Key:description

The description=* tag can be used to provide additional information about the related element to the end map user, possibly using a pop-up or similar. Text should be kept short; a few words or perhaps one to three sentences at most. Longer information can be provided by tagging a link to Wikipedia or other external website using wikipedia=*, wikidata=*, url=* or website=*.

Use note=* for information which is for use by other mappers (for example a note indicating that the aerial imagery should not be believed or similar).

No redundant information

The description should not simply be a repetition of information that is already contained in other tags. For example, do not add "house" as a description for a building=house.

No advertising

The description should only include neutral and factual information about the object. It should not include subjective evaluations, e.g. "the best restaurant in town", "modern, comfortable hotel, in the heart of the city". Do not use description=* for advertising messages. They will be removed as spam and may also have further consequences for your OSM account.

Other languages

• description=* (local language)
• description:de=* (de: German)
• description:en=* (en: English)

Examples

historic=monument
name=First Fleet Monument
description=This is where the first colonial settlement fleet to Australia landed in 1741.

or

highway=footway
description=Muddy in wet weather
bicycle:description=Ridable along most of the way but has sections with tree roots

emergency:description=for emergency-values

Related tags

• mtb:description=* - mountain bike relevant description
• bicycle:description=*
• description:bicycle=*
• whitewater:description=* similar for whitewater
• DisabilityDescription
  • wheelchair:description:en=* (or the language code that corresponds to the language the tag's value is in)
  • deaf:description:en=*
  • blind:description:en=*

• inscription=* - for the text of inscriptions on objects
• note=* - for adding notes to yourself and your fellow mappers
• website=* - for providing a link to a general external website
• url=* - general related URL
• url:bathing_water=* - URL about bathing water
• url:restrictions=* - URL about restrictions
• wikipedia=* - for providing a wikipedia.org link
• localwiki=* - for providing a localwiki.org link

See also

• Proposed features/Description
• more description: type tags : https://taginfo.openstreetmap.org/search?q=description:#keys