Knowhere

Knowhere documentation

Category to Tag Cheat-Sheet

Everyday concepts, and the OSM key/value that indexes them. Starting points, not ground truth — a value here may not exist in a given area. Confirm with tag_values(area, key) before filtering on it, and tag_keys(area) when you are not sure the key is there at all. Both return the real, frequency-ranked vocabulary for that area, which beats guessing a spelling.

Which key holds which concept

Pick the key first, then the value.

Key Covers Frequent values
amenity Public / commercial point services restaurant, cafe, fast_food, bar, pub, fuel, pharmacy, hospital, clinic, school, bank, atm, parking, toilets, place_of_worship, library, police, fire_station, post_office, cinema, theatre
shop Retail supermarket, convenience, wholesale, bakery, butcher, books, clothes, hardware, department_store, mall, alcohol, car, car_repair, hairdresser, optician
leisure Recreation and sport grounds park, playground, pitch, sports_centre, fitness_centre, stadium, golf_course, swimming_pool, dog_park, garden, nature_reserve
tourism Travel, lodging, sights hotel, motel, guest_house, hostel, museum, attraction, viewpoint, information, artwork, camp_site
highway Roads and paths, plus some point features motorway, trunk, primary, secondary, residential, service, footway, path, cycleway, trailhead, bus_stop, crossing, traffic_signals
natural Physical geography water, wood, tree, peak, beach, cliff, wetland, spring, hot_spring
building Building footprints (the structure itself) yes, house, apartments, commercial, retail, industrial, school, hospital, church
office White-collar / org premises company, government, insurance, lawyer, estate_agent, it, coworking
healthcare Health services (complements amenity) doctor, dentist, pharmacy, hospital, clinic, physiotherapist
place Populated places and admin units (nodes) city, town, village, hamlet, suburb, neighbourhood, locality
boundary Administrative and other boundaries administrative, national_park, protected_area
landuse How land is used (areas) residential, commercial, industrial, retail, farmland, forest, grass, winter_sports
railway Rail infrastructure station, halt, tram_stop, subway_entrance, rail
man_made Built structures that are not buildings tower, water_tower, pier, lighthouse, bridge, surveillance

Quick lookups

You want… Query with
Restaurants [amenity=restaurant]
Coffee shops [amenity=cafe]
Gas / petrol stations [amenity=fuel] (not shop=fuel)
Grocery stores / supermarkets [shop=supermarket]
Warehouse clubs (Costco, Sam's) [shop=wholesale]
Bookstores [shop=books]
Colleges / universities [amenity=university] (not amenity=college for higher ed)
Schools (K-12) [amenity=school]
Hospitals [amenity=hospital]
Pharmacies [amenity=pharmacy]
Parks [leisure=park]
Playgrounds [leisure=playground] (not amenity)
Dog parks [leisure=dog_park] (not amenity)
Trailheads [highway=trailhead] (not leisure or tourism)
Hotels [tourism=hotel] (building=hotel is only the structure)
Museums [tourism=museum]
Cities / towns [place=city,town]
Parking [amenity=parking]
ATMs [amenity=atm]
Places of worship [amenity=place_of_worship] (refine with religion=*)

Gotchas

  • Feature vs. building. The establishment lives on amenity/tourism/ shop; building=<same word> is only the physical structure.
  • amenity=college ≠ university. US higher ed is amenity=university; amenity=college is further education and vocational.
  • Values are singular. "bookstores" → shop=books, "restaurants" → amenity=restaurant.
  • Chains carry sub-features. A Costco is one shop=wholesale node, but the same name is also on its gas station, food court, pharmacy, tyre centre, and per-department nodes. Filter by the primary tag — nw[shop=wholesale][name=~Costco](area=colorado) — never name=~ alone.