Tips and tricks for using the package"

In osmextract: Download and Import Open Street Map Data Extracts

knitr::opts_chunk$set(
  collapse = TRUE,
  comment = "#>", 
  fig.align = "center"
)

# save user's options and pars
user_options = options()
user_par = par(no.readonly = TRUE)

# save files in the tempdir
old_dd = Sys.getenv("OSMEXT_DOWNLOAD_DIRECTORY", tempdir())
Sys.setenv(OSMEXT_DOWNLOAD_DIRECTORY = tempdir())

its_pbf = file.path(
  osmextract::oe_download_directory(), 
  "test_its-example.osm.pbf"
)
file.copy(
  from = system.file("its-example.osm.pbf", package = "osmextract"), 
  to = its_pbf, 
  overwrite = TRUE
)

# set new options
options(width = 100)

This vignette presents a collection of useful tips and tricks we've gathered over the years for effectively using this package to read, download, and filter OpenStreetMap (OSM) extracts. First of all, let's load the relevant packages:

library(osmextract)

How can I get OSM objects by node/way id number?

The example below demonstrates how to select a set of ways from an OSM extract, assuming you already know their OSM IDs:

osm_id <- c("4419868", "6966733", "7989989", "15333726", "31705837")

out <- oe_get(
  place = "ITS Leeds",
  query = paste0(
    "SELECT * FROM lines WHERE osm_id IN (", paste0(osm_id, collapse = ","), ")"
  ), 
  quiet = TRUE
)
print(out, n = 0L)

# reset par, options, and download directory
options(user_options)
par(user_par)
Sys.setenv(OSMEXT_DOWNLOAD_DIRECTORY = old_dd)

osmextract documentation built on April 14, 2026, 9:06 a.m.