OpenStreetMap GPS traces
openstreetmap.org · Storage · 1 record · JSON
OpenStreetMap GPS traces (openstreetmap.org/traces) Storage
fails: quotaemailno cardR
| Free tier | No published per-user quota and no quota endpoint; storage is GPX-only and appended to the OSM rails DB + a trace store. Effectively unlimited in count, tiny per unit. unit unlimited; metered on stored-bytes |
|---|---|
| Price | none stated |
| Per-object cap | not stated |
| Retention | not stated |
| Egress | free, no auth for public traces; individual points also exposed via the API 0.6 trace endpoints |
| Identity | email email — verified the live form: fields are user[display_name], user[email], user[pass_crypt], user[pass_crypt_confirmation]. Email confirm, no affiliation, no review. |
| Binding | none no constraint of a named kind was recorded; the verdict rests on the quota sentence rather than on a named limit |
| Interface | unknown web form + POST /api/0.6/gpx/create (401 Unauthorized without auth — verified) |
| Tooling | any GPS app with OSM upload; gpx_files API; bulk via the rails API |
| Composes with | Not a blob store — .gpx (+ .zip/.tar.gz bundles) only. Useful as an append-only time-series archive, not for arbitrary objects. |
| Reliability | Format-locked and ODbL-licensed; a trace is public-by-default unless you pick Trackable, so it is a poor fit for anything non-geographic. |
| Notes | No published per-user quota and no quota endpoint; storage is GPX-only and appended to the OSM rails DB + a trace store. Effectively unlimited in count, tiny per unit. |
| Evidence rung | reported One page read moves it to documented. |
| Checked | 2026-10-21 (inherited); stale on 2026-11-04 |
Evidence (4)
| date | source | what it proved |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-21 | api.openstreetmap.org/api/0.6/user/gpx_files | 401 'Couldn't authenticate you' (auth endpoint exists, read is gated per-user) |
| 2026-10-21 | www.openstreetmap.org/user/new | form fields user[display_name], user[email], user[pass_crypt] (email-only signup) |
| 2026-10-21 | wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Visibility_of_GPS_traces | Aug 2026 deprecation of Public/Private; Identifiable vs Trackable matrix |
| 2026-10-21 | wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Upload | GPX-only, zip/tar bundles accepted |
More fields (1)
{
"dead_end": {
"failure_class": "quota",
"why": "No published per-user quota and no quota endpoint; storage is GPX-only and appended to the OSM rails DB + a trace store. Effectively unlimited in count, tiny per unit.",
"retry_when": null,
"first_recorded": "2026-10-21"
}
}Unknown or withheld values (7)
$.extras.dead_end.retry_whenprocess$.free_tier.notesprocess$.interfaceinterface-unknown$.per_object_cap.notesnot-extracted$.per_object_cap.statednot-extracted$.retention.notesnot-extracted$.retention.statednot-extracted