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Guide

QuickOSM (QGIS): change the Overpass server

QuickOSM, the QGIS plugin for OpenStreetMap data, uses the public overpass-api.de server by default. When your downloads fail with 429 or 504 errors, or you need the server for work, point QuickOSM at another one.

In QuickOSM, open Parameters, enter the base URL of the server under Add a custom Overpass server, click Add and select it as the default. The URL ends with a slash and without interpreter, because QuickOSM appends that itself: 
https://api.overpass.ch/v1/YOUR_API_KEY/

QuickOSM 2.5.3 and later

Since version 2.5.3 (June 2026) you can add servers in the plugin settings:

  1. Open QuickOSM from the toolbar or Vector → QuickOSM.
  2. Click Parameters in the list on the left.
  3. Under Overpass API, type the URL into Add a custom Overpass server and click Add. The server appears in the list of custom servers.
  4. Select it in the drop-down list of servers above. QuickOSM uses it for every query from then on.

Check your version under Plugins → Manage and Install Plugins. Updating is the easiest way to get the new settings.

Older versions: custom_config.json

Older versions read extra servers from a file named custom_config.json in the QuickOSM folder of your QGIS profile:

  1. In QGIS, choose Settings → User Profiles → Open Active Profile Folder and open the QuickOSM folder inside it. On Linux, for example, that is ~/.local/share/QGIS/QGIS3/profiles/default/QuickOSM.
  2. Create custom_config.json with this content: 
    {
  "overpass_servers": [
    "https://api.overpass.ch/v1/YOUR_API_KEY/"
  ]
}
  3. Restart QGIS and select the server under Parameters.

The newer settings page writes to the same file, so servers you added by hand stay available after an update.

Processing and models

In the Processing toolbox, the Build query algorithms of QuickOSM (by attribute only, inside an area, around an area, inside an extent) have an advanced parameter Overpass server. It takes the full URL with interpreter, for example https://api.overpass.ch/v1/YOUR_API_KEY/interpreter, and defaults to the server selected in the plugin. Their output URL then goes into Download from Overpass. Set the server explicitly in models that must not depend on the plugin settings of whoever runs them.

When it still fails

  • 404: the URL lacks the trailing slash, or already ends in interpreter.
  • 401 or 403: the key is wrong or revoked, or it is restricted to referrers. QGIS sends no referrer, so use a key without that restriction.
  • Timeouts on big areas: raise Timeout in the advanced options of the query. On overpass.ch, values above the plan maximum are lowered to it; see the errors guide for making queries cheaper.
  • Converting between Overpass QL and XML: Generate query can translate a query between the two languages. That uses the convert endpoint of the server, which overpass.ch does not offer. Running queries is not affected.

Why switch at all?

The public server limits every IP address to a few parallel queries, with cool-downs after long ones. That is fine for an occasional download, but a busy office network or a batch of Processing jobs quickly runs into 429 Too Many Requests. A server with your own key has limits per key instead, and the same data. The alternatives guide compares the options.

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