Using OpenStreetMap (direct)
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.flutter_map wants to help keep map data available for everyone. One of the largest sources of this data is OpenStreetMap. OpenStreetMap data powers the majority of non-proprietary maps - from actual map tiles/images to navigation data - in existence today. The data itself is free for everyone under the .
The OpenStreetMap Foundation run OpenStreetMap as a not-for-profit. They also provide a public tile server at . This server is used throughout this documentation for code examples, and in our demo app.
The OpenStreetMap tile server is NOT free to use by everyone.
Tile servers require complex management and expensive hardware. OpenStreetMap's tile servers are run entirely on donations.
From v8.2.0, warnings will appear in console when a TileLayer is loaded using one of the OpenStreetMap tile servers.
In debug mode, the console warning will be changed.
The exact date of this version's release is to-be-confirmed, but will be a minimum of 30 days from the release of v8.2.0.
The maintainers and community are also actively looking into ways to improve compliance by default:
Introducing automatic basic caching into the core This will likely massively reduce the number of tile requests and improve app performance (at the expense of consuming storage space)
Checking for adequate and stable HTTP/2 & HTTP/3 support (HTTP/2 is already used on web)
Making an attribution to OpenStreetMap the default
The OpenStreetMap tile server is NOT free to use by everyone.
The top 10 user-agents are shown below, in order.
Mozilla/5.0 QGIS/*
flutter_map (*)
This represents the of FM users on non-web platforms. * represents the TileLayer.userAgentPackageName.
Mozilla/5.0 ...
Mozilla/5.0 ...
Dart/* (dart:io) This represents FM users on older versions & other Flutter mapping libraries not using FM.
Mozilla/5.0 ...
Mozilla/5.0 ...
Mozilla/5.0 ...
Mozilla/5.0 ...
com.facebook.katana
We are extremely proud to see flutter_map being used so much! At the same time, we are aware that there are many users placing a potential strain on OpenStreetMap.
We do not want to discourage legitimate use-cases from using the OpenStreetMap tile servers.
We want to help users who may be accidentally or unknowingly breaking the OpenStreetMap usage policies adjust their project so they can continue to benefit from cost-free tiles.
However, we do wish to discourage illegitimate use-cases or users who are intentionally breaking the OpenStreetMap usage policies.
Therefore, we are introducing measures to force users to read the OpenStreetMap Tile Usage Policy before allowing them to use the servers in release builds.
This is easy for legitimate users who have already read the policy and follow it.
It helps users accidentally breaking the policies to see why it's so important to follow them, and what they can do to fix any issues.
It adds friction to users intentionally breaking the policies.
Ultimately however, it is your own responsibility to comply with any appropriate restrictions and requirements set by your chosen tile server/provider. Always read their Terms of Service. Failure to do so may lead to any punishment, at the tile server's discretion.
This policy is completely unrelated to the OpenStreetMap Foundation, and was the sole collective decision of the maintainers.
Our docs list multiple alternatives, many of which have free tiers suitable for hobbyists, affordable pricing for commercial usage, and one which is extremely flexible.
Most of these are built off the same data, so the actual information contained within the map won't change (although a change in style may not show some data).
If you're a commercial user and want the best balance of flexibility and affordability, consider setting up your own private tile server! In any case, the OpenStreetMap tile server doesn't offer uptime guarantees, which may be important to your business.
If you still want to use OpenStreetMap, you must read the policy and comply with its restrictions and requirements. It also contains some background info as to why this is important.
To note,
Should any users or patterns of usage nevertheless cause problems to the service, access may still be blocked without prior notice.
If your project uses a very large number of tiles, even if it would otherwise meet the requirements, consider switching to a different server.
By default, flutter_map does NOT meet all of the requirements. We are actively looking into ways to improve compliance without further action from users.
Another is attribution. There are built-in attribution widgets to make this easy: see Attribution Layer for more info.
You should also check you've set TileLayer.userAgentPackageName.
If you're eligible to use the servers, you can re-enable them in release mode and disable the console warnings in debug mode.
To do this, set the flutter.flutter_map.unblockOSM environment variable when building/running/compiling. Use the dart-define flag to do this.
To evidence that you've read and understood the tile policy, you should set it to the exact string (excluding any leading or trailing whitespace, including all other punctuation) following the phrase from the policy:
OpenStreetMap data is free for everyone to use. _____
For example, to run the project:
You can also add this to your IDE's configuration to automatically pass this argument when running from your IDE.
If you've got a question or comment regarding this new policy, or if you think we've missed something, please reach out to us.
The best way to do this is on the dedicated GitHub issue, or on the Discord server.
on 2025/04/08 shows flutter_map as the second largest 'whole' user-agent in terms of the average number of tile requests made per second over the day. Whilst it is true that there are multiple user agents smaller who make up an overall much larger portion of total usage - for example, leaflet.js's usage is split across the browsers' user-agents, as is flutter_map usage on the web - the usage of flutter_map cannot be ignored.
One common adjustment on non-web platform is to introduce caching. This step alone reduces the number of requests massively. There are currently 2 plugins designed to offer the functionality, and it's easy to create your own. See for more info.
