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My favourite OSM tools v.1.5

Posted by ivanbranco on 28 April 2023 in English.

I am sharing some of my favourite OSM-related tools/websites/apps with a very brief description, including the most popular ones (you never know). I’ve certainly forgotten many of them and don’t know as many.

Italian version

Websites

  • overpass turbo: Fundamental website for database queries. Also useful for custom QA filters.
  • taginfo: Check which tags are most used, their usage over time, the most used values for each tag etc. For the history of a tag there is also this site.
  • RapiD: iD on steroids. Reports possible missing buildings and streets.
  • osm-revert: Revert entire changesets (it replaced Revert UI which is no longer supported).
  • Level0: Revert individual nodes. It is also a useful text editor for changing several tags at once. However, read this first.
  • NotesReview: Filter OSM notes by user, date, text etc. There is also a site by Pascal Neis.
  • Disaster Ninja: Not its main purpose, but there is an interesting layer called ‘Building Quantity’ in case you want to find areas with unmapped buildings.
  • YoHours: To simplify the compilation of the opening_hours=* tag.
  • How Did You Contribute: Stats about users. There’s also your changes’ heat map.
  • Is OSM up-to-date?: Interesting site created by an Italian that tells you which nodes are less up-to-date. If there is nothing to update you can still leave a check_date tag.
  • Field Papers: Edit OSM by taking notes on paper.

Renderer

Wiki

  • OSM Wikidata: Match Wikidata pages and OSM elements. There is an updated version that I prefer, but it is still in beta and doesn’t always work.
  • WikiMap: Search for images to add as a value of wikimedia_commons=*. There is also WikiShootMe! which also includes Flickr images with compatible licences.
  • Wikimedia Commons App: Has two interesting features: it allows uploading from mobile and has a map showing Wikidata entries without pictures.
  • OpenStreetBrowser: Using the “OpenStreetMap Quality Control > Culture-Media/Wikidata” filter you can see a map of the entries without photos. It is more comprehensive than the Commons app because it includes items of interest (e.g. memorials) regardless of their presence on Wikidata.
  • OSM-wikipedia-tag-validator-reports: Correct problems with wiki tags.

QA

  • Osmose: The QA site par excellence.
  • OSMCha: The perfect site for gardening. Easily see changes in a given area, by user, etc.
  • WhoDidIt: You know when someone edits a bar in Caracas and a restaurant in Osaka and OSMCha notifies you even if nothing was changed in your area? This website fixes this.
  • OSM Latest Keys: The new tags that appeared in the OSM database. 90% of the time they are typo, errors or tags with alternatives already in use.
  • Find Suspicious OSM Changeset: Find changesets of new users who have requested a review. They rarely receive feedback. It would be nice if experienced users would comment at least one changeset every now and then, even only for welcoming them (there is also a dedicated tool: OpenStreetMap Welcome Tool).
  • OSM Inspector

Mobile apps

  • OsmAnd: OSM in your pocket. Offline maps everywhere, indispensable for trekking. Also useful in urban environments to find drinking fountains, litter bins and free parking spaces.
  • StreetComplete: For quick gamification-style changes.
  • EveryDoor: Good for checking which shops are up to date and for micro-mapping.
  • OSMBugs: Reports from various QA platforms at your fingertips.
  • Waze: Car navigator that you can evaluate as an alternative to Google Maps.
  • Organic Maps and MAPS.ME: Like OSMand, but more user-friendly. To be recommended to less experienced relatives and friends. Some prefer Mapy.cz.

Discussion

Comment from watmildon on 29 April 2023 at 02:31

I love lists like this! There’s always a few things I learn about. Here’s a few more I’ve found useful.

https://ohsome.org/apps/dashboard/ - View tag counts by region over time. Really nice to track imports or just look at historical tag additions.

https://overpass-ultra.trailsta.sh/ - A frontend for Overpass that works much better when you have lots and lots of data to render

https://maproulette.org/ - A micro tasking manager

Comment from adrianojbr on 2 May 2023 at 23:08

Is Waze OSM tool?

Comment from barefootstache on 3 May 2023 at 02:56

@adrianojbr based off the wiki entry for Waze, the app does NOT contribute to the OSM database. It is only an alternative for car navigation instead of Google.

Comment from Cascafico on 7 May 2023 at 15:43

Grazie Ivan! E a watmildon per l’integrazione. La metterò al top segnalibri.

Comment from rene78 on 8 May 2023 at 17:39

Another QA Tool similar to OSMCha. Not as powerful but very easy to use: OSM Latest Changes

Comment from JackNUMBER on 9 May 2023 at 12:54

I suggest OSM Go! There is a mobile app and a website (https://osmgo.com)

Comment from arukuni on 13 May 2023 at 11:02

Waze is an alternative to Google Maps as a navigation software, might makes sense to add that it’s Google based and Google owned though.

Comment from adreamy on 30 May 2023 at 02:24

I’m often surprised at how many tools there are to make good use of OSM, and how deeply hidden they are.
Thanks, @ivanbranco

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