OSM Edit MCP

Find places in OpenStreetMap, preview POI nodes and four-sided polygons, and review road edits from your local GPX surveys through an MCP-compatible assistant.

Alpha, review-first: nothing is edited automatically. Road changes need an authenticated OSM account, an exact preview and separate confirmation. The safe profile also supports reviewed POI node creation with duplicate inspection and exact coordinate/tag readback. False matches can be resolved with evidence in review_node_create_duplicates; its new proposal revision still requires separate user confirmation before upload. For a POI with known boundaries, reviewed four-sided polygons create a closed OSM way with tags on the area and can explicitly replace an isolated POI node in the same upload.

Fastest start

You need Python 3.10+, uv, and an MCP client that supports local stdio servers. No repository clone, Docker, API key or Valhalla installation is needed for place search.

Add this server to your client's MCP configuration (merge it with any existing servers), then reconnect:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "osm-edit": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["osm-edit-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "OSM_TOOL_PROFILE": "discovery"
      }
    }
  }
}

The client downloads the released package on first launch and starts it for you. This profile exposes only three read-only place-search tools and needs no OAuth. Searches use public OSM services and send the search area/query to them.

Try asking your assistant:

Find museums and parks within 1 km of Matenadaran in Yerevan. Show OSM links.

Clients with a configuration form: command uvx, argument osm-edit-mcp, environment OSM_TOOL_PROFILE=discovery. If the client cannot find uvx, use its absolute path. See client setup or Hermes setup.

You can also start the server from a terminal:

uvx osm-edit-mcp

It waits for an MCP client; it is not an interactive terminal app or website. The bare command uses the default full profile, unlike the discovery-only configuration above.

GPX and editing: what else needs setup?

Keep the same command and args; replace the server's env above with:

{
  "OSM_TOOL_PROFILE": "full",
  "OSM_USE_DEV_API": "true",
  "OSM_WRITE_PROFILE": "safe",
  "OSM_REQUIRE_HOST_CONFIRMATION": "true"
}

Reconnect, then call get_edit_capabilities to check the selected API and authentication status. This enables GPX tools and the review-first workflow on the development sandbox; it does not log you in or authorize an edit.

To make edits: register a development OSM OAuth app and authenticate it with the source checkout's oauth_auth.py --dev helper, following the authentication guide. Keep credentials in a private file, not in this JSON or chat. Once the guide's private file contains the profile/API settings, replace env with only OSM_EDIT_MCP_ENV_FILE pointing to that file; do not leave conflicting settings in both places. Preview the proposal, review it, and confirm its exact digest. Real-map edits need a separate production app/configuration, development acceptance first, and an MCP host that supports confirmation (elicitation).

What you want to do	What to configure, and why
Inspect a GPX and preview a selected section	No OAuth. Set OSM_TRACK_IMPORT_DIR to your private GPX folder, or supply inline GPX XML.
Find candidate roads	Uses the selected editing API. The dev sandbox is not a copy of the real map.
Preview a road-edit diff	Set up OSM OAuth: the proposal is bound to your account and API target even before any write.
Apply an edit	Review the exact proposal and confirm its digest separately in the MCP client. Production needs a host that supports elicitation.
Optionally match a track to a routing graph	Run local Valhalla with regional routing tiles. Skip this if you do not need matching; nothing installs it automatically.

A selected-track preview is not an OSM edit proposal. Start with the working GPX example. Before editing, follow the OAuth and production guide. Never treat one GPS trace as ground truth.

Detailed guides

Full guide and examples · Nearby search · Optional Valhalla · Troubleshooting · Changelog

Contributing and license

Contributing · Security · MIT license. OSM edits must also follow community guidelines and source-licensing requirements.