How it works

Immutable datasets

Every dataset is built from OpenStreetMap plus open address sources where OpenStreetMap address coverage falls short, such as national address registers. A dataset is never modified in place. A new build produces a new, versioned dataset, and the previous one stays available until the new one has proven itself.

For each source we record the version, the licence, the attribution obligation and whether results may be stored without limit. A source is only part of the standard dataset if its licence allows that.

Shards per country

Data is split into shards per country. This keeps each shard small, fast to build and easy to verify.

• Search: requests are routed by the countrycodes parameter, which is why it is required on /search.
• Reverse geocoding: requests are routed by the coordinates in the request.

Canary releases

New data is not switched on everywhere at once. A new dataset version first serves a small share of traffic and goes through quality tests, including address coverage measurements. Only after that does it become the default. Adding or changing a source goes through the same process.

Attribution

The data is available under the Open Database License (ODbL), and each additional source has its own attribution requirement. The attribution for a country is composed automatically from the sources used, and we will include it in the responses and the documentation. Until then, use the baseline attribution: © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Show it wherever you show or store the results.