installed the Nominatim software itself, if not return to the
[installation page](Installation.md).
+## Importing with a database user without superuser rights
+
+Nominatim usually creates its own PostgreSQL database at the beginning of the
+import process. This makes usage easier for the user but means that the
+database user doing the import needs the appropriate rights.
+
+If you prefer to run the import with a database user with limited rights,
+you can do so by changing the import process as follows:
+
+1. Run the command for database preparation with a database user with
+ superuser rights. For example, to use a db user 'dbadmin' for a
+ database 'nominatim', execute:
+
+ ```
+ NOMINATIM_DATABASE_DSN="pgsql:dbname=nominatim;user=dbadmin" nominatim import --prepare-database
+ ```
+
+2. Grant the import user the right to create tables. For example, foe user 'import-user':
+
+ ```
+ psql -d nominatim -c 'GRANT CREATE ON SCHEMA public TO "import-user"'
+ ```
+
+3. Now run the reminder of the import with the import user:
+
+ ```
+ NOMINATIM_DATABASE_DSN="pgsql:dbname=nominatim;user=import-user" nominatim import --continue import-from-file --osm-file file.pbf
+ ```
+
## Importing multiple regions (without updates)
To import multiple regions in your database you can simply give multiple
```bash
update
- ├── europe
- │ ├── andorra
- │ │ └── sequence.state
- │ └── monaco
- │ └── sequence.state
- └── tmp
- └── europe
- ├── andorra-latest.osm.pbf
- └── monaco-latest.osm.pbf
-
+ ├── europe
+ │ ├── andorra
+ │ │ └── sequence.state
+ │ └── monaco
+ │ └── sequence.state
+ └── tmp
+ └── europe
+ ├── andorra-latest.osm.pbf
+ └── monaco-latest.osm.pbf
```
This will get diffs from the replication server, import diffs and index
the database. The default replication server in the
-script([Geofabrik](https://download.geofabrik.de)) provides daily updates.
+script ([Geofabrik](https://download.geofabrik.de)) provides daily updates.
-## Importing Nominatim to an external PostgreSQL database
+## Using an external PostgreSQL database
You can install Nominatim using a database that runs on a different server when
you have physical access to the file system on the other server. Nominatim
PostgreSQL server. This section explains how to set up the normalization
library.
+!!! note
+ The external module is only needed when using the legacy tokenizer.
+ If you have chosen the ICU tokenizer, then you can ignore this section
+ and follow the standard import documentation.
+
### Option 1: Compiling the library on the database server
The most sure way to get a working library is to compile it on the database
correct location of the library **on the database server**. Add the following
line to your your `.env` file:
-```php
+```
NOMINATIM_DATABASE_MODULE_PATH="<directory on the database server where nominatim.so resides>"
```
Now change the `NOMINATIM_DATABASE_DSN` to point to your remote server and continue
-to follow the [standard instructions for importing](/admin/Import).
+to follow the [standard instructions for importing](Import.md).
+
+
+## Moving the database to another machine
+
+For some configurations it may be useful to run the import on one machine, then
+move the database to another machine and run the Nominatim service from there.
+For example, you might want to use a large machine to be able to run the import
+quickly but only want a smaller machine for production because there is not so
+much load. Or you might want to do the import once and then replicate the
+database to many machines.
+
+The important thing to keep in mind when transferring the Nominatim installation
+is that you need to transfer the database _and the project directory_. Both
+parts are essential for your installation.
+
+The Nominatim database can be transferred using the `pg_dump`/`pg_restore` tool.
+Make sure to use the same version of PostgreSQL and PostGIS on source and
+target machine.
+
+!!! note
+ Before creating a dump of your Nominatim database, consider running
+ `nominatim freeze` first. Your database looses the ability to receive further
+ data updates but the resulting database is only about a third of the size
+ of a full database.
+
+Next install Nominatim on the target machine by following the standard installation
+instructions. Again, make sure to use the same version as the source machine.
+
+Create a project directory on your destination machine and set up the `.env`
+file to match the configuration on the source machine. Finally run
+
+ nominatim refresh --website
+
+to make sure that the local installation of Nominatim will be used.
+
+If you are using the legacy tokenizer you might also have to switch to the
+PostgreSQL module that was compiled on your target machine. If you get errors
+that PostgreSQL cannot find or access `nominatim.so` then rerun
+
+ nominatim refresh --functions
+
+on the target machine to update the the location of the module.