# Install imposm3 with Homebrew, MacPorts, Nix

Imports OpenStreetMap data into PostgreSQL/PostGIS databases. Version 0.14.2 via Homebrew; verified 2026-07-26. Also installable with macports: sudo port install imposm.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:imposm3
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install imposm3
```

  Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata

- MacPorts (94%):

```sh
sudo port install imposm
```

  Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: gis/imposm/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1

### Linux

- Nix (92%):

```sh
nix profile install nixpkgs#imposm
```

  Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/im/imposm/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:imposm3
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 0.14.2
- **Source summary:** Imports OpenStreetMap data into PostgreSQL/PostGIS databases
- **Homepage:** <https://imposm.org/docs/imposm3/latest/>
- **Repository:** <https://github.com/omniscale/imposm3>
- **Last updated:** 2026-07-26T04:07:48+02:00
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00

## Executables

- imposm (alias)

## Install behavior

- Bottle: not available

## Freshness

- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 0.14.2
## Project history and usage

Imposm3 is Omniscale's OpenStreetMap importer for PostgreSQL/PostGIS. It reads OSM PBF data, maps selected features into rendering-oriented schemas, and can apply OSM diff updates after an import.

### Project history

The imposm3 repository was created in 2013. The official documentation describes Imposm 3 as a rewrite of Imposm 2 with better performance and support for minutely diff updates.

The rewrite kept the same broad role as earlier Imposm versions, but targeted the increasingly common OSM tile-server workflow: load large PBF extracts into PostGIS, create tables shaped for rendering, and keep them updated from upstream OSM changes.

### Adoption history

Imposm3 became part of the map-rendering and tile-service packaging ecosystem because it sits exactly between OSM planet or regional extracts and PostGIS-backed renderers. Homebrew, MacPorts, and Nix package metadata in this batch show it packaged for developer and operations workflows rather than as a library-only dependency.

### How it is used

Users provide a mapping file, a PBF input, and a PostgreSQL/PostGIS connection. Imposm3 reads, writes, deploys production tables, and can update a database from OSM diff files, making it useful for map tiles, WMS services, and custom geospatial products.

### Why package nerds care

For package maintainers, imposm3 is a classic geospatial CLI: it depends on a specific data culture, OSM PBF and PostGIS, and packages a batch import pipeline into a single command. Its significance is less about end-user desktop visibility and more about reproducible infrastructure for maps.

### Timeline

- 2013: Public imposm3 GitHub repository created.
- 2015: Go package documentation for imposm3 described it as a Go rewrite of the previous Python implementation.
- 2022: FreeBSD added an imposm3 port, reflecting continued package-manager interest in OSM import tooling.

### Related projects

- Imposm 2 is the predecessor named by the official Imposm3 documentation.
- osm2pgsql, PostGIS, Mapnik, OpenMapTiles-style import pipelines, and OpenStreetMap replication diffs are neighboring projects and workflows.

### Sources

- <https://api.github.com/repos/omniscale/imposm3>
- <https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/imposm3>
- <https://github.com/omniscale/imposm3>
- <https://imposm.org/docs/imposm3/latest/>
- <https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/lukasmartinelli/imposm3>
- input.json source_facts.package-manager


## Security Notes

broad file, network, media, or database tool signal.

- **Geiger risk:** blue / medium
- broad file, network, media, or database tool signal

## Other Package-Manager Records

- MacPorts - imposm: installed executable or alias match | MacPorts ports tree: gis/imposm/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1
- Nix - imposm: installed executable or alias match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/im/imposm/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1


## Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/imposm3.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/imposm3.yml)


## Sources

- pkg.so package database
- Geiger risk classifier
- curated package history
- pkgdb category and tag curation
- external package-manager database matches
- cross-ecosystem install command graph