I added some data on local shops in OrganicMaps and StreetComplete. My changes are visible in OSM online but my (just downloaded) maps in CoMaps don’t show them. I found this issue for OrganicMaps that says maps data is updated only when the whole app is updated and I assume CoMaps works the same.
Are there any structural reasons why this is the case? Or is there a possibility/plans to have maps data refresh more frequently?
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The dataset you contributed to by using street complete is the main osm dataset. Comaps cant just take that data 1:1 as it would be huge and full of things that arent needed for the app. The data you download through comaps is a semi automatically curated dataset based on osm so making it live would be impossible. I think there are issues on the codeberg repo about switching to a weekly or so schedule for updating map data. There is also a plan for custom map server URLs afaik.
Yes. They are updated only when the app updates. It’s probably to allow wrong data to be corrected in the meantime or something.
I think having delayed updates to maps is worse though.
For one it can create duplicates, as multiple people try adding rhe same shop. I didn’t know that was the reason but I did find some shops I had added that had been also mapped by someone else a few meters away.
It also looks like a limitation to adding things that may change more frequently, like ongoing works temporary blocking a road or a speed trap.
Short-lived / Temporary data, like road-work, is not mapped in OSM, so that’s not a concern.
I tried researching this a bit and you are right that it’s not a Comaps-specific issue but more with the general OSM ecosystem.
It seems to be a chicken-and-egg situation in the sense that there are ways to tag temporary closures but they are not recommended for short-lived data because many apps use data offline and have long update cycles.
I’m referring to this bit in the page on key:construction
As OSM data is often used offline (and therefore may be several months old), only tag construction sites (particularly roads and railroads) if they are planned to be closed for at least six to nine months.
There is some work being done at Google Summer of Code 2025 to add road closures and more real-time events that might impact navigation. I’m looking forward to see if it pans out.
I don’t think that GSOC project has anything to do with OSM other than that they reference downstream OSM data consumers as potential users and wrote a blogpost on their OSM Diary about it.
It also doesn’t matter, because there simply aren’t enough people actively contributing to OSM to keep temporary short-term road closures up to date, even if a database for such data existed.
Yeah, seems like a bad idea. Hopefully CoMaps can introduce live updates like OsmAnd.
