Converting map data between formats

This page lists tools to convert external map data to and from OSM formats.

GDAL/OGR, ogr2ogr and QGIS – the almost every time working solution

The GDAL/OGR library supports several dozen vector file formats. You can use the ogr2ogr command line programme to convert between them. It is also able to read/write PostgreSQL databases (with PostGIS extension).

A common workflow to get OSM data into a different file format using GDAL is

Using the command line programme ogr2ogr:

1. Load OSM data into PostgreSQL database using Osm2pgsql or Imposm.
2. Convert data using ogr2ogr where ogr2ogr reads from the database and writes to your desired output format.

Using the QGIS (no command line required):

1. Open .osm.pbf file in QGIS
2. Save in your desired output format.

Formats

File type	Extension	To import into OSM	To export from OSM	Discussion/Comments
Adobe Illustrator	.ai	no	osm2ai.pl	See Exporting to Adobe Illustrator, OSM2ai and map-machine
ArcGIS (by ESRI)	several	ExportToOSM.py	ArcGIS
E00	e00	partial	partial	See message 593
Dafif	?	dafif2osm	no
DXF (by AutoCad)	.dxf	DXF_import (JOSM plugin), Dxf2gpx	GeoConverter, Spatial Manager Desktop™, GDAL/OGR, QGIS, mygeodata.cloud	See Convert dxf File to Shapefile Using Grass
GADM	?	gadm2osm	no
Garmin maps	.img	no	OSM Map on Garmin
Geobase	?	geobase2osm	no
Geographic Object Library	.gol	no	GeoDesk GOL Tool	See GeoDesk
GeoJSON	.geojson	osm-and-geojson, geojsontoosm, geojson2osm-es6	OSM2GEO, osmtogeojson, Gdal ogr2ogr, osmium export	ogr2ogr tips
GeoPackage	.gpkg	no	Gdal ogr2ogr, osm-export-tool
GML	?	gml2osm	XSLT, Python, GeoConverter	See Converting OSM to GML. See JOSM ticket #6921.
Google Earth (Keyhole) Markup Language	.kml	JOSM/Plugins/OpenData	OSM in Google Earth, Osm2KML, GeoConverter, osm-export-tool.
GPX	.gpx	Import as layer in main site, josm, gpx2csv->csv2osm	OGR, QGIS, GeoConverter
MP (Polish format)	.mp	mp2osm PFM2OSM	Osm2mp
Persistance of Vision Raytracer	.pov	no
Shapefile	.shp	JOSM/Plugins/OpenData	GDAL, QGIS, GeoConverter, osm-export-tool	See Shapefiles
Smallworld (GE Smallworld datastore)	.ds	no	OpenStreetMap Plug-In

Specialised formats

This lists only very specific formats, mostly dedicated for a specific import.

File type	Extension	To import into OSM	To export from OSM	Discussion/Comments
AND	?	and2osm	no	See AND Data
CIA World Database	.wdb	wdb2osm	no
Coastlines	.pgs	perl script	no	See Almien coastlines (PGS)
LINZ	?	LINZ	no
NKF	?	Nkf2osm	no
Frida	?	Frida	no
TIGER	??	?	?	See TIGER, most data has been imported

See also

• For exporting a map as images (PNG, SVG, PDF) please refer to the Rendering page.
• For a much more general overview, see the Export Guide.

• For converting between different OSM file formats (including altering or filtering) see OSM file formats#Conversion between different osm map data formats
• For converting GPS tracks only, see Converting GPS track data between formats