[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"extension:v3:en:osm":3},{"resolvedFromAlias":4,"canonicalExt":5,"ext":5,"name":6,"category":7,"categoryName":8,"updatedAt":9,"popularity":10,"summary":11,"howToOs":12,"quickAnswer":18,"answerIntro":19,"whatIs":20,"description":21,"furtherReading":22,"openInstructions":38,"commonIssues":52,"securityNotes":71,"faq":75,"aliases":88,"mimeTypes":89,"relatedExtensions":90,"breadcrumbs":135,"categoryAnchor":145,"categoryFuturePath":146,"metaDescription":147,"availableHowToOs":148,"openOnDeviceLinks":149,"cannotOpenReasons":165,"cannotOpenFixes":166,"convertOptions":167,"securityAffiliateMessaging":168,"securityAffiliates":169},false,"osm","OpenStreetMap OSM XML (map data)","gis","GIS","2026-06-12T08:54:02.707Z",55,".osm is an OpenStreetMap dataset stored as OSM XML, containing map features like nodes, ways, and relations. It’s commonly opened or imported into GIS tools such as QGIS, GDAL-based software, or data-integration tools like FME.",[13,14,15,16,17],"windows","mac","linux","ios","android","To open .OSM files on Windows, in QGIS, use the OpenStreetMap tools and choose the option to load OSM data from a file (the file should be an OpenStreetMap XML .osm file).","To open a .osm file, use a GIS application that can read OpenStreetMap OSM XML (for example, QGIS’s OpenStreetMap tools or software that uses GDAL). If you just need to inspect it, it is XML text wrapped in an \u003Cosm> element and can be viewed in a text editor.","OSM XML is an XML-based interchange format used by OpenStreetMap to represent map data as three core primitives: nodes, ways, and relations. Files (and API responses) are wrapped in an \u003Cosm> root element and include elements describing geometry and tags (key/value attributes) for features. The .osm extension is commonly used for downloaded OpenStreetMap extracts in this format.","The .osm file extension is most commonly associated with OpenStreetMap’s OSM XML format, a human-readable (but potentially large) XML representation of OSM map data. Data is organized around nodes (points), ways (ordered lists of nodes, often roads or boundaries), and relations (groupings that model complex features).",[23,26,29,32,35],{"title":24,"url":25},"OSM XML (OpenStreetMap Wiki)","https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/OSM_XML",{"title":27,"url":28},"API v0.6 (OpenStreetMap Wiki)","https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/API_0.6",{"title":30,"url":31},"Downloading data (OpenStreetMap Wiki)","https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Downloading_data",{"title":33,"url":34},"OpenStreetMap (OSM) XML and PBF — GDAL driver documentation","https://gdal.org/en/stable/drivers/vector/osm.html",{"title":36,"url":37},"OpenStreetMap (OSM) XML Reader/Writer — Safe Software (FME) Documentation","https://docs.safe.com/fme/2023.0/html/FME-Form-Documentation/FME-ReadersWriters/osm/osm.htm",{"windows":39,"macos":42,"linux":45,"ios":48,"android":50},[40,41],"In QGIS, use the OpenStreetMap tools and choose the option to load OSM data from a file (the file should be an OpenStreetMap XML .osm file).","If you are working with data processing tools, open/import the .osm file using GDAL-supported software that can read OpenStreetMap .osm.",[43,44],"Open the .osm file in a GIS tool that supports OSM XML (for example, QGIS with its OpenStreetMap tools).","For conversion or processing workflows, use GDAL-based tooling that supports reading OpenStreetMap .osm files.",[46,47],"Open the .osm file in QGIS using the OpenStreetMap tools and load the OSM XML file.","Alternatively, use GDAL-supported tools/workflows to read the .osm dataset for conversion or analysis.",[49],"There is no commonly documented iOS-native way in the provided sources to import .osm directly; transfer the file to a desktop GIS tool (for example QGIS) or a GDAL-based workflow to open it.",[51],"There is no commonly documented Android-native way in the provided sources to import .osm directly; transfer the file to a desktop GIS tool (for example QGIS) or a GDAL-based workflow to open it.",[53,59,65],{"title":54,"description":55,"steps":56},"The file opens as plain text instead of a map layer",".osm is XML. If you open it in a text editor, you will see XML elements (including an \u003Cosm> root), not a rendered map. To view it as geographic data, you must import it using OSM-aware GIS tools.",[57,58],"Open the file using a GIS tool that supports OpenStreetMap OSM XML (for example, QGIS’s OpenStreetMap tools that load OSM from file).","If you are using a GDAL-based workflow, ensure you are reading it with the OpenStreetMap driver support for .osm.",{"title":60,"description":61,"steps":62},"Import fails or appears empty","Some tools expect a valid OSM XML structure (with nodes/ways/relations under an \u003Cosm> element). If the file is incomplete, truncated, or not actually OSM XML, imports can fail or show no features.",[63,64],"Open the file in a text editor and confirm it is OSM XML (look for an \u003Cosm> root element and elements like \u003Cnode>, \u003Cway>, and \u003Crelation>).","If the file came from an API response or download, re-download the data and try importing again.",{"title":66,"description":67,"steps":68},"Performance problems with large .osm files","OSM XML is verbose; large extracts can be slow to open and memory-intensive in desktop GIS tools compared with more compact representations.",[69,70],"If possible for your workflow, use software that supports efficient OSM handling and conversion via GDAL’s OpenStreetMap support.","Work with smaller geographic extracts (download a smaller area) and then load/import again.",[72,73,74],"OSM XML is data (nodes/ways/relations and tags), not an executable format, but it can still be a risk to open untrusted files in complex parsers due to potential XML parsing vulnerabilities in third-party tools.","Very large or intentionally crafted .osm files can cause resource exhaustion (high RAM/CPU usage) when imported; prefer opening unknown files in a controlled environment and consider using smaller extracts.","If your workflow pulls .osm from online sources or APIs, validate that the file is well-formed OSM XML (wrapped in an \u003Cosm> element) before processing it in automated pipelines.",[76,79,82,85],{"question":77,"answer":78},"What is inside a .osm file?","Typically, OpenStreetMap data encoded as OSM XML: an \u003Cosm> root element containing nodes, ways, and relations, plus tags (key/value pairs) describing features.",{"question":80,"answer":81},"Is .osm the same as OpenStreetMap’s API XML?","They are closely related: OpenStreetMap API v0.6 XML responses are wrapped in an \u003Cosm> element and use the same OSM XML structures (nodes, ways, relations).",{"question":83,"answer":84},"Can GDAL read .osm files?","Yes. GDAL documents support for reading OpenStreetMap data, including XML-based .osm files (and also .pbf).",{"question":86,"answer":87},"Is there an official standardized MIME type for .osm?","The provided sources do not show a registered IANA media type specifically for OSM XML (.osm). If you need a MIME type, confirm it in your environment’s standards list or application documentation.",[],[],[91,97,102,108,113,118,123,129],{"ext":92,"name":93,"category":7,"categoryName":8,"popularity":94,"summary":95,"howToOs":96},"geojson","GeoJSON (RFC 7946) geospatial data",72,".geojson is a JSON-based format for exchanging geographic features (points, lines, polygons) and their properties. It is widely used in GIS and web mapping tools and follows the GeoJSON standard (RFC 7946).",[13,14,15,16,17],{"ext":98,"name":99,"category":7,"categoryName":8,"popularity":94,"summary":100,"howToOs":101},"shp","Esri Shapefile (geometry file)",".shp is the main geometry file in an Esri Shapefile dataset used to store vector GIS features. You typically open it in GIS software (for example ArcGIS Pro) together with its companion files such as .dbf and .shx.",[13,14,15,16,17],{"ext":103,"name":104,"category":7,"categoryName":8,"popularity":105,"summary":106,"howToOs":107},"kml","Keyhole Markup Language (KML)",70,"KML is an XML-based GIS format for showing geographic features (placemarks, paths, polygons, overlays) on maps and virtual globes. It’s commonly opened in Google Earth and is also supported by GIS tools such as ArcGIS.",[13,14,15,16,17],{"ext":109,"name":110,"category":7,"categoryName":8,"popularity":10,"summary":111,"howToOs":112},"gpkg","OGC GeoPackage (SQLite) geospatial database",".gpkg is an OGC GeoPackage: a SQLite 3 database file with a standardized schema for geospatial data. It commonly stores vector layers and can also store raster/tiles in the same single file.",[13,14,15,16,17],{"ext":114,"name":115,"category":7,"categoryName":8,"popularity":10,"summary":116,"howToOs":117},"prj","ESRI/Shapefile Projection (WKT CRS) File",".prj is a plain-text “projection” sidecar file most commonly used with ESRI Shapefiles to store the dataset’s coordinate reference system in Well-Known Text (WKT). You typically open it in GIS software (as part of the shapefile) or a text editor to inspect the CRS definition.",[13,14,15,16,17],{"ext":119,"name":120,"category":7,"categoryName":8,"popularity":10,"summary":121,"howToOs":122},"shx","Esri Shapefile Index (SHX)",".shx is the index component of an Esri Shapefile dataset, used alongside .shp (geometry) and .dbf (attributes). You typically open it by opening the shapefile dataset (the .shp) in a GIS app rather than opening the .shx by itself.",[13,14,15,16,17],{"ext":124,"name":125,"category":7,"categoryName":8,"popularity":126,"summary":127,"howToOs":128},"kmz","KMZ (Zipped KML) geospatial archive",45,"A KMZ file is a ZIP-compressed package used to share KML map content (places, paths, overlays), often for viewing in Google Earth and other GIS tools.",[13,14,15,16,17],{"ext":130,"name":131,"category":7,"categoryName":8,"popularity":132,"summary":133,"howToOs":134},"mbtiles","MBTiles (SQLite tile set)",35,".mbtiles is a single-file map tile package used to store tiled maps (raster or vector tiles) in a SQLite database. It’s commonly opened in GIS and mapping tools such as QGIS, GDAL-based tools, and MapTiler Desktop.",[13,14,15,16,17],[136,139,142],{"label":137,"to":138},"Home","/",{"label":140,"to":141},"File Extension Index","/file-extension",{"label":143,"to":144},".OSM","/file-extension/osm","category-gis","/category/gis","Learn what .OSM files are, how to open them on every platform, common fixes, and security best practices.",[13,14,15,16,17],[150,153,156,159,162],{"os":13,"label":151,"to":152},"Open .OSM on Windows","/how-to/open-osm-on-windows",{"os":14,"label":154,"to":155},"Open .OSM on Mac","/how-to/open-osm-on-mac",{"os":15,"label":157,"to":158},"Open .OSM on Linux","/how-to/open-osm-on-linux",{"os":16,"label":160,"to":161},"Open .OSM on iOS","/how-to/open-osm-on-ios",{"os":17,"label":163,"to":164},"Open .OSM on Android","/how-to/open-osm-on-android",[54,60,66],[57,58],[],"untrusted_source",[170,174],{"name":171,"description":172,"affiliateUrl":173},"Avast","Avast offers free and premium antivirus software that protects against viruses, malware, ransomware, and phishing. Scan files before opening them to ensure safety.","https://www.avast.com/lp-aff-consumer-store?expid=inf601",{"name":175,"description":176,"affiliateUrl":177},"Norton","Norton 360 delivers comprehensive antivirus protection, VPN, and identity theft monitoring. Scan files for threats before opening to keep your device secure.","http://buy.norton.com/aff_home?utm_campaign=en-ww_nor_n36_aff_nas_nau_nah_cj_nad_low:_sec_nat_mktc_norton_360"]