This page is incomplete. Lot's of tests not described. Screenshot for rules is missing.

Preferences > Data Validator

An OSM data validator that checks for common errors made by users and editor programs.

Tests

Following four general settings are available:

Use ignore list

enable/disable the use of the ignore list (default: enabled)
Advance preference: validator.ignore

Use error layer

enable/disable the creation of a validator layer highlighting the problematic objects (default: enabled)
Advance preference: validator.layer

Show informational level

enable/disable tests on informational level know as "Other" (default: disabled)
Advance preference: validator.other

Show informational level on upload

enable/disable tests on informational level on upload (default: disabled)
Advance preference: validator.otherUpload

All check boxes below are settings which test should be run on which action with a check box on the left for manual runs, On demand, and On upload on the right side.

By default, all error and warning tests are active.

1. If you are a OSM newbie and encountered validation error about objects you haven't touched, please ignore these messages for now.
2. Validator can be wrong or incomplete about all tagging practices. Don't fix errors when you aren't sure something is really wrong.
3. First, refer to Validator panel - how to use validator

The fourth column contains also (video) explanations. The table is incomplete.

Type	Message	What is checked	Additional help	Autofix
Addresses		errors in ​Addresses and ​Relation:associatedStreet. Advanced preferences: validator.addresses.max_duplicate_distance (default: 200.0) validator.addresses.max_street_distance (default: 200.0)
	House number without street	objects that have an addr:housenumber tag, but neither addr:street nor addr:place. The street name can also be provided using an associatedStreet relation or on interpolation way.	Add the missing street name information.	no
	Duplicate house numbers	two members of an associatedStreet relation have the identical house number.	It is possible with a low chance.	no
	Multiple street names in relation	name tag of an associatedStreet relation matches the name tags of the members with role street and the addr:street tag of the members with role house.		no
	House number too far from street	the houses of an associatedStreet are far away from the corresponding street.	Verify that the house really belongs the the street that is given by the relation.	no
	Multiple associatedStreet relations	an object is in more than one associatedStreet relation.		no
API Capabilities		errors against API capabilities
	Way contains more than … nodes. It should be replaced by a multipolygon
	Way contains more than … nodes. It should be split or simplified
Barriers and entrances		errors in ​Barriers and ​Key:entrance.
Coastlines		​Coastline are correct.
	Reversed coastline: land not on left side	coastlines that are not counter-clockwise or that are otherwise misplaced (coastline misused as inland lake)	Reverse coastline
	Unconnected coastline: coastline ways do not form closed loops	coastlines ways that are not connected to the end of other coastline ways
	Unordered coastline: coastline ways are not connected start-to-end	coastline ways of which either the start is not connected to the end of another coastline or the end is not connected to the start of another coastline	Reverse coastline
Conditional Keys		usage of *:conditional tags.	Imprecise rules covered at ​osm wiki page "Conditional restrictions"
Connectivity Relations		Validates connectivity relations
	Connectivity tag missing comma between optional and non-optional values			no
	Connectivity tag contains unusual data			no
	Connectivity relation without connectivity tag			no
	Inconsistent lane numbering between relation and member tags			no
	Multiple via roles only allowed with ways			no
	Relation member is missing a lanes or *:lanes tag			no
	Relation should not contain mixed via ways and nodes			no
	This connectivity may already be implied			no
Crossing barriers / boundaries / ways
	Crossing ways	ways (with highway/railway/waterway tags) that cross in same layer with no crossing node	1. ​(video) usually you need to add a common node or 2. add appropriate ​Key:layer (and possibly ​Key:bridge or ​Key:tunnel)	no
	Crossing barrier/building	barrier crossing a building in same layer with no crossing node		no
Cycle detector		Detects cycles (loops) in ​drainage systems. Advanced preference: validator.CycleDetector.directionalWaterways: directional waterway values (default: ["river", "stream", "tidal_channel", "drain", "ditch", "fish_pass"])
	Cycle in directional waterway network			no
Duplicated nodes		Advanced preference: validator.duplicatenodes.precision: rounding precision in degree (default: 1e-6 since r17612, 1-e7 before)
	Duplicated nodes	no nodes in the very same location	Merge the nodes into only one, adding the properties from all nodes to the merged one
Duplicated relations		no relations with same tags and same members with same roles.
Duplicated ways		no ways with same node coordinates and optionally also same tags.
Duplicated way nodes		ways with identical consecutive nodes.
	Duplicated way nodes	ways contain no loop edges (i.e., a single step from a node to itself)	Split the way, and delete the way consisting of the loop edge.
Highways		semantic checks on highways.
Internet tags		errors in internet-related tags
Lane tags		lanes:* tags, see ​Lanes
Long segments		long way segments, which are usually errors Advanced preference: validator.maximum.segment.length: maximum segment length in meters (default: 15,000)
	Long segments - Very long segment of … kilometers	way segment length above certain configured value	For real world objects it makes sence to add some way nodes.	no
Tag checker (MapCSS based)		different kind of checks based on MapCSS, including external rules. See Tag checker rules tab and detailed description below.
Multipolygon		multipolygons are valid.
	Style for outer way mismatches	Within a multipolygon relation, one of the tags of the relation and the outer ways is shared but with different values	Copy relation related tags to the relation itself	no
	Style for inner way equals multipolygon	Within a multipolygon relation, one of the tags of the relation and the inner ways is shared and has the same value	Remove tag from inner way	no
	No style in multipolygon relation	The multipolygon relation is missing a tag describing what it represents	For a building, add building=yes to the relation etc.	no
Missing name:* translation		finds multilingual objects whose name attribute is not equal to some name:* attribute and not a composition of name:* attributes, e.g., Italia - Italien - Italy.
Opening hours syntax		correct usage of the opening hours syntax.	​common OH examples ​common mistakes ​complete OH spec
	Enable strict mode.	even stricter rules, disabled by default Preference: validator.OpeningHourTest.strict (default: false)
Overlapping ways		a connection between two nodes is not used by more than one way. Advanced preferences: overlapping-ways.ignored-keys - list of ignored keys overlapping-ways.ignore-layer (default: false) overlapping-ways.only-known-linear (default: true)	​(video) Using selection, split and middle mouse
	Overlapping high-/rail-/waterways	two ways with highway=*, railway=* or waterway=* that share the same nodes		no
	Way contains segment twice			no
	High-/Rail-/Waterway shares segment with linear way	a way with highway=*, railway=* or waterway=* sharing consecutive nodes with another open way		no
	High-/Rail-/Waterway shares segment with other way	a way with highway=*, railway=* or waterway=* sharing consecutive nodes with a closed way or multipolygon	Depending on the mapping style and the tags of the involved area these overlaps are ok or not. It definitively makes selecting the objects and distinguishing between them harder	no
	Ways share segment			no
Power lines		Advanced preferences: validator.PowerLines.hilly_compensation (default: 0.2) validator.PowerLines.hilly_threshold (default: 4.0)
	node without power=*	nodes in power lines/minor_lines that do not have a power=tower/pole/portal tag		no
	Mixed reference numbering	node ref numbering continuity on power supporting features (pole, tower etc.) along the line	ways are highlighted	no
	Reference numbering don't match majority of way's nodes	node ref numbering continuity on power supporting features (pole, tower etc.) along the line	nodes are highlighted	no
	Node connects a power line or cable with an object which is not related to the power infrastructure			no
	Possibly missing line support node within power line	ways where are unusually long segments without line support feature	when water data is also in the dataset, the intersecting length is discarded, e.g. line over a river	no
	Possibly wrong power line type used	ways where the line type is possibly misused		no
Public Transport Route		errors in ​public transport route relations
Relation checker		errors in relations.
Almost right angle buildings		buildings with an almost right angle. Advanced preferences: validator.RightAngleBuilding.maximumDelta (default: 10.0) validator.RightAngleBuilding.minimumDelta (default: 1.0)
	Building with an almost square angle		If the angle should be a right angle, orthogonalize the way.	yes, #20038
Self-intersecting ways		ways that contain some of their nodes more than once.
	Self-intersecting ways	a way crosses itself	Remove the self-crossing, remove overlapping parts or split way
Sharp angles		sharp angles on roads Advanced preferences: validator.sharpangles.maxlength (default: 10.0) validator.sharpangles.maxangle (default: 45.0) validator.sharpangles.ignorerailway validator.sharpangles.ignorehighway
Similarly named ways		ways with similar names that may have been misspelled.
	Similar named ways	ways with very similar names, possibly a typo
Tag checker		errors in tag keys and values.
	Check property values	misspelled property values. Uses the loaded tagging presets files for checking
	Presets do not contain property key	the property key is in no preset	Check the key or Load the preset	no
	Presets do not contain property value	the property value is in no preset	Check the value or Load the preset	no
	Check for fixme.	any property with the word "fixme" inside
	fixme		Check if you can fix the issue or if it was fixed already. If so, remove the "fixme", otherwise do nothing.	no
Turn-restrictions		​turn-restrictions are valid.
	No "from" way found No "to" way found No "via" node or way found	all necessary elements of a turn restriction relation are present.		no
	More than one "from" way found More than one "to" way found More than one "via" node found	at most one way with role from and to and at most one node with role via in a turn restriction relation.		no
	Cannot mix node and way for role "via"	there is either a "via" node or multiple "via" ways, but not a mix of nodes and ways with role via.		no
	The "from" way does not start or end at a "via" node. The "to" way does not start or end at a "via" node. The "from" and the first "via" way are not connected. The "via" ways are not connected. The last "via" and the "to" way are not connected.	the different parts of a turn restriction relation are connected. is also aware of oneway streets and considers parts unconnected, if they cannot be traveled in the intended order due to the oneway restriction.	Make sure that consecutive member of a turn restriction relation are connected. (Ways must be connected end-to-end.)	no
	Unknown role	the role for members of a turn restriction relation is either from, to (ways) or via (nodes and ways)		no
	Unknown member type	only nodes and ways (and not relations) are members of a turn restriction relation.		no
	Superfluous turn-restriction as "to" way is oneway	The turn restriction is not needed, because the corresponding turn would mean to enter a oneway street from the wrong side.	Verify that the "from" and "to" ways are correctly assigned and delete the relation if it is indeed superfluous.	no
Unclosed Ways		ways which should be circular are closed.
	Unclosed ways	way types, which should be closed really are closed	Close unclosed ways	no
Unconnected highways / natural lands and landuses / power ways / railways / waterways		a way has an endpoint very near to another way. Advanced preferences: validator.UnconnectedWays.node_way_distance (default: 10.0) validator.UnconnectedWays.node_way_distance_railway (default: 1.0) validator.UnconnectedWays.way_way_distance (default: 0.0)
	Way end node near other highway	End point of a way is very near to other ways	Connect the ways or when really unconnected add noexit=yes tag to prevent further warnings	no
	Way end node near other way			no
	Connected way end node near other way			no
	Way node near other way			no
Untagged and unconnected nodes		untagged nodes that are not part of any way.
	Unconnected nodes without physical tags - No tags Has key created_by or converted_by Has key source Has key watch	nodes not part of any way without tags or only created_by, converted_by, source or watch	1. If the node was created by yourself, you are to decide if to remove it otherwise 2. Download parent relations and contact mappers who added these nodes in unclear cases	yes
	Unconnected nodes without physical tags - Has key note or comment or description Has tag containing fixme	nodes not part of any way with only note, comment, description or fixme	1. If the node was created by yourself, you are to decide if to remove it otherwise 2. Download parent relations and contact mappers who added these nodes in unclear cases	no
Untagged, empty and one node ways		untagged, empty and one node ways.
	Empty ways One node ways	Invalid ways with zero or only one node	1. Look at the object's history 2. Remove the way (autofix)	yes
	Unnamed ways	highway without name or ref	Add name or ref if known or noname=yes if sure that the way does not have a name	no
	Untagged ways (commented!)	ways without any tag (or only with comment, description, fixme or note) and without membership in a relation	0. if working with incomplete data, download parent relations 1. describe them correctly if you know this objects or 2. leave them until somebody describes them	no
	Unnamed junction	highway with junction and without name or ref	Add name or ref if known or noname=yes if sure that the junction does not have a name	no
Way connected to Area		ways connected to areas.
	Way terminates on Area	First/Last node of way connected with area	Optionally, either continue the way, unglue it from area or add a tag describing an entrance.	no
Wrongly Ordered Ways		direction of water, land and coastline ways.
	Reversed coastline: land not on left side Reversed land: land not on left side	wrong way direction of natural=coastline wrong way direction of natural=land	Reverse way direction	no
Uncategorized		Descriptions that need to be checked, updated and added to one of the categories above or MapCSS below
	Check property keys	misspelled property keys. See the words.cfg​ for file of misspelled property keys	Replace wrong key with right one
	Empty properties	properties with empty values
	Key 'x' invalid. - ...	illegal key combinations, names and similar issues
	Nodes with the same name	two nodes have equal name
	Unknown property value	proper use of tags	If it is your new tag, it is a good idea to document it at the OSM-wiki (​Any tags you like)	no

Tag checker rules

This tab consists of two list and some buttons. On the left side all available rules are listed and on the right side all downloaded and local rules.

Available rules (left)

There is a search text box on top and below first the internal MapCSS rules and then the external ones are listed. Some more info about each item will be displayed in a tooltip when hovering the mouse over it. Items which are already on the Active rules list on the right side are highlighted with a different background color which changes if the item is enabled/disabled on the right side. To get items from the left to the right, select them and use the blue, right arrow head button between the lists. With the button at the bottom reloads the available rules list from JOSM (file).

Active rules (right)

Rules can be enabled/disable with the check box in front of each entry.
The three buttons on the right allow to:

• manually add rules from url or local file
• modify selected entry
• delete items from the list

The reset button at the bottom resets the active rules to default, removing any manually added entry.

MapCSS-based tests

Type	Message	What is checked	Additional help	Autofix
Addresses
Tag combinations
Deprecated features
Geometry
	Overlapping areas	areas overlap	Remove overlapping only when really wrong.	no
Highways
	Highway without a reference	there is a ​ref tag for highways that are tagged tertiary. Not always required, see for instance ​Highway	Optionally, add ​noref=yes	no
Multiple values
Numeric values
Religion
Relations
Territories
Unnecessary tags
Wikipedia

Advanced Preferences

More advanced preferences not described, yet.

• validator.auto_reload_local_rules - whether to auto-reload local rules after file changes
• validator.autozoom - whether to Zoom to problem, automatically
• validator.check_assert_local_rules - whether to enable MapCSS assertions for local rules
• validator.ignorelist - the ignore list
• validator.ignorelist.version - format version of the ignore list

See also

• Validator panel
• JOSM Validator Custom rules from "Tag Checker Rules"
• MapCSSTagChecker - about the syntax of validator checks, which are based on MapCSS

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