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These guides go deeper than the getting-started page. Each one covers a single kind of feature — how to recognise it in imagery, how to trace it cleanly, and how to tag it so the data is genuinely useful. Work through them in any order.
Using satellite imagery
Choose the right imagery layer, read it correctly, and trace features accurately in cloudy, forested terrain.
Rivers & waterways
Capture channel geometry, direction of flow, lakes, and the seasonal water that defines the basin.
Roads & transport
Map everything from highways to dry-season tracks, footpaths and river ferries, with sensible tags.
Land use & cover
Distinguish forest, farmland, wetland and built-up areas to give the map real-world context.
New to OpenStreetMap entirely? Start with How to contribute first, then come back here.