1 # Configuring the Import of OSM data
3 In the very first step of a Nominatim import, OSM data is loaded into the
4 database. Nominatim uses [osm2pgsql](https://osm2pgsql.org) for this task.
5 It comes with a [flex style](https://osm2pgsql.org/doc/manual.html#the-flex-output)
6 specifically tailored to filter and convert OSM data into Nominatim's
7 internal data representation. Nominatim ships with a few preset
8 configurations for this import, each results in a geocoding database of
10 [Import section](../admin/Import.md#filtering-imported-data) explains
11 these default configurations in detail.
13 If you want to have more control over which OSM data is added to the database,
14 you can also create your own custom style. Create a new lua style file, put it
15 into your project directory and then set `NOMINATIM_IMPORT_STYLE` to the name
16 of the file. Custom style files can be used to modify the existing preset
17 configurations or to implement your own configuration from scratch.
19 The remainder of the page describes how the flex style works and how to
22 ## The `flex-base` lua module
24 The core of Nominatim's flex import configuration is the `flex-base` module.
25 It defines the table layout used by Nominatim and provides standard
26 implementations for the import callbacks that help with customizing
27 how OSM tags are used by Nominatim.
29 Every custom style must include this module to make sure that the correct
30 tables are created. Thus start your custom style as follows:
33 local flex = require('flex-base')
36 ### Using preset configurations
38 If you want to start with one of the existing presets, then you can import
39 its settings using the `load_topic()` function:
42 local flex = require('flex-base')
44 flex.load_topic('streets')
47 The `load_topic` function takes an optional second configuration
48 parameter. The available options are explained in the
49 [themepark section](#using-osm2pgsql-themepark).
51 Available topics are: `admin`, `street`, `address`, `full`. These topic
52 correspond to the [import styles](../admin/Import.md#filtering-imported-data)
53 you can choose during import. To start with the 'extratags' style, use the
54 `full` topic with the appropriate config parameter:
57 flex.load_topic('full', {with_extratags = true})
61 You can also directly import the preset style files, e.g.
62 `local flex = require('import-street')`. It is not possible to
63 set extra configuration this way.
65 ### How processing works
67 When Nominatim processes an OSM object, it looks for four kinds of tags:
68 The _main tags_ classify what kind of place the OSM object represents. One
69 OSM object can have more than one main tag. In such case one database entry
70 is created for each main tag. _Name tags_ represent searchable names of the
71 place. _Address tags_ are used to compute the address hierarchy of the place.
72 Address tags are used for searching and for creating a display name of the place.
73 _Extra tags_ are any tags that are not directly related to search but
74 contain interesting additional information.
77 Some tags in the extratags category are used by Nominatim to better
78 classify the place. You want to make sure these are always present
81 Configuring the style means deciding which key and/or key/value is used
84 ## Changing the recognized tags
86 The flex style offers a number of functions to set the classification of
87 each OSM tag. Most of these functions can also take a preset string instead
88 of a tag description. These presets describe common configurations that
89 are also used in the definition of the predefined styles. This section
90 lists the configuration functions and the accepted presets.
94 Some of the following functions take _key match lists_. These lists can
95 contain three kinds of strings to match against tag keys:
96 A string that ends in an asterisk `*` is a prefix match and accordingly matches
97 against any key that starts with the given string (minus the `*`).
98 A suffix match can be defined similarly with a string that starts with a `*`.
99 Any other string is matched exactly against tag keys.
103 `set/modify_main_tags()` allow to define which tags are used as main tags. It
104 takes a lua table parameter which defines for keys and key/value
105 combinations, how they are classified.
107 The following classifications are recognized:
109 | classification | meaning |
110 | :-------------- | :------ |
111 | always | Unconditionally use this tag as a main tag. |
112 | named | Consider as main tag, when the object has a primary name (see [names](#name-tags) below) |
113 | named_with_key | Consider as main tag, when the object has a primary name with a domain prefix. For example, if the main tag is `bridge=yes`, then it will only be added as an extra entry, if there is a tag `bridge:name[:XXX]` for the same object. If this property is set, all names that are not domain-specific are ignored. |
114 | fallback | Consider as main tag only when no other main tag was found. Fallback always implies `named`, i.e. fallbacks are only tried for objects with primary names. |
115 | delete | Completely ignore the tag in any further processing |
116 | extra | Move the tag to extratags and then ignore it for further processing |
117 | `<function>`| Advanced handling, see [below](#advanced-main-tag-handling) |
119 Each key in the table parameter defines an OSM tag key. The value may
120 be directly a classification as described above. Then the tag will
121 be considered a main tag for any possible value that is not further defined.
122 To further restrict which values are acceptable, give a table with the
123 permitted values and their kind of main tag. If the table contains a simple
124 value without key, then this is used as default for values that are not listed.
126 `set_main_tags()` will completely replace the current main tag configuration
127 with the new configuration. `modify_main_tags()` will merge the new
128 configuration with the existing one. Otherwise, the two functions do exactly
133 local flex = require('import-full')
136 boundary = {administrative = 'named'},
137 highway = {'always', street_lamp = 'named', no = 'delete'},
142 In this example an object with a `boundary` tag will only be included
143 when it has a value of `administrative`. Objects with `highway` tags are
144 always included with two exceptions: the troll tag `highway=no` is
145 deleted on the spot. And when the value is `street_lamp` then the object
146 must have a name, too. Finally, if a `landuse` tag is present then
147 it will be used independently of the concrete value when neither boundary
148 nor highway tags were found and the object is named.
152 | Name | Description |
153 | :----- | :---------- |
154 | admin | Basic tag set collecting places and administrative boundaries. This set is needed also to ensure proper address computation and should therefore always be present. You can disable selected place types like `place=locality` after adding this set, if they are not relevant for your use case. |
155 | all_boundaries | Extends the set of recognized boundaries and places to all available ones. |
156 | natural | Tags for natural features like rivers and mountain peaks. |
157 | street/default | Tags for streets. Major streets are always included, minor ones only when they have a name. |
158 | street/car | Tags for all streets that can be used by a motor vehicle. |
159 | street/all | Includes all highway features named and unnamed. |
160 | poi/delete | Adds most POI features with and without name. Some frequent but very domain-specific values are excluded by deleting them. |
161 | poi/extra | Like 'poi/delete' but excluded values are moved to extratags. |
164 ##### Advanced main tag handling
166 The groups described above are in fact only a preset for a filtering function
167 that is used to make the final decision how a pre-selected main tag is entered
168 into Nominatim's internal table. To further customize handling you may also
169 supply your own filtering function.
171 The function takes up to three parameters: a Place object of the object
172 being processed, the key of the main tag and the value of the main tag.
173 The function may return one of three values:
175 * `nil` or `false` causes the entry to be ignored
176 * the Place object causes the place to be added as is
177 * `Place.copy(names=..., address=..., extratags=...) causes the
178 place to be enter into the database but with name/address/extratags
179 set to the given different values.
181 The Place object has some read-only values that can be used to determine
184 * **object** is the original OSM object data handed in by osm2pgsql
185 * **admin_level** is the content of the admin_level tag, parsed into an integer and normalized to a value between 0 and 15
186 * **has_name** is a boolean indicating if the object has a primary name tag
187 * **names** is a table with the collected list of name tags
188 * **address** is a table with the collected list of address tags
189 * **extratags** is a table with the collected list of additional tags to save
193 local flex = require('flex-base')
195 flex.add_topic('street')
197 local function no_sidewalks(place, k, v)
198 if place.object.tags.footway == 'sidewalk' then
202 -- default behaviour is to have all footways
206 flex.modify_main_tags(highway = {'footway' = no_sidewalks}
208 This script adds a custom handler for `highway=footway`. It only includes
209 them in the database, when the object doesn't have a tag `footway=sidewalk`
210 indicating that it is just part of a larger street which should already
211 be indexed. Note that it is not necessary to check the key and value
212 of the main tag because the function is only used for the specific
218 The function `ignore_keys()` sets the `delete` classification for keys.
219 This function takes a _key match list_ so that it is possible to exclude
222 Note that full matches always take precedence over suffix matches, which
223 in turn take precedence over prefix matches.
227 local flex = require('flex-base')
229 flex.add_topic('admin')
230 flex.ignore_keys{'old_name', 'old_name:*'}
233 This example uses the `admin` preset with the exception that names
234 that are no longer are in current use, are ignored.
238 | Name | Description |
239 | :----- | :---------- |
240 | metatags | Tags with meta information about the OSM tag like source, notes and import sources. |
241 | name | Non-names that actually describe properties or name parts. These names can throw off search and should always be removed. |
242 | address | Extra `addr:*` tags that are not useful for Nominatim. |
245 ### Tags for `extratags`
247 The function `add_for_extratags()` sets the `extra` classification for keys.
248 This function takes a
249 _key match list_ so that it is possible to move groups of keys to extratags.
251 Note that full matches always take precedence over suffix matches, which
252 in turn take precedence over prefix matches.
256 local flex = require('flex-base')
258 flex.add_topic('street')
259 flex.add_for_extratags{'surface', 'access', 'vehicle', 'maxspeed'}
262 This example uses the `street` preset but adds a couple of tags that
263 are of interest about the condition of the street.
267 | Name | Description |
268 | :----- | :---------- |
269 | required | Tags that Nominatim will use for various computations when present in extratags. Always include these. |
271 In addition, all [presets from ignored tags](#presets_1) are accepted.
273 ### General pre-filtering
275 _(deprecated)_ `set_prefilters()` allows to set the `delete` and `extra`
276 classification for main tags.
278 This function removes all previously set main tags with `delete` and `extra`
279 classification and then adds the newly defined tags.
281 `set_prefilters()` takes a table with four optional fields:
283 * __delete_keys__ is a _key match list_ for tags that should be deleted
284 * __delete_tags__ contains a table of tag keys pointing to a list of tag
285 values. Tags with matching key/value pairs are deleted.
286 * __extra_keys__ is a _key match list_ for tags which should be saved into
288 * __extra_tags__ contains a table of tag keys pointing to a list of tag
289 values. Tags with matching key/value pairs are moved to extratags.
291 !!! danger "Deprecation warning"
292 Use of this function should be replaced with `modify_main_tags()` to
293 set the data from `delete_tags` and `extra_tags`, with `ignore_keys()`
294 for the `delete_keys` parameter and with `add_for_extratags()` for the
295 `extra_keys` parameter.
299 `set/modify_name_tags()` allow to define the tags used for naming places. Name tags
300 can only be selected by their keys. The import script distinguishes
301 between primary and auxiliary names. A primary name is the given name of
302 a place. Having a primary name makes a place _named_. This is important
303 for main tags that are only included when a name is present. Auxiliary names
304 are identifiers like references. They may be searched for but should not
305 be included on their own.
307 The functions take a table with two optional fields `main` and `extra`.
308 They take _key match lists_ for primary and auxiliary names respectively.
309 A third field `house` can contain tags for names that appear in place of
310 house numbers in addresses. This field can only contain complete key names.
311 'house tags' are special in that they cause the OSM object to be added to
312 the database independently of the presence of other main tags.
314 `set_name_tags()` overwrites the current configuration, while
315 `modify_name_tags()` replaces the fields that are given. (Be aware that
316 the fields are replaced as a whole. `main = {'foo_name'}` will cause
317 `foo_name` to become the only recognized primary name. Any previously
318 defined primary names are forgotten.)
322 local flex = require('flex-base')
324 flex.set_main_tags{highway = {traffic_light = 'named'}}
325 flex.set_name_tags{main = {'name', 'name:*'},
330 This example creates a search index over traffic lights but will
331 only include those that have a common name and not those which just
332 have some reference ID from the city.
336 | Name | Description |
337 | :----- | :---------- |
338 | core | Basic set of recognized names for all places. |
339 | address | Additional names useful when indexing full addresses. |
340 | poi | Extended set of recognized names for pois. Use on top of the core set. |
344 `set/modify_address_tags()` defines the tags that will be used to build
345 up the address of an object. Address tags can only be chosen by their key.
347 The functions take a table with arbitrary fields, each defining
348 a key list or _key match list_. Some fields have a special meaning:
350 | Field | Type | Description |
351 | :---------| :-------- | :-----------|
352 | main | key list | Tags that make a full address object out of the OSM object. This is usually the house number or variants thereof. If a main address tag appears, then the object will always be included, if necessary with a fallback of `place=house`. If the key has a prefix of `addr:` or `is_in:` this will be stripped. |
353 | extra | key match list | Supplementary tags for addresses, tags like `addr:street`, `addr:city` etc. If the key has a prefix of `addr:` or `is_in:` this will be stripped. |
354 | interpolation | key list | Tags that identify address interpolation lines. |
355 | country | key match list | Tags that may contain the country the place is in. The first found value with a two-letter code will be accepted, all other values are discarded. |
356 | _other_ | key match list | Summary field. If a key matches the key match list, then its value will be added to the address tags with the name of the field as key. If multiple tags match, then an arbitrary one wins. |
358 `set_address_tags()` overwrites the current configuration, while
359 `modify_address_tags()` replaces the fields that are given. (Be aware that
360 the fields are replaced as a whole.)
364 local flex = require('import-full')
366 flex.set_address_tags{
367 main = {'addr:housenumber'},
369 postcode = {'postal_code', 'postcode', 'addr:postcode'},
370 country = {'country_code', 'ISO3166-1'}
374 In this example all tags which begin with `addr:` will be saved in
375 the address tag list. If one of the tags is `addr:housenumber`, the
376 object will fall back to be entered as a `place=house` in the database
377 unless there is another interested main tag to be found.
379 Tags with keys `country_code` and `ISO3166-1` are saved with their
380 value under `country` in the address tag list. The same thing happens
381 to postcodes, they will always be saved under the key `postcode` thus
382 normalizing the multitude of keys that are used in the OSM database.
386 | Name | Description |
387 | :----- | :---------- |
388 | core | Basic set of tags needed to recognize address relationship for any place. Always include this. |
389 | houses | Additional set of tags needed to recognize proper addresses |
391 ### Handling of unclassified tags
393 `set_unused_handling()` defines what to do with tags that remain after all tags
394 have been classified using the functions above. There are two ways in
395 which the function can be used:
397 `set_unused_handling(delete_keys = ..., delete_tags = ...)` deletes all
398 keys that match the descriptions in the parameters and moves all remaining
399 tags into the extratags list.
401 `set_unused_handling(extra_keys = ..., extra_tags = ...)` moves all tags
402 matching the parameters into the extratags list and then deletes the remaining
403 tags. For the format of the parameters see the description in `set_prefilters()`
406 When no special handling is set, then unused tags will be discarded with one
407 exception: place tags are kept in extratags for administrative boundaries.
408 When using a custom setting, you should also make sure that the place tag
409 is added for extratags.
413 local flex = require('import-full')
415 flex.set_address_tags{
416 main = {'addr:housenumber'},
417 extra = {'addr:*', 'tiger:county'}
419 flex.set_unused_handling{delete_keys = {'tiger:*'}}
422 In this example all remaining tags except those beginning with `tiger:`
423 are moved to the extratags list. Note that it is not possible to
424 already delete the tiger tags with `set_prefilters()` because that
425 would remove tiger:county before the address tags are processed.
427 ## Customizing osm2pgsql callbacks
429 osm2pgsql expects the flex style to implement three callbacks, one process
430 function per OSM type. If you want to implement special handling for
431 certain OSM types, you can override the default implementations provided
432 by the flex-base module.
434 ### Enabling additional relation types
436 OSM relations can represent very diverse
437 [types of real-world objects](https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Key:type). To
438 be able to process them correctly, Nominatim needs to understand how to
439 create a geometry for each type. By default, the script knows how to
440 process relations of type `multipolygon`, `boundary` and `waterway`. All
441 other relation types are ignored.
443 To add other types relations, set `RELATION_TYPES` for
444 the type to the kind of geometry that should be created. The following
445 kinds of geometries can be used:
447 * __relation_as_multipolygon__ creates a (Multi)Polygon from the ways in
448 the relation. If the ways do not form a valid area, then the object is
450 * __relation_as_multiline__ creates a (Multi)LineString from the ways in
451 the relations. Ways are combined as much as possible without any regards
452 to their order in the relation.
456 local flex = require('import-full')
458 flex.RELATION_TYPES['site'] = flex.relation_as_multipolygon
461 With this line relations of `type=site` will be included in the index
462 according to main tags found. This only works when the site relation
463 resolves to a valid area. Nodes in the site relation are not part of the
467 ### Adding additional logic to processing functions
469 The default processing functions are also exported by the flex-base module
470 as `process_node`, `process_way` and `process_relation`. These can be used
471 to implement your own processing functions with some additional processing
476 local flex = require('import-full')
478 function osm2pgsql.process_relation(object)
479 if object.tags.boundary ~= 'administrative' or object.tags.admin_level ~= '2' then
480 flex.process_relation(object)
485 This example discards all country-level boundaries and uses standard
486 handling for everything else. This can be useful if you want to use
487 your own custom country boundaries.
490 ### Customizing the main processing function
492 !!! danger "Deprecation Warning"
493 The style used to allow overwriting the internal processing function
494 `process_tags()`. While this is currently still possible, it is no longer
495 encouraged and may stop working in future versions. The internal
496 `Place` class should now be considered read-only.
499 ## Using osm2pgsql-themepark
501 The Nominatim osm2pgsql style is designed so that it can also be used as
502 a theme for [osm2pgsql-themepark](https://osm2pgsql.org/themepark/). This
503 makes it easy to combine Nominatim with other projects like
504 [openstreetmap-carto](https://github.com/gravitystorm/openstreetmap-carto)
505 in the same database.
507 To set up one of the preset styles, simply include a topic with the same name:
510 local themepark = require('themepark')
511 themepark:add_topic('nominatim/address')
514 Themepark topics offer two configuration options:
516 * **street_theme** allows to choose one of the sub topics for streets:
517 * _default_ - include all major streets and named minor paths
518 * _car_ - include all streets physically usable by cars
519 * _all_ - include all major streets and minor paths
520 * **with_extratags**, when set to a truthy value, then tags that are
521 not specifically used for address or naming are added to the
524 The customization functions described in the
525 [Changing recognized tags](#changing-the-recognized-tags) section
526 are available from the theme. To access the theme you need to explicitly initialize it.
530 local themepark = require('themepark')
532 themepark:add_topic('nominatim/full', {with_extratags = true})
534 local flex = themepark:init_theme('nominatim')
536 flex.modify_main_tags{'amenity' = {
537 'waste_basket' = 'delete'}
540 This example uses the full Nominatim configuration but disables
541 importing waste baskets.
543 You may also write a new configuration from scratch. Simply omit including
544 a Nominatim topic and only call the required customization functions.
546 Customizing the osm2pgsql processing functions as explained
547 [above](#adding-additional-logic-to-processing-functions) is not possible
548 when running under themepark. Instead include other topics that make the
549 necessary modifications or add an additional processor before including
554 local themepark = require('themepark')
556 local function discard_country_boundaries(object)
557 if object.tags.boundary == 'administrative' and object.tags.admin_level == '2' then
562 themepark:add_proc('relation', discard_country_boundaries)
563 -- Order matters here. The topic needs to be added after the custom callback.
564 themepark:add_topic('nominatim/full', {with_extratags = true})
566 Discarding country-level boundaries when running under themepark.
568 ## Changing the style of existing databases
570 There is usually no issue changing the style of a database that is already
571 imported and now kept up-to-date with change files. Just be aware that any
572 change in the style applies to updates only. If you want to change the data
573 that is already in the database, then a reimport is necessary.