3 ms·

CoMaps integration with the wider FLOSS ecosystem

142 points by janandonly 1mo ago

daemonologist 1mo ago
Neat, I was not aware of this mechanism. Is there any way to get map (tile) data from CoMaps into another app?
- mkesper 1mo ago
  There are converters between different OSM formats and other formats (Garmin comes to mind). It depends on the target. E.g. here: https://www.mapfileconverter.com/free-gis-conversion-tools https://www.mapfileconverter.com/free-gis-conversion-tools
  - daemonologist 1mo ago
    Thanks, but I was interested more in the cross-app communication aspect rather than the data formats ( https://codeberg.org/comaps/comaps/wiki/Content-Provider https://codeberg.org/comaps/comaps/wiki/Content-Provider ). I once looked into building an app which piggybacked on CoMaps/OSMAnd's data (saving the user from having two copies of their maps, and me from having to duplicate the UI to manage them), but found that in modern Android it was basically impossible for even the user to access data/files that "belong" to an app, without rooting the device.
    - diggernet 1mo ago
      Thanks for the reminder that ContentProvider is the Android term I couldn't remember when I wrote my other comment here. And the reminder that I should have added this to my list: 3. A ContentProvider app for OSM map data, so that apps can share the same offline map data.
- ihatehn 1mo ago
  The issue is that we change our map file "format" with nearly every release, and handling that without crashing is already a job. For example if we add, say, bomb shelters to the map, an older app using that newer data will have access to it but no idea how to render it, which can cause problems (crashing, errors, blanks, etc.) So we have very specific versioning on a per-map-release / app-release basis, and that's just our project. We've already diverged from Organic Maps and even moreso from the (corporate, closed) Maps.me and living on a totally different data format planet from OsmAnd and Magic Earth. So it's a nice idea but extremely hard in practice.
nobody42 1mo ago
Yess! Please make an effort to improve underlying OpenStreetMap dataset: https://streetcomplete.app https://streetcomplete.app - basic task-based, on-the-ground, app for Android https://every-door.app https://every-door.app - intermediate on-the-ground app for smartphones https://rapideditor.org https://rapideditor.org - AI-assisted mapping in browser https://www.hotosm.org https://www.hotosm.org - task-based mapping in browser https://josm.openstreetmap.de https://josm.openstreetmap.de - advanced editor for desktop
- yonatan8070 1mo ago
  You can also improve the map through CoMaps itself! It allows you to add and edit businesses and points of interest, as well as addresses and some other info. So whenever you're at some business, you can take a minute to quickly add it to the map, or just update details like opening times, etc.
diggernet 1mo ago
Two things I would love to see in the FLOSS mapping ecosystem: 1. A POI/favorites app that maintains a local database with an API for other apps to access it. Apps could then store markers there instead of in their own private db, so that points added on one map app can be instantly available in other apps. 2. A shared traffic data service. Any OSM map app could contribute to the same data, helping reduce Google's advantage in live traffic data. Obviously, both of these would need privacy protections and be subject to user choice. And there should also be some requirement that both reading and writing be supported, to ensure apps reading POI data don't lock in new data, and to prevent apps reading traffic data from freeloading.
- deleted 1mo ago
  [deleted]
- toomuchtodo 1mo ago
  > 1. A POI/favorites app that maintains a local database with an API for other apps to access it. Apps could then store markers there instead of in their own private db, so that points added on one map app can be instantly available in other apps. Would an AT Protocol app or extension meet this need and requirements? By being stored in a PDS, the data can be permissioned, owned by the user, and easily migrated and/or shared. https://atproto.com/blog/atproto-spaces-alpha https://atproto.com/blog/atproto-spaces-alpha ATProto spaces: A new extension to ATProto that enables non-public data - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49379732 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49379732 - August 2026
  - diggernet 1mo ago
    No, it should be local-first. Private and offline by default. There could certainly be sync integrations using AT, Dropbox, iCloud, etc. Those could even be separate apps, using the same API to access the data. But that sort of thing should be secondary and optional.
    - toomuchtodo 1mo ago
      Do you have any thoughts on data structure for local storage?
drnick1 1mo ago
Does this work better than OsmAnd in any way? The latter has been around for a long time and just works. Perhaps the best feature is that maps can be downloaded and used completely offline. It's the natural map app on a degoogled Android system like Graphene. The main downside relative to commercial apps like Google Maps is that you often need to input a full address instead of entering a business name or something like "Burger King near me."
- nobody42 1mo ago
  OsmAnd is painfully slow, I keep it around just for unique features like transport routes and surface quality. CoMaps rendering is almost instant and map palette is easier on the eyes.
- TFNA 1mo ago
  CoMaps has been around for about just as long, as it is ultimately a fork of Maps.me. OSMAnd is great for nerds but scares normies. I'm active in a travel subculture highly reliant on OpenStreetMap data, and I have only pissed my peers off by recommending OSMAnd; I eventually learned my lesson and would suggest CoMaps now.
- fizwidget 1mo ago
  Unless you’re already familiar with it, OsmAnd’s interface is a complex and confusing mess. It does not “just work”. CoMaps (and Organic Maps) aim to be much easier to use.
mvlipwig 1mo ago
A wzsabre(https://wzsabre.rocks https://wzsabre.rocks) integration would be helpful in jurisdictions where that's legal
willtemperley 1mo ago
Cool. In July, ESRI and Google teamed up to lock down road closure data on their “community maps” program. The community appears to be governments feeding their data to Google and ESRI who then look after it for us, entirely for our benefit. I really think there needs to be an effort to get drivers to use real community software and provide this data as a public good. https://www.esri.com/about/newsroom/announcements/esri-helps-bring-up-to-date-road-closure-information-to-google-maps-and-waze https://www.esri.com/about/newsroom/announcements/esri-helps...
dang 1mo ago
Related. Others? CoMaps: The Offline App That Guided Rescuers Without a Signal in Venezuela - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49452671 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49452671 - Aug 2026 (80 comments) CoMaps – FOSS Offline Maps - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48808928 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48808928 - July 2026 (214 comments) CoMaps emerges as an Organic Maps fork - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45899836 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45899836 - Nov 2025 (15 comments) CoMaps: New OSM based navigation app - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44453888 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44453888 - July 2025 (55 comments) A community-led fork of Organic Maps - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43961908 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43961908 - May 2025 (206 comments)
throwaway81523 1mo ago
Could the comaps vs organic maps situation be explained please? tx
- everyday7732 1mo ago
  Comaps is a fork of Organic maps, because community members didn't like the direction organic maps was moving in. Organic maps was becoming more profit-focused and the governance structure was not democratic. https://itsfoss.com/news/organic-maps-fork-comaps/ https://itsfoss.com/news/organic-maps-fork-comaps/ Seems like the fork was largely successful.

142 points by janandonly 1mo ago

daemonologist 1mo ago

Neat, I was not aware of this mechanism. Is there any way to get map (tile) data from CoMaps into another app?

mkesper 1mo ago
There are converters between different OSM formats and other formats (Garmin comes to mind). It depends on the target. E.g. here: https://www.mapfileconverter.com/free-gis-conversion-tools https://www.mapfileconverter.com/free-gis-conversion-tools
- daemonologist 1mo ago
  Thanks, but I was interested more in the cross-app communication aspect rather than the data formats ( https://codeberg.org/comaps/comaps/wiki/Content-Provider https://codeberg.org/comaps/comaps/wiki/Content-Provider ). I once looked into building an app which piggybacked on CoMaps/OSMAnd's data (saving the user from having two copies of their maps, and me from having to duplicate the UI to manage them), but found that in modern Android it was basically impossible for even the user to access data/files that "belong" to an app, without rooting the device.
  - diggernet 1mo ago
    Thanks for the reminder that ContentProvider is the Android term I couldn't remember when I wrote my other comment here. And the reminder that I should have added this to my list: 3. A ContentProvider app for OSM map data, so that apps can share the same offline map data.
ihatehn 1mo ago
The issue is that we change our map file "format" with nearly every release, and handling that without crashing is already a job. For example if we add, say, bomb shelters to the map, an older app using that newer data will have access to it but no idea how to render it, which can cause problems (crashing, errors, blanks, etc.) So we have very specific versioning on a per-map-release / app-release basis, and that's just our project. We've already diverged from Organic Maps and even moreso from the (corporate, closed) Maps.me and living on a totally different data format planet from OsmAnd and Magic Earth. So it's a nice idea but extremely hard in practice.

nobody42 1mo ago

Yess! Please make an effort to improve underlying OpenStreetMap dataset: https://streetcomplete.app https://streetcomplete.app - basic task-based, on-the-ground, app for Android https://every-door.app https://every-door.app - intermediate on-the-ground app for smartphones https://rapideditor.org https://rapideditor.org - AI-assisted mapping in browser https://www.hotosm.org https://www.hotosm.org - task-based mapping in browser https://josm.openstreetmap.de https://josm.openstreetmap.de - advanced editor for desktop

yonatan8070 1mo ago
You can also improve the map through CoMaps itself! It allows you to add and edit businesses and points of interest, as well as addresses and some other info. So whenever you're at some business, you can take a minute to quickly add it to the map, or just update details like opening times, etc.

diggernet 1mo ago

Two things I would love to see in the FLOSS mapping ecosystem: 1. A POI/favorites app that maintains a local database with an API for other apps to access it. Apps could then store markers there instead of in their own private db, so that points added on one map app can be instantly available in other apps. 2. A shared traffic data service. Any OSM map app could contribute to the same data, helping reduce Google's advantage in live traffic data. Obviously, both of these would need privacy protections and be subject to user choice. And there should also be some requirement that both reading and writing be supported, to ensure apps reading POI data don't lock in new data, and to prevent apps reading traffic data from freeloading.

deleted 1mo ago
[deleted]
toomuchtodo 1mo ago
> 1. A POI/favorites app that maintains a local database with an API for other apps to access it. Apps could then store markers there instead of in their own private db, so that points added on one map app can be instantly available in other apps. Would an AT Protocol app or extension meet this need and requirements? By being stored in a PDS, the data can be permissioned, owned by the user, and easily migrated and/or shared. https://atproto.com/blog/atproto-spaces-alpha https://atproto.com/blog/atproto-spaces-alpha ATProto spaces: A new extension to ATProto that enables non-public data - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49379732 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49379732 - August 2026
- diggernet 1mo ago
  No, it should be local-first. Private and offline by default. There could certainly be sync integrations using AT, Dropbox, iCloud, etc. Those could even be separate apps, using the same API to access the data. But that sort of thing should be secondary and optional.
  - toomuchtodo 1mo ago
    Do you have any thoughts on data structure for local storage?

drnick1 1mo ago

Does this work better than OsmAnd in any way? The latter has been around for a long time and just works. Perhaps the best feature is that maps can be downloaded and used completely offline. It's the natural map app on a degoogled Android system like Graphene. The main downside relative to commercial apps like Google Maps is that you often need to input a full address instead of entering a business name or something like "Burger King near me."

nobody42 1mo ago
OsmAnd is painfully slow, I keep it around just for unique features like transport routes and surface quality. CoMaps rendering is almost instant and map palette is easier on the eyes.
TFNA 1mo ago
CoMaps has been around for about just as long, as it is ultimately a fork of Maps.me. OSMAnd is great for nerds but scares normies. I'm active in a travel subculture highly reliant on OpenStreetMap data, and I have only pissed my peers off by recommending OSMAnd; I eventually learned my lesson and would suggest CoMaps now.
fizwidget 1mo ago
Unless you’re already familiar with it, OsmAnd’s interface is a complex and confusing mess. It does not “just work”. CoMaps (and Organic Maps) aim to be much easier to use.

mvlipwig 1mo ago

A wzsabre(https://wzsabre.rocks https://wzsabre.rocks) integration would be helpful in jurisdictions where that's legal

willtemperley 1mo ago

Cool. In July, ESRI and Google teamed up to lock down road closure data on their “community maps” program. The community appears to be governments feeding their data to Google and ESRI who then look after it for us, entirely for our benefit. I really think there needs to be an effort to get drivers to use real community software and provide this data as a public good. https://www.esri.com/about/newsroom/announcements/esri-helps-bring-up-to-date-road-closure-information-to-google-maps-and-waze https://www.esri.com/about/newsroom/announcements/esri-helps...

dang 1mo ago

Related. Others? CoMaps: The Offline App That Guided Rescuers Without a Signal in Venezuela - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49452671 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49452671 - Aug 2026 (80 comments) CoMaps – FOSS Offline Maps - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48808928 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48808928 - July 2026 (214 comments) CoMaps emerges as an Organic Maps fork - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45899836 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45899836 - Nov 2025 (15 comments) CoMaps: New OSM based navigation app - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44453888 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44453888 - July 2025 (55 comments) A community-led fork of Organic Maps - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43961908 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43961908 - May 2025 (206 comments)

throwaway81523 1mo ago

Could the comaps vs organic maps situation be explained please? tx

everyday7732 1mo ago
Comaps is a fork of Organic maps, because community members didn't like the direction organic maps was moving in. Organic maps was becoming more profit-focused and the governance structure was not democratic. https://itsfoss.com/news/organic-maps-fork-comaps/ https://itsfoss.com/news/organic-maps-fork-comaps/ Seems like the fork was largely successful.