The Shortbread vector tile schema is intended to be a basic, lean, general-purpose vector tile schema for OpenStreetMap data.
It does not, and is not intended to, cover the full breadth and depth of OpenStreetMap tagging.
This document describes the layers that are defined in the vector tile schema, and the features and attributes available on each layer.
Feature sorting
Some layers have their features sorted by importance or rendering order. This allows you to use rendering engines which do not support feature sorting themselves.
Water
Layer “ocean”
This layer contains oceans.
Additional attributes are provided only to make GDAL read features from this layer. They have no other meaning.
Layer “water_polygons”
This layer contains inland water bodies and glaciers.
Properties
Field Name
Type
Description
kind
string
type of water body
way_area
numeric
area in square meter (Mercator Projection)
Features
kind
OSM tag
Geometry
Zoom
glacier
glacier
natural=glacier
polygon
4+
water
water
natural=water + water!=river
polygon
4+
river
river
waterway=riverbank, natural=water + water=river
polygon
4+
reservoir
reservoir
landuse=reservoir
polygon
4+
basin
basin
landuse=basin
polygon
4+
dock
dock
waterway=dock
polygon
10+
canal
canal
waterway=canal
polygon
10+
Layer “water_polygons_labels”
Holds point (centroid) geometries and names for all named water polygons available in the water_polygons layer.
The way_area attributes allows you to prefer labels of larger areas. Features are sorted by way_area in
descending order.
Properties
Field name
Type
Description
kind
string
type of water body (see water_polygons layer for a list of values)
way_area
numeric
area in square meter (Mercator Projection)
name
string
value of OSM name=* tag
name_en
string
value of OSM name:en=* tag
name_de
string
value of OSM name:de=* tag
Layer “water_lines”
Holds waterway line geometries. Features are sorted by their layer=* tags in OpenStreetMap in ascending order (default 0).
Properties
Field Name
Type
Default
Description
kind
string
type of waterway
tunnel
boolean
false
true for tunnel=yes/building_passage or covered=yes, false otherwise
bridge
boolean
false
true for bridge=yes/viaduct/boardwalk/cantilever/covered/low_water_crossing/movable/trestle, false otherwise
Features
kind
OSM tag
Geometry
Zoom
canal
canal
waterway=canal
line
Canals are available if their line is longer than 0.25 pixel but not below 9.
river
river
waterway=river
line
Rivers are available if their line is longer than 0.25 pixel but not below 9.
stream
stream
waterway=stream
line
14+
ditch
ditch
waterway=ditch
line
14+
Layer “water_lines_labels”
Hold line geometries and names for named water lines.
Minimum Zoom Levels
Feature
Zoom
canal
Canals are available if their line is longer than 0.25 pixel but not below 12.
river
Rivers are available if their line is longer than 0.25 pixel but not below 12.
stream
14+
ditch
14+
Properties
Field Name
Type
Description
kind
string
type of water body (see water_lines layer for a list of values)
name
string
value of OSM name=* tag
name_en
string
value of OSM name:en=* tag
name_de
string
value of OSM name:de=* tag
Layer “dam_lines”
Holds line geometries of dams (not dykes).
Properties
Field Name
Type
kind
string
Features
kind
OSM tag
Geometry
Zoom
dam
dam
waterway=dam
line
12+
Layer “dam_polygons”
Holds polygon geometries of dams (not dykes).
Properties
Field Name
Type
kind
string
Features
kind
OSM tag
Geometry
Zoom
dam
dam
waterway=dam
polygon
12+
Layer “pier_lines”
This layer contains piers, breakwaters and groynes mapped as lines. See the pier_polygons layer for those mapped as polygons.
Properties
Field Name
Type
Description
kind
string
see Features section for possible values
Features
kind
OSM Tags
Geometry
Zoom
pier
man_made=pier
line
12+
breakwater
man_made=breakwater
line
12+
groyne
man_made=groyne
line
12+
Layer “pier_polygons”
This layer contains piers, breakwaters and groynes mapped as polygons. See the pier_lines layer for those mapped as lines.
Properties
Field Name
Type
Description
kind
string
see Features section for possible values
Features
kind
OSM Tags
Geometry
Zoom
pier
man_made=pier
line
12+
breakwater
man_made=breakwater
line
12+
groyne
man_made=groyne
line
12+
Countries, States, Cities
Layer “boundaries”
Holds boundary lines of countries and states.
Properties
Field name
Type
Description
admin_level
numeric
highest administrative boundary this line belongs to
maritime
boolean
Boundary line is located on sea, base on OSM maritime=* tag, or is the coastline (way tagged with natural=coastline)
disputed
boolean
Boundary line is tagged with disputed=yes or member of a relation with boundary=disputed and admin_level unset or between 2 and 4.
Features
Value of admin_level
Geometry
Zoom
countries
2
line
0+
states
4
line
7+
Layer “boundary_labels”
Holds label points for boundary polygons of countries and states. Features are sorted by way_area in
descending order.
Properties
Field name
Type
Description
admin_level
numeric
value of OSM admin_level=* tag, see Features section for possible values
way_area
numeric
area in ha
name
string
value of OSM name=* tag
name_en
string
value of OSM name:en=* tag
name_de
string
value of OSM name:de=* tag
Features
Value of admin_level
Geometry
Minimum Area
Zoom
countries
2
line
2*10^6 km²
2+
countries
2
line
7*10^5 km²
3+
countries
2
line
1*10^5 km²
4+
countries
2
line
none
5+
states
4
line
7*10^5 km²
3+
states
4
line
1*10^5 km²
4+
states
4
line
none
5+
Layer “place_labels”
Holds label points for populated places. Features are sorted by population in descending order.
Properties
Field Name
Type
Description
kind
string
value of OSM place=* tag, see Features section for possible values
name
string
value of OSM name=* tag
name_en
string
value of OSM name:en=* tag
name_de
string
value of OSM name:de=* tag
population
numeric
value of OSM population=* tag, else defaults (see below)
Features
Value of kind
OSM Tags
Geometry
Zoom
Default Population
national capital
capital
place=city/town/village/hamlet + capital=yes
point
4+
depends on place=*
state capital
state_capital
place=city/town/village/hamlet + capital=4
point
4+
depends on place=*
city
city
place=city (except capitals)
point
6+
100,000
town
town
place=town (except capitals)
point
7+
5,000
village
village
place=village (except capitals)
point
10+
100
hamlet
hamlet
place=hamlet (except capitals)
point
10+
50
suburb
suburb
place=suburb
point
10+
1,000
quarter
quarter
place=quarter
point
10+
500
neighbourhood
neighbourhood
place=neighbourhood
point
10+
100
isolated dewlling
isolated_dwelling
place=isolated_dwelling
point
10+
5
farm
farm
place=farm
point
10+
5
island
island
place=island
point
10+
0
unpopulated place
locality
place=locality
point
10+
0
Land Use, Land Cover, Buildings
Layer “land”
This layer contains basic land cover that is usually drawn first.
Properties
Field Name
Type
Description
kind
string
see Features section for possible values
Features
kind
OSM Tags
Geometry
Zoom
forest
landuse=forest or natural=wood
polygon
7+
grass
landuse=grass
polygon
11+
meadow
landuse=meadow
polygon
11+
orchard
landuse=orchard
polygon
11+
vineyard
landuse=vineyard
polygon
11+
allotments
landuse=allotments
polygon
11+
cemetery
landuse=cemetery
polygon
13+
grave_yard
amenity=grave_yard
polygon
13+
village_green
landuse=village_green
polygon
11+
recreation_ground
landuse=recreation_ground
polygon
11+
greenhouse_horticulture
landuse=greenhouse_horticulture
polygon
11+
plant_nursery
landuse=plant_nursery
polygon
11+
sand
natural=sand
polygon
10+
beach
natural=beach
polygon
10+
heath
natural=heath
polygon
11+
scrub
natural=scrub
polygon
11+
grassland
natural=grassland
polygon
11+
bare_rock
natural=bare_rock
polygon
11+
scree
natural=scree
polygon
11+
shingle
natural=shingle
polygon
11+
swamp
wetland=swamp
polygon
11+
bog
wetland=bog
polygon
11+
string_bog
wetland=string_bog
polygon
11+
wet_meadow
wetland=wet_meadow
polygon
11+
marsh
wetland=marsh
polygon
11+
golf_course
leisure=golf_course
polygon
11+
park
leisure=park
polygon
11+
garden
leisure=garden
polygon
11+
playground
leisure=playground
polygon
11+
miniature_golf
leisure=miniature_golf
polygon
11+
residential
landuse=residential
polygon
10+
industrial
landuse=industrial
polygon
10+
commercial
landuse=commercial
polygon
10+
garages
landuse=garages
polygon
10+
retail
landuse=retail
polygon
10+
railway
landuse=railway
polygon
10+
landfill
landuse=landfill
polygon
10+
quarry
landuse=quarry
polygon
11+
brownfield
landuse=brownfield
polygon
10+
greenfield
landuse=greenfield
polygon
10+
farmyard
landuse=farmyard
polygon
10+
farmland
landuse=farmland
polygon
10+
Layer “sites”
This layer is for types of land use that will usually be above the basic
land layer, but below buildings.
Value of kind
OSM Tag
Label
Geometry
Zoom
military danger area
danger_area
military=danger_area
name
polygon
14+
sports center
sports_center
leisure=sports_center
name
polygon
14+
university campus
university
amenity=university
name
polygon
14+
college campus
college
amenity=college
name
polygon
14+
school campus
school
amenity=school
name
polygon
14+
hospital campus
hospital
amenity=hospital
name
polygon
14+
prison area
prison
amenity=prison
name
polygon
14+
car park
parking
amenity=parking
name
polygon
14+
bicycle parking
bicycle_parking
amenity=bicycle_parking
name
polygon
14+
construction site
construction
landuse=construction
name
polygon
14+
Layer “buildings”
Has polygons for everything with a building tag (not building=no) from
zoom 14 on.
Layer “addresses”
Has points for everything with an address from zoom 14+. Polygons are represented by their centroid.
If a feature is available in the pois layer, it will not be duplicated in the addresses layer.
Properties
Field Name
Type
OSM Key
housename
string
addr:housename=*
housenumber
string
addr:housenumber=*
Streets and Transport
Layer “streets”
Holds line geometries of the whole road network. Features are ordered by the so-called z-order value which is computed
from road class, OSM layer=*, bridge=* and tunnel=* tags. More important roads are are sorted before less important roads, tunnels before bridges.
Properties
Field Name
Type
Zoom
Default
Description
kind
string
5+
always set
Feature class, contains value of highway=*, aeroway=* or railway=*
link
boolean
11+
false
true for link roads (highway=(motorway|trunk|primary|secondary|tertiary)_link)
rail
boolean
5+
false
true for railways, false otherwise
tunnel
boolean
11+
false
true for tunnel=yes/building_passage or covered=yes, false otherwise
bridge
boolean
11+
false
true for bridge=yes/viaduct/boardwalk/cantilever/covered/low_water_crossing/movable/trestle, false otherwise
oneway
boolean
14+
false
true for oneway=yes/1/true/-1; always false for rail features
oneway_reverse
boolean
14+
false
true for reverse (not reversible) oneways (oneway=-1); always false for rail features
tracktype
string
11+
field not available
value of tracktype=*
surface
string
11+
empty string
value of surface=*
service
string
11+
field not available
value of service=*
bicycle
string
14+
empty string
value of bicycle=*
horse
string
14+
empty string
value of horse=*
Features
The following features are available in this layer:
Feature Class
value of kind
Zoom
Comment
motorway
motorway
5+
trunk roads
trunk
6+
primary roads
primary
8+
secondary roads
secondary
9+
tertiary roads
tertiary
10+
side roads
unclassified
12+
residential roads
residential
12+
roads exclusively for buses
busway
12+
bus guideways
bus_guideway
12+
residential roads w/traffic calming
living_street
13+
service roads
service
13+
pedestrian roads
pedestrian
13+
tracks
track
13+
footpaths
footway
13+
steps
steps
13+
unspecified paths
path
13+
use the bicycle and horse attributes for details about permitted use of the path
bicycle paths
cycleway
13+
runway
runway
11+
taxiway
taxiway
13+
railway
rail
8/10+
ways with service=* on zoom level 8+, other ways on zoom level 10+
narrow gauge railway
narrow_gauge
8+
ways with service=* on zoom level 8+, other ways on zoom level 10+
tram
tram
10+
light railway
light_rail
10+
funicular
funicular
10+
subway
subway
10+
monorail
monorail
10+
Layer “street_polygons”
Holds polygons geometries of certain streets mapped as polygons. Features are ordered by the so-called z-order value which is computed
from road class, OSM layer=*, bridge=* and tunnel=* tags. More important roads are are sorted before less important roads, tunnels before bridges.
Properties
Field Name
Type
Default
Description
kind
string
always set
Feature class, contains value of highway=* or area:aeroway=*
rail
boolean
false
true for railways, false otherwise
tunnel
boolean
false
true for tunnel=yes/building_passage or covered=yes, false otherwise
bridge
boolean
false
true for bridge=yes/viaduct/boardwalk/cantilever/covered/low_water_crossing/movable/trestle, false otherwise
surface
string
empty string
value of surface=*
Features
The following features are available in this layer:
Feature Class
value of kind
Zoom
pedestrian
pedestrian
14+
service roads
service
14+
runway
runway
11+
taxiway
taxiway
13+
Layer “street_labels”
This layer holds street geometries for labelling. It contains their names and reference numbers.
Features
Feature Class
value of kind
Zoom
motorway
motorway
10+
motorway links
motorway_link
13+
trunk roads
trunk
12+
trunk roads
trunk_link
13+
primary roads
primary
12+
primary links
primary_link
13+
secondary roads
secondary
13+
secondary links
secondary_link
13+
tertiary roads
tertiary
13+
teratiary links
tertiary_link
14+
side roads
unclassified
14+
residential roads
residential
14+
residential roads w/traffic calming
living_street
14+
roads exclusively for buses
busway
14+
bus guideways
bus_guideway
14+
service roads
service
14+
pedestrian roads
pedestrian
14+
tracks
track
14+
footpaths
footway
14+
steps
steps
14+
unspecified paths
path
14+
bicycle paths
cycleway
14+
runway
runway
11+
taxiway
taxiway
13+
railway
rail
10+
narrow gauge railway
narrow_gauge
10+
tram
tram
10+
light railway
light_rail
10+
funicular
funicular
10+
subway
subway
10+
monorail
monorail
10+
Properties
Field Name
Type
OSM Key
kind
string
value of OSM highway=*, aeroway=* or taxiway=* tag
ref
string
value of OSM ref=* tag, semicolons replaced by newline characters (ASCII character 10)
ref_rows
numeric
number of lines of the ref value
ref_cols
numeric
maximum line length of the ref value
name
string
value of OSM name=* tag
name_en
string
value of OSM name:en=* tag
name_de
string
value of OSM name:de=* tag
Layer “streets_polygons_labels”
Holds labelling points of the polygons of the “streets_polygons” layer.
Properties
Field Name
Type
OSM Key
kind
string
value of OSM highway=* or aeroway=* tag
name
string
value of OSM name=* tag
name_en
string
value of OSM name:en=* tag
name_de
string
value of OSM name:de=* tag
Features
The following features are available in this layer:
Feature Class
value of kind
Zoom
pedestrian
pedestrian
14+
service roads
service
14+
runway
runway
14+
taxiway
taxiway
14+
Layer “streets_labels_points”
This layer holds motorway exit labels.
Properties
Field Name
Type
OSM Key
kind
string
value of OSM highway=* tag
ref
string
value of OSM ref=* tag
name
string
value of OSM name=* tag
name_en
string
value of OSM name:en=* tag
name_de
string
value of OSM name:de=* tag
Features
The following features are available in this layer:
Feature Class
value of kind
Zoom
motorway exit points
motorway_junction
12+
Layer “bridges”
This layer contains bridges mapped as polygons. There is no distinction which type of road, railway, runway or
waterway uses this bridge.
Please mind that only some bridges are mapped as polygons but almost all roads located on a bridge have their
location on a bridge as an attribute (see streets layer for details).
Properties
Field Name
Type
Description
kind
string
see Features section for possible values
Features
kind
OSM Tags
Geometry
Zoom
bridge
man_made=bridge
polygon
12+
Layer “aerialways”
Holds aerialways as lines.
Properties
Field Name
Type
OSM Key
kind
string
aerialway=*
Features
Feature Class
value of kind
OSM Tag
Zoom
cable car
cable_car
aerialways=cable_car
12+
gondola
gondola
aerialways=gondola
12+
goods cable car
goods
aerialways=goods
12+
chair lift
chair_lift
aerialways=chair_lift
12+
drag lift
drag_lift
aerialways=drag_lift
12+
t-bar lift
t-bar
aerialways=t-bar
12+
j-bar lift
j-bar
aerialways=j-bar
12+
platter lift
platter
aerialways=platter
12+
rope-tow lift
rope-tow
aerialways=rope_tow
12+
Layer “ferries”
Holds line geometries of ferries.
Properties
Field Name
Type
OSM Key
kind
string
name
string
value of OSM name=* tag
name_en
string
value of OSM name:en=* tag
name_de
string
value of OSM name:de=* tag
Features
The following features are available in this layer:
Feature Class
value of kind
OSM Tag
Zoom
motor vehicle ferries
ferry
route=ferry + motor_vehicle!=no
10+
all ferries
ferry
route=ferry
12+
Points of interest
Layer “public_transport”
Holds public transport stops as points. Areas in OSM are represented by their centroid.
Properties
Field Name
Type
Description
kind
string
feature class
name
string
value of OSM name=* tag
name_en
string
value of OSM name:en=* tag
name_de
string
value of OSM name:de=* tag
Features
Feature Class
value of kind
OSM Tag
Zoom
airport, aerodrome
aerodrome
aeroway=aerodrome
11+
helipad
helipad
aeroway=helipad
13+
station
station
railway=station
13+
halt
halt
railway=halt
13+
tram_stop
tram_stop
railway=tram_stop
14+
bus_station
bus_station
amenity=bus_station
13+
bus_stop
bus_stop
highway=bus_stop
14+
ferry terminal
ferry_terminal
aerialway=ferry_terminal
12+
aerialway station
aerialway_station
aerialway=station
13+
Layer “pois”
Holds points of interest as point geometries. Areas in OSM are represented by their centroid.
All features are available on zoom level 14 only.
Properties
Field Name
Type
Default
Description
amenity
string
null
value of OSM amenity=* tag if listed in the “Features” subsection below
leisure
string
null
value of OSM leisure=* tag if listed in the “Features” subsection below
tourism
string
null
value of OSM tourism=* tag if listed in the “Features” subsection below
shop
string
null
value of OSM shop=* tag if listed in the “Features” subsection below
man_made
string
null
value of OSM man_made=* tag if listed in the “Features” subsection below
historic
string
null
value of OSM historic=* tag if listed in the “Features” subsection below
emergency
string
null
value of OSM emergency=* tag if listed in the “Features” subsection below
highway
string
null
value of OSM highway=* tag if listed in the “Features” subsection below
office
string
null
value of OSM office=* tag if listed in the “Features” subsection below
name
string
null
value of OSM name=* tag
name_en
string
null
value of OSM name:en=* tag
name_de
string
null
value of OSM name:de=* tag
housename
string
null
addr:housename=*
housenumber
string
null
addr:housenumber=*
The following attributes are set for selected features only. Their value comes from the equally named OSM keys.
Field Name
Type
Default
Selection criteria (OSM tags)
cuisine
string
null
amenity=restaurant/fast_food/pub/bar/cafe
sport
string
null
leisure=pitch/sports_centre
vending
string
null
amenity=vending_machine
information
string
null
tourism=information
tower:type
string
null
man_made=tower
religion
string
null
amenity=place_of_worship
denomination
string
null
amenity=place_of_worship
The following attributes are set for selected features only. They are true if the specified OSM key has the value yes.
Field Name
Type
Default
Selection criteria (OSM tags)
recycling:glass_bottles
boolean
false
amenity=recycling
recycling:paper
boolean
false
amenity=recycling
recycling:clothes
boolean
false
amenity=recycling
recycling:scrap_metal
boolean
false
amenity=recycling
atm
boolean
false
amenity=bank
Features
The following key-value combinations are included in this layer: