Nominatim
title: Nominatim type: platform created: 2026-09-20 last_updated: 2026-09-20 related: ["Geospatial MCP for AI Planning"] sources: ["https://nominatim.org/"] radar_quadrant: Platforms radar_ring: Assess radar_position: inner
Applications that handle addresses need two conversions: turning a typed address or place name into coordinates, and turning coordinates back into a readable address. Nominatim provides both from OpenStreetMap data, without a per-request commercial licence.
Forward geocoding accepts free-form queries such as "Cafe Paris, New York" or structured queries with fields like postcode and city. Reverse geocoding converts coordinates into an address for any location or OpenStreetMap object. The underlying map data is kept current through minutely updates.
A public instance is available under a usage policy, and the software can also be self-hosted, from a laptop serving a single city to a server importing the whole planet. The GitHub repository describes it as open source search based on OpenStreetMap data, with the Python code released under GPL version 3 or later. The site states the software handles 30 million queries per day on a single server.
The repository was created in 2012 and had about 4,500 stars and 104 open issues when checked, with recent commits in September 2026.
Nominatim is placed in Assess. Its long history and scale are strong external maturity signals, but they describe a technology worth exploring, not confirmed first-person production use. Coverage quality depends on OpenStreetMap data in the region concerned, and use of the public instance is bound by its usage policy.
