Extract text from OpenStreetMap files (OSM)
To convert OSM map files to another format, you need JOSM or other GIS software.
To convert other file formats to the "OpenStreetMap Data File" file type, you need software like JOSM or a similar tool.
The .OSM file format is an XML document that stores raw geographic data for the OpenStreetMap project. It contains vector data structures, specifically nodes (points), ways (lines and areas), and relations (logical groupings), which are used to build digital maps. Users typically handle these files using specialized desktop editing software like JOSM or spatial analysis tools like QGIS.
The primary disadvantage of the .OSM format is its highly verbose structure. Because it relies on uncompressed text to map every single geographic point, the files become massive very quickly. A map of a single small city can be hundreds of megabytes. These files are not supported by standard web browsers or consumer navigation apps. Opening a large .OSM file in a standard text editor will almost always freeze or crash the application. Users need to convert .OSM data to practical formats. Converting to GPX is essential for importing routes into handheld GPS devices. Converting to KML allows the data to be viewed in Google Earth. Converting to GEOJSON is the standard for web developers building interactive web maps. Note that during conversion, you only retain the spatial geometry; any visual map styling is lost because .OSM only stores the raw coordinates and metadata tags.
Parsing massive XML structures in a browser is inherently difficult. Just drag and drop your file to identify the format, view the raw internal text securely, and convert the spatial data to common vector targets when possible on convert.guru.
Convert.Guru analyzes your OSM file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted PBF, OMS, MAP, XML, KML, MBTILES, ZIP, OSC, JPG, GEOJSON, MO3, PDF and TXT files.
If you want to convert OSM file to DWG, OBJ, GEOJSON, KML, DXF, PDF, PNG, SVG, PBF, SHP, KMZ or GPX, you can use JOSM or similar software from the "Geographic Map Data Storage" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert LAZ, KMZ, DTM, CSV, DEM, PRJ, LAS, GPX, DSM, SHP, DBF or KML files to OSM, try JOSM or another comparable tool in the "Geographic Map Data Storage" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our OSM converter.