Refreshing OSM Data On Demand¶

Geofabrik publishes updated OSM extracts daily. The importer pulls the latest extract, filters it to your region, and loads it into the database. This page explains how to trigger that process right now, outside of any automated schedule.

For setting up automatic re-imports, see Scheduled Import.

Before you start: know your setup¶

Check which import mode the installer configured. Run from your deployment directory (where compose.yml and .env live):

grep REIMPORT_INTERVAL .env

Result	Mode
Both vars absent or empty	One-shot — importer runs once and exits
Both vars set (e.g. `MIN=2`, `MAX=10`)	Daemon — importer loops; different steps apply

Check your DEPLOY_MODE too — you need it for the --profile flag:

grep DEPLOY_MODE .env

Valid values: data-node, data-node-ui. (Hub-only deployments — DEPLOY_MODE=ui — have no database and no importer.)

One-shot mode¶

Run the importer once from your deployment directory. It exits when done.

docker compose --profile data-node-ui run --rm importer

Replace data-node-ui with your DEPLOY_MODE value.

Daemon mode¶

When REIMPORT_INTERVAL_MIN_DAYS and REIMPORT_INTERVAL_MAX_DAYS are set, the importer container runs in a loop. On startup it checks last_import_at in the database — if the last import was recent (within a randomly chosen interval), it sleeps until the next scheduled time rather than importing again.

This means restarting the container does not force an immediate re-import unless the data is already overdue.

To force a re-import right now:

Step 1 — Stop the running daemon (from your deployment directory):

docker compose stop importer

Step 2 — Run a one-shot import (interval vars unset inline):

docker compose run --rm \
  -e REIMPORT_INTERVAL_MIN_DAYS= \
  -e REIMPORT_INTERVAL_MAX_DAYS= \
  importer

Unsetting the vars inline overrides .env without editing the file. The container runs once and exits.

Step 3 — Resume the daemon:

docker compose up -d importer

The daemon restarts, sees the fresh last_import_at, and sleeps for the next scheduled interval.

Verify the import ran¶

curl -s http://localhost:8080/api/rpc/get_meta | python3 -m json.tool | grep last_import_at

Or from outside the host:

curl -s https://your-domain.example.com/api/rpc/get_meta | python3 -m json.tool | grep last_import_at

last_import_at is the timestamp of when the importer script ran. osm_data_timestamp reflects when Geofabrik generated the extract (can be up to a day behind).

How long does it take?¶

See the timing table in Scheduled Import → How long does an import take?

For most small regions, subsequent imports complete in under a minute once the PBF is cached.