2025-11-15 –, Area
The Overpass API allows for queries for interesting or special data of the OpenStreetMap data.
Recent issues and their likelihood to be implemented are presented: compliance with data redactions, fair quotas, and resilience to disk failures.
Bring in your questions about Overpass API and how to query OpenStreetMap data.
The Overpass API is a read-only mirror of the OpenStreetMap main database that support queries for interesting or special data.
There are, even after 15 years, both recent developments and plans for the future. The talk will give a very quick overview. Then some issues and their likelihood to be implemented are presented. An open issue is for example the compliance with data redactions, and that will involve both work in and outside the Overpass API source code. Other issues are the fair distribution of the available server capacity and how to improve resilience to disk failures.
There will be room to answer questions about how to use the Overpass API and how to find OpenStreetMap data with particular features.
I'm drolbr as a mapper and volunteer to develop software for OpenStreetMap since 2008. I'm best known for the software Overpass API. But I'm also interested in mapping for public transit and pedestrian routing. In addition, I'm at the moment serving in the Engineering Working Group and as a member of the OpenStreetMap Foundation's board.
For a day job I'm developing software for public transit. While my employer and our customers profit a lot from OpenStreetMap, my actual job is doing the software for ticket vending.