tilemaker
tilemaker is an open-source C++ command-line tool that processes OpenStreetMap (OSM) data and converts it directly into vector tiles in the industry-standard Mapbox Vector Tile (MVT) format.
Key Features
- Database-Free Processing: Generates vector tiles directly on your local machine or cloud CPU without needing PostgreSQL or complex database stacks.
- Flexible Lua Scripting: Customize tag selection, object simplification, spatial queries, and zoom-level filtering using Lua scripts.
- Standalone & Lightweight: Shipped as a single executable with pre-configured scripts for out-of-the-box tile generation.
- Cross-Platform: Builds and runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows.
- Ecosystem Compatible: Easily serve tiles via static web hosting, mbtileserver, or tileserver-php, and render them using MapLibre GL on the web, iOS, or Android.
Use Cases
- Creating self-hosted, custom-styled web and mobile maps (e.g., walking, cycling, or city maps).
- Packaging compact vector tile packages for offline map applications.
- Eliminating third-party map tiling API costs and vendor lock-in.
