards compatibility only - the visibility parameter should now be used instead. This value will be ignored if visibility is also provided.
visibility One of the following: private, public, trackable, identifiable (for explanations see OSM trace upload page or Visibility of GPS traces)

Response:

A number representing the ID of the new gpx

Error codes

HTTP status code 400 (Bad Request)
When the description is empty

Update: PUT /api/0.6/gpx/#id

Use this to update the metadata of a GPX file. Only usable by the owner account. Requires authentication. The request body is an xml file with the same structure as the responses of Download Metadata.

The response body will be empty.

Delete: DELETE /api/0.6/gpx/#id

Use this to delete a GPX file. Only usable by the owner account. Requires authentication.
The response body will be empty.


Download Metadata: GET /api/0.6/gpx/#id

Also available at GET /api/0.6/gpx/#id/details (deprecated)

Use this to access the metadata about a GPX file. Available without authentication if the file is marked public. Otherwise only usable by the owner account and requires authentication.

Example "details" response: 

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<osm version="0.6" generator="OpenStreetMap server">
	<gpx_file id="836619" name="track.gpx" lat="52.0194" lon="8.51807" uid="1234" user="Hartmut Holzgraefe" visibility="public" pending="false" timestamp="2010-10-09T09:24:19Z">
		<description>PHP upload test</description>
		<tag>test</tag>
		<tag>php</tag>
	</gpx_file>
</osm>

Note: the uid attribute was added in September 2023 GitHub.

Download Data: GET /api/0.6/gpx/#id/data

Use this to download the full GPX file. Available without authentication if the file is marked public. Otherwise only usable by the owner account and requires authentication. ' The response will always be a GPX format file if you use a .gpx URL suffix, a XML file in an undocumented format if you use a .xml URL suffix, otherwise the response will be the exact file that was uploaded.

NOTE: if you request refers to a multi-file archive the response when you force gpx or xml format will consist of a non-standard simple concatenation of the files.


List: GET /api/0.6/user/gpx_files

Use this to get a list of GPX traces owned by the authenticated user: Requires authentication.

Note that /user/ is a literal part of the URL, not a user's display name or user id. (This call always returns GPX traces for the current authenticated user only.)

The response is similar to the one of Download Metadata, except with multiple possible <gpx_file> elements. Example: 

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<osm version="0.6" generator="OpenStreetMap server">
	<gpx_file id="836619" name="track.gpx" lat="52.0194" lon="8.51807" uid="1234" user="Hartmut Holzgraefe" visibility="public" pending="false" timestamp="2010-10-09T09:24:19Z">
		<description>PHP upload test</description>
		<tag>test</tag>
		<tag>php</tag>
	</gpx_file>
	<gpx_file id="836620" name="track.gpx" lat="52.1194" lon="8.61807" uid="1234" user="Hartmut Holzgraefe" visibility="public" pending="false" timestamp="2010-10-09T09:27:31Z">
		<description>PHP upload test 2</description>
		<tag>test</tag>
		<tag>php</tag>
	</gpx_file>
</osm>

Methods for user data

Details of a user: GET /api/0.6/user/#id

This API method was added in September 2012 (code).

You can get the home location and the displayname of the user, by using

Response XML

GET /api/0.6/user/#id

this returns for example 

<osm version="0.6" generator="OpenStreetMap server">
	<user id="12023" display_name="jbpbis" account_created="2007-08-16T01:35:56Z">
		<description></description>
		<contributor-terms agreed="false"/>
		<img href="http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/c8c86cd15f60ecca66ce2b10cb6b9a00.jpg?s=256&amp;d=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.openstreetmap.org%2Fassets%2Fusers%2Fimages%2Flarge-39c3a9dc4e778311af6b70ddcf447b58.png"/>
        <roles>
            <moderator/>
        </roles>
		<changesets count="1"/>
		<traces count="0"/>
		<blocks>
			<received count="0" active="0"/>
		    <issued count="68" active="45"/>
		</blocks>
	</user>
</osm>

Response JSON

GET /api/0.6/user/#id.json

{
 "version": "0.6",
 "generator": "OpenStreetMap server",
 "user": {"id": 12023, "display_name": "jbpbis", "account_created": "2007-08-16T01:35:56Z", "description": "", "contributor_terms": {"agreed": False}, "roles": [], "changesets": {"count": 1}, "traces": {"count": 0}, "blocks": {"received": {"count": 0, "active": 0}}}
}

or an empty file if no user found for given identifier.

Note that user accounts which made edits may be deleted. Such users are listed at https://planet.osm.org/users_deleted/users_deleted.txt


Details of multiple users: GET /api/0.6/users?users=#id1,#id2,...,#idn

This API method was added in July 2018 (code).

You can get the details of a number of users via

Response XML

GET /api/0.6/users?users=#id1,#id2,...,#idn

this returns for example 

<osm version="0.6" generator="OpenStreetMap server">
	<user id="12023" display_name="jbpbis" account_created="2007-08-16T01:35:56Z">
		<description></description>
		<contributor-terms agreed="false"/>
		<img href="http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/c8c86cd15f60ecca66ce2b10cb6b9a00.jpg?s=256&amp;d=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.openstreetmap.org%2Fassets%2Fusers%2Fimages%2Flarge-39c3a9dc4e778311af6b70ddcf447b58.png"/>
		<roles>
		</roles>
		<changesets count="1"/>
		<traces count="0"/>
		<blocks>
			<received count="0" active="0"/>
		</blocks>
	</user>
	<user id="210447" display_name="siebh" account_created="2009-12-20T10:11:42Z">
		<description></description>
		<contributor-terms agreed="true"/>
		<roles>
		</roles>
		<changesets count="267"/>
		<traces count="1"/>
		<blocks>
			<received count="0" active="0"/>
		</blocks>
	</user>
</osm>

Response JSON

GET /api/0.6/users.json?users=#id1,#id2,...,#idn

{
 "version": "0.6",
 "generator": "OpenStreetMap server",
 "users": [
  {"user": {"id": 12023, "display_name": "jbpbis", "account_created": "2007-08-16T01:35:56Z", "description": "", "contributor_terms": {"agreed": False}, "roles": [], "changesets": {"count": 1}, "traces": {"count": 0}, "blocks": {"received": {"count": 0, "active": 0}}}},
  {"user": {"id": 210447, "display_name": "siebh", "account_created": "2009-12-20T10:11:42Z", "description": "", "contributor_terms": {"agreed": True}, "roles": [], "changesets": {"count": 363}, "traces": {"count": 1}, "blocks": {"received": {"count": 0, "active": 0}}}}
 ]
}

or an empty file if no user found for given identifier.


Note: Since Pull request 4203 (deployed on August 26 2023), both XML and JSON based variants of the users endpoint will skip any non-existing/suspended/deleted users, rather than reporting a previously undocumented HTTP 404 error.

Details of the logged-in user: GET /api/0.6/user/details

You can get the home location and the displayname of the user, by using

Response XML

GET /api/0.6/user/details

this returns an XML document of the from 

<osm version="0.6" generator="OpenStreetMap server">
	<user display_name="Max Muster" account_created="2006-07-21T19:28:26Z" id="1234">
		<contributor-terms agreed="true" pd="true"/>
		<img href="https://www.openstreetmap.org/attachments/users/images/000/000/1234/original/someLongURLOrOther.JPG"/>
		<roles></roles>
		<changesets count="4182"/>
		<traces count="513"/>
		<blocks>
			<received count="0" active="0"/>
		</blocks>
		<home lat="49.4733718952806" lon="8.89285988577866" zoom="3"/>
		<description>The description of your profile</description>
		<languages>
			<lang>de-DE</lang>
			<lang>de</lang>
			<lang>en-US</lang>
			<lang>en</lang>
		</languages>
		<messages>
			<received count="1" unread="0"/>
			<sent count="0"/>
		</messages>
	</user>
</osm>

Response JSON

GET /api/0.6/user/details.json

this returns an JSON document of the from 

{
 "version": "0.6",
 "generator": "OpenStreetMap server",
 "user": {
  "id": 1234,
  "display_name": "Max Muster",
  "account_created": "2006-07-21T19:28:26Z",
  "description": "The description of your profile",
  "contributor_terms": {"agreed": True, "pd": True},
  "img": {"href": "https://www.openstreetmap.org/attachments/users/images/000/000/1234/original/someLongURLOrOther.JPG"},
  "roles": [],
  "changesets": {"count": 4182},
  "traces": {"count": 513},
  "blocks": {"received": {"count": 0, "active": 0}},
  "home": {"lat": 49.4733718952806, "lon": 8.89285988577866, "zoom": 3},
  "languages": ["de-DE", "de", "en-US", "en"],
  "messages": {"received": {"count": 1, "unread": 0},
  "sent": {"count": 0}}
 }
}

The messages section has been available since mid-2013. It provides a basic counts of received, sent, and unread osm messages.


Preferences of the logged-in user: GET|PUT|DELETE /api/0.6/user/preferences

The OSM server supports storing arbitrary user preferences. This can be used by editors, for example, to offer the same configuration wherever the user logs in, instead of a locally-stored configuration. For an overview of applications using the preferences-API and which key-schemes they use, see this wiki page.

You can retrieve the list of current preferences using

Response XML

GET /api/0.6/user/preferences

this returns an XML document of the form 

<osm version="0.6" generator="OpenStreetMap server">
	<preferences>
		<preference k="somekey" v="somevalue" />
		...
	</preferences>
</osm>

Response JSON

GET /api/0.6/user/preferences.json

this returns an JSON document of the form 

{
 "version": "0.6",
 "generator": "OpenStreetMap server",
 "preferences": {"somekey": "somevalue, ...}
}

PUT /api/0.6/user/preferences

The same structure in the body of the a PUT will upload preferences. All existing preferences are replaced by the newly uploaded set. 

GET /api/0.6/user/preferences/[your_key] (without the brackets)

Returns a string with that preference's value. 

PUT /api/0.6/user/preferences/[your_key] (without the brackets)

Will set a single preference's value to a string passed as the content of the request. 

PUT /api/0.6/user/preferences/[your_key]

in this instance, the payload of the request should only contain the value of the preference, i.e. not XML formatted.

The PUT call returns HTTP response code 406 (not acceptable) if the same key occurs more than once, and code 413 (request entity too large) if you try to upload more than 150 preferences at once. The sizes of the key and value are limited to 255 characters.

A single preference entry can be deleted with 

DELETE /api/0.6/user/preferences/[your_key]


Map Notes API

This provides access to the notes feature, which allows users to add geo-referenced textual "post-it" notes. This feature was not originally in the API 0.6 and was only added later ( 04/23/2013 in commit 0c8ad2f86edefed72052b402742cadedb0d674d9 ). As this was intended as a compatible replacement for the OpenStreetBugs API there are numerous idiosyncrasies relative to how the other parts of the OSM API work.


Retrieving notes data by bounding box: GET /api/0.6/notes

Returns the existing notes in the specified bounding box. The notes will be ordered by the date of their last change, the most recent one will be first. The list of notes can be returned in several different forms (e.g. as executable JavaScript, XML, RSS, json and GPX) depending on the file extension.

Note: the XML format returned by the API is different from the, equally undocumented, format used for "osn" format files, available from planet.openstreetmap.org, and as output from JOSM and Vespucci.

URL: https://api.openstreetmap.org/api/0.6/notes?bbox=left,bottom,right,top (example)
Return type: application/xml

Parameter Description Allowed values Default value
bbox Coordinates for the area to retrieve the notes from Floating point numbers in degrees, expressing a valid bounding box, not larger than the configured size limit, 25 square degrees[a], not overlapping the dateline. none, parameter required
limit Specifies the number of entries returned at max A value of between 1 and 10000[b] is valid 100[b]
closed Specifies the number of days a note needs to be closed to no longer be returned A value of 0 means only open notes are returned. A value of -1 means all notes are returned. 7
  1. ↑ see capabilities and this line in settings for the current value
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 may change, see capabilities for current value

You can specify the format you want the results returned as by specifying a file extension. E.g. example to get results in json. Currently the format RSS, XML, json and gpx are supported.

The comment properties [uid, user, user_url] will be omitted if the comment was anonymous.

Response XML

GET /api/0.6/notes

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<osm version="0.6" generator="OpenStreetMap server" copyright="OpenStreetMap and contributors" attribution="https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright" license="https://opendatacommons.org/licenses/odbl/1-0/">
	<note lon="0.1000000" lat="51.0000000">
		<id>16659</id>
		<url>https://master.apis.dev.openstreetmap.org/api/0.6/notes/16659</url>
		<comment_url>https://master.apis.dev.openstreetmap.org/api/0.6/notes/16659/comment</comment_url>
		<close_url>https://master.apis.dev.openstreetmap.org/api/0.6/notes/16659/close</close_url>
		<date_created>2019-06-15 08:26:04 UTC</date_created>
		<status>open</status>
		<comments>
			<comment>
				<date>2019-06-15 08:26:04 UTC</date>
                <uid>1234</uid>
                <user>userName</user>
                <user_url>https://master.apis.dev.openstreetmap.org/user/userName</user_url>
				<action>opened</action>
				<text>ThisIsANote</text>
				<html>&lt;p&gt;ThisIsANote&lt;/p&gt;</html>
			</comment>
			...
		</comments>
	</note>
	...
</osm>

Response JSON

GET /api/0.6/notes.json

{
 "type": "FeatureCollection",
 "features": [
  {
   "type": "Feature",
   "geometry": {"type": "Point", "coordinates": [0.1000000, 51.0000000]},
   "properties": {
    "id": 16659,
    "url": "https://master.apis.dev.openstreetmap.org/api/0.6/notes/16659.json",
    "comment_url": "https://master.apis.dev.openstreetmap.org/api/0.6/notes/16659/comment.json",
    "close_url": "https://master.apis.dev.openstreetmap.org/api/0.6/notes/16659/close.json",
    "date_created": "2019-06-15 08:26:04 UTC",
    "status": "open",
    "comments": [
     {"date": "2019-06-15 08:26:04 UTC", "uid": 1234, "user": "userName", "user_url": "https://master.apis.dev.openstreetmap.org/user/userName", "action": "opened", "text": "ThisIsANote", "html": "<p>ThisIsANote</p>"},
     ...
    ]
   }
  }
 ]
}

Error codes

HTTP status code 400 (Bad Request)
When any of the limits are crossed

Read: GET /api/0.6/notes/#id

Returns the existing note with the given ID. The output can be in several formats (e.g. XML, RSS, json or GPX) depending on the file extension.

URL: https://api.openstreetmap.org/api/0.6/notes/#id (xml, json)
Return type: application/xml

Error codes

HTTP status code 404 (Not Found)
When no note with the given id could be found. This should only be returned for not yet existing notes.
HTTP status code 410 (Gone)
When the note has been hidden by a moderator. Note that the error message "The note with the id nnnnnnnnn has already been deleted" is misleading, as it isn't actually possible for non-moderators to delete/hide Notes via the API.

Create a new note: POST /api/0.6/notes

XML

URL: https://api.openstreetmap.org/api/0.6/notes?lat=51.00&lon=0.1&text=ThisIsANote (use Postman or similar tools to test the endpoint - note that it must be a POST request)
Return type: application/xml

An XML-file with the details of the note will be returned

JSON

URL: https://api.openstreetmap.org/api/0.6/notes.json
Body content: {"lat":51.00, "lon": 0.1&, "text":"This is a note\n\nThis is another line"}
Return type: application/json

A JSON-file with the details of the note will be returned

Parameters

Parameter Description Allowed values Default value
lat Specifies the latitude of the note floatingpoint number in degrees No default, needs to be specified
lon Specifies the longitude of the note floatingpoint number in degrees No default, needs to be specified
text A text field with arbitrary text containing the note No default, needs to be present

If the request is made as an authenticated user, the note is associated to that user account. If the OAuth access token used does not have the allow_write_notes permission, it is created as an anonymous note instead.

Error codes

HTTP status code 400 (Bad Request)
if the text field was not present
HTTP status code 404 (Not found)
This applies, if the request is not a HTTP POST request
HTTP status code 405 (Method Not Allowed)
If the request is not a HTTP POST request


Create a new comment: POST /api/0.6/notes/#id/comment

Add a new comment to note #id

URL: https://api.openstreetmap.org/api/0.6/notes/#id/comment?text=ThisIsANoteComment (use Postman or similar tools to test the endpoint - note that it must be a POST request)
Return type: application/xml

Since 28 August 2019, this request needs to be done as an authenticated user.

The response will contain the XML of note.

Parameter Description Allowed values Default value
text The comment A text field with arbitrary text No default, needs to be present

Error codes

HTTP status code 400 (Bad Request)
if the text field was not present
HTTP status code 404 (Not found)
if no note with that id is not available. This should only happen for not yet existing notes.
This also applies, if the request is not a HTTP POST request
HTTP status code 405 (Method Not Allowed)
If the request is not a HTTP POST request
HTTP status code 409 (Conflict)
When the note is closed
HTTP status code 410 (Gone)
When the note has been hidden by a moderator. Note that the error message "The note with the id nnnnnnnnn has already been deleted" is misleading, as it isn't actually possible for non-moderators to delete (hide) Notes via the API.

Close: POST /api/0.6/notes/#id/close

Close a note as fixed.

URL: https://api.openstreetmap.org/api/0.6/notes/#id/close?text=Comment (use Postman or similar tools to test the endpoint - note that it must be a POST request)
Return type: application/xml

This request needs to be done as an authenticated user.

Error codes

HTTP status code 404 (Not Found)
When no note with the given id could be found. This should only happen for not yet existing notes.
This also applies, if the request is not a HTTP POST request
HTTP status code 405 (Method Not Allowed)
If the request is not a HTTP POST request
HTTP status code 409 (Conflict)
When closing an already closed note
HTTP status code 410 (Gone)
When the note has been hidden by a moderator. Note that the error message "The note with the id nnnnnnnnn has already been deleted" is misleading, as it isn't actually possible for a non-moderator to delete/hide Notes via the API.

Reopen: POST /api/0.6/notes/#id/reopen

Reopen a closed note.

URL: https://api.openstreetmap.org/api/0.6/notes/#id/reopen?text=Comment (use Postman or similar tools to test the endpoint)
Return type: application/xml

This request needs to be done as an authenticated user.

Error codes

HTTP status code 404 (Not Found)
When no note with the given id could be found
This also applies, if the request is not a HTTP POST request
HTTP status code 405 (Method Not Allowed)
If the request is not a HTTP POST request
HTTP status code 409 (Conflict)
When reopening an already open note
HTTP status code 410 (Gone)
When reopening a deleted note


Hide: DELETE /api/0.6/notes/#id

Hide (delete) a note.

URL: https://api.openstreetmap.org/api/0.6/notes/#id?text=Comment (use Postman or similar tools to test the endpoint)
Return type: application/xml

This request needs to be done as an authenticated user with moderator role.

Use Reopen request to make the note visible again.

Error codes

HTTP status code 403 (Forbidden)
if the user is not a moderator
HTTP status code 404 (Not Found)
When no note with the given id could be found
HTTP status code 410 (Gone)
When hiding a note that is already hidden

Subscribe: POST /api/0.6/notes/#id/subscription

Subscribe to the discussion of a note to receive notifications for new comments.

URL: https://api.openstreetmap.org/api/0.6/notes/:id/subscription
Return type: (empty response)

This request needs to be done as an authenticated user.

Error codes

HTTP status code 404 (Not Found)
if the note doesn't exist
HTTP status code 409 (Conflict)
if the user is already subscribed to this note

Unsubscribe: DELETE /api/0.6/notes/#id/subscription

Subscribe to the discussion of a note to receive notifications for new comments.

URL: https://api.openstreetmap.org/api/0.6/notes/:id/subscription
Return type: (empty response)

This request needs to be done as an authenticated user.

Error codes

HTTP status code 404 (Not Found)
if the note doesn't exist or the user is not subscribed to this note

Search for notes: GET /api/0.6/notes/search

Returns notes that match the specified query. If no query is provided, the most recently updated notes are returned.

The result can be encoded in several different formats (XML, RSS, JSON, or GPX), depending on the file extension provided.

URL: https://api.openstreetmap.org/api/0.6/notes/search

Parameter Description Allowed values Default value
q Text search query, matching either note text or comments. String none, optional parameter
limit Maximum number of results. Integer between 1 and 10000[a] 100[a]
closed Maximum number of days a note has been closed for. Number; Value of 0 returns only open notes, Negative numbers return all notes 7
display_name Search for notes which the given user interacted with. String; User display name none, optional parameter
user Same as display_name, but search based on user id instead of display name. When both options are provided, display_name takes priority. Integer; User id none, optional parameter
bbox Search area. Bounding box; Area of at most 25 square degrees[b] none, optional parameter
from Beginning date range for created_at or updated_at (specified by sort). Date; Preferably in ISO 8601 format none, optional parameter
to End date range for created_at or updated_at (specified by sort). Only works when from is supplied. Date; Preferably in ISO 8601 format none, optional parameter
sort Sort results by creation or update date. created_at or updated_at updated_at
order Sorting order. oldest is ascending order, newest is descending order. oldest or newest newest
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 may change, see capabilities for the current value
  2. ↑ see capabilities and this line in settings for the current value

Examples

See latest note updates globally: 

 https://api.openstreetmap.org/api/0.6/notes/search

Search for a text in comments: 

 https://api.openstreetmap.org/api/0.6/notes/search?q=business%20spam

See notes of a single user: 

 https://api.openstreetmap.org/api/0.6/notes/search?user=123

Search for oldest notes near Null Island: 

 https://api.openstreetmap.org/api/0.6/notes/search?bbox=-1%2C-1%2C1%2C1&sort=created_at&order=oldest&closed=-1&limit=20

Error codes

HTTP status code 400 (Bad Request)
When any of the limits are crossed

RSS Feed: GET /api/0.6/notes/feed

Gets an RSS feed for notes within an area.

URL: https://api.openstreetmap.org/api/0.6/notes/feed

Return type: application/xml

Parameter Description Allowed values Default value
bbox Coordinates for the area to retrieve the notes from Floating point numbers in degrees, expressing a valid bounding box, not larger than the configured size limit, 25 square degrees [2], not overlapping the dateline. none, optional parameter

When NOT to use the API

For bulk upload scripts or data modification, the direct API use may not be the proper mechanism. The modern version of creating a bulk upload or modification script is to build a change set, load it into an editor like JOSM, and verify the work prior to commit. You can also use the API to upload a change set in an atomic manner. See also: Change File Formats, Import

The API is primarily intended for editing. For read-only purposes or projects, see API usage policy.

Semantic versioning

At the time of first deployment, semantic versioning (with a minor version number) wasn't an established concept. As a result, the API doesn't follow this scheme. Many applications wouldn't be able to handle minor version number changes correctly, thus no attempt is made to add it, although the current version can be thought of as being 0.6.9.

Further reading

References

  1. ↑ https://github.com/openstreetmap/openstreetmap-website/commit/b9c85c269726faad3c2613b37f01683c8b59f5c6#commitcomment-125789988
  2. ↑ https://github.com/openstreetmap/openstreetmap-website/commit/b9c85c269726faad3c2613b37f01683c8b59f5c6#commitcomment-125789640
  3. ↑ https://github.com/openstreetmap/openstreetmap-website/blob/f1c6a87aa137c11d0aff5a4b0e563ac2c2a8f82d/app/controllers/api/changesets_controller.rb#L174 - see the current state at https://github.com/openstreetmap/openstreetmap-website/blob/master/app/controllers/api/changesets_controller.rb#L174
  4. ↑ https://api.openstreetmap.org/api/0.6/capabilities "<changesets maximum_elements="10000"/>"
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