# Working with OpenStreetMap files

## Converting PBF to OSM XML

A lot of routing software used in the OpenStreetMap (OSM) project supports Protocolbuffer Binary Format (PBF). There are several tools to convert from PBF to OSM XML and vice versa, if required, including Osmconvert, Osmosis and Osmium:

<table data-header-hidden><thead><tr><th width="151"></th><th width="239"></th><th width="133"></th><th></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Tool</strong></td><td><strong>Description</strong></td><td><strong>Functionality</strong></td><td><strong>Example</strong></td></tr><tr><td><a href="https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Osmconvert">Osmconvert</a></td><td>Lightweight (but fast) application to convert and process OSM files.</td><td>Basic</td><td><code>osmconvert OSMulti-modalRoutingNetwork.pbf >OSMulti-modalRoutingNetwork.osm</code></td></tr><tr><td><a href="https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Osmosis">Osmosis</a></td><td>Command-line application for processing OSM data.</td><td>Intermediate</td><td><code>osmosis --read-pbf OSMulti-modalRoutingNetwork.pbf --write-xml OSMulti-modalRoutingNetwork.osm</code></td></tr><tr><td><a href="https://osmcode.org/osmium-tool/">Osmium</a></td><td>Multipurpose command-line tool based on the Osmium Library.</td><td>Advanced</td><td><code>osmium cat OSMulti-modalRoutingNetwork.pbf -o OSMulti-modalRoutingNetwork.osm</code></td></tr></tbody></table>

## Sorting OSM files

OSM files are usually sorted in a specific way: first the nodes ordered by ID, then ways ordered by ID, then relations ordered by ID. But this is not necessarily always the case.

{% hint style="warning" %}
It is important to check if a file is sorted correctly as many commands only work properly if a file is sorted.
{% endhint %}

To check if a file is sorted, in [Osmium](https://docs.osmcode.org/osmium/latest/osmium-fileinfo.html) use `fileinfo` :

```
> osmium fileinfo -e input.osm.pbf
...
Objects ordered (by type and id): yes
...
```

To sort a file using [Osmium](https://docs.osmcode.org/osmium/latest/osmium-sort.html):

```
> osmium sort input.osm.pbf -o output.osm.pbf
```

To sort a file using [Osmosis](https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Osmosis):

```
osmosis --read-pbf input.osm.pbf --sort --write-pbf output.osm.pbf
```


---

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