# komoot/photon

an open source geocoder for openstreetmap data

Repository: https://github.com/komoot/photon
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/komoot-photon
Language: Java
License: Apache-2.0
License Family: permissive
Topics: elasticsearch, java, openstreetmap, photon, geocoding, geocoder, search, reverse-geocoding
Last push: 2026-08-18T15:45:42+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 94/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 98, release rhythm 84, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4761, "days_push": 15, "days_rel": 26, "gap_med": 38, "n_releases_24m": 14}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 3005, forks 367 (observed 2026-08-28T04:07:37.516730+00:00)

## What it is
Photon is an open source geocoder for OpenStreetMap data built on OpenSearch, supporting forward and reverse geocoding with multilingual, typo-tolerant, search-as-you-type queries. It can be self-hosted via release binaries or pre-built database dumps, and is also offered as a public demo API by komoot.

## Use cases
- geocode addresses from openstreetmap data
- reverse geocode coordinates to addresses
- self-host a geocoding api for my app
- add search-as-you-type place search with typo tolerance
- filter place searches by bounding box or osm tags
- run a multilingual place name search
- import nominatim data and keep it continuously updated

## When to choose
- you need a self-hosted geocoder over OSM data without usage limits
- you want multilingual, typo-tolerant, search-as-you-type place search
- you need reverse geocoding or bbox/tag filtering
- you want weekly pre-built worldwide or country database dumps

## When to avoid
- you need full geometry output, which is not supported
- you lack the ~95GB disk and 64GB RAM recommended for planet-wide data
- you need a geocoder for non-OSM or commercial address data
- you want a fully managed hosted service with availability guarantees

## Facets
- artifact type: service
- maturity: active
- function: search-engine, geospatial, http-server, api-framework
- domain: apis, self-hosted
- platform: self-hosted, jvm, windows
- tags: geocoder, openstreetmap, opensearch, reverse-geocoding, search-as-you-type, nominatim, maps, search, geospatial, docker, web-server, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- komoot/photon (main) score 94

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:37.516730+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T07:30:23.576158+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/komoot/photon (fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:37.516730+00:00, sha 7b41689a9431)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.