An Infinite Map: The Protomaps Vector Basemap based on OpenStreetMap
summary
An open source end-to-end vector basemap delivered as a single PMTiles file ~100 GB converts raw OSM/Planet PBFs plus Natural Earth into a self-hostable tileset that works with MapLibre or Leaflet, outputs under ODbL, and exposes a web portal for minutely OSM downloads. The Planetiler-based build can complete in 3–4 hours on a modest server (faster on bigger machines), uses a Java runtime, and includes custom generalization logic that generalizes hairball offramps and cloverleaf interchanges.
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chapters (6)
- 0:00The infinite nature of OSM
- 2:28Limitations of tile servers
- 4:49Introducing Protomaps
- 7:17Technical build and tools
- 9:18Comparing map ecosystems
- 12:36Development road map
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