installed the Nominatim software itself, if not return to the
[installation page](Installation.md).
-## Importing multiple regions
+## Importing multiple regions (without updates)
-To import multiple regions in your database, you need to configure and run `utils/import_multiple_regions.sh` file. This script will set up the update directory which has the following structure:
+To import multiple regions in your database you can simply give multiple
+OSM files to the import command:
+
+```
+nominatim import --osm-file file1.pbf --osm-file file2.pbf
+```
+
+If you already have imported a file and want to add another one, you can
+use the add-data function to import the additional data as follows:
+
+```
+nominatim add-data --file <FILE>
+nominatim refresh --postcodes
+nominatim index -j <NUMBER OF THREADS>
+```
+
+Please note that adding additional data is always significantly slower than
+the original import.
+
+## Importing multiple regions (with updates)
+
+If you want to import multiple regions _and_ be able to keep them up-to-date
+with updates, then you can use the scripts provided in the `utils` directory.
+
+These scripts will set up an `update` directory in your project directory,
+which has the following structure:
```bash
update
│ └── monaco
│ └── sequence.state
└── tmp
- ├── combined.osm.pbf
└── europe
├── andorra-latest.osm.pbf
└── monaco-latest.osm.pbf
```
-The `sequence.state` files will contain the sequence ID, which will be used by pyosmium to get updates. The tmp folder is used for import dump.
+The `sequence.state` files contain the sequence ID for each region. They will
+be used by pyosmium to get updates. The `tmp` folder is used for import dump and
+can be deleted once the import is complete.
+
-### Configuring multiple regions
+### Setting up multiple regions
-The file `import_multiple_regions.sh` needs to be edited as per your requirement:
+Create a project directory as described for the
+[simple import](Import.md#creating-the-project-directory). If necessary,
+you can also add an `.env` configuration with customized options. In particular,
+you need to make sure that `NOMINATIM_REPLICATION_UPDATE_INTERVAL` and
+`NOMINATIM_REPLICATION_RECHECK_INTERVAL` are set according to the update
+interval of the extract server you use.
-1. List of countries. eg:
+Copy the scripts `utils/import_multiple_regions.sh` and `utils/update_database.sh`
+into the project directory.
- COUNTRIES="europe/monaco europe/andorra"
+Now customize both files as per your requirements
-2. Path to Build directory. eg:
+1. List of countries. e.g.
- NOMINATIMBUILD="/srv/nominatim/build"
+ COUNTRIES="europe/monaco europe/andorra"
-3. Path to Update directory. eg:
-
- UPDATEDIR="/srv/nominatim/update"
+2. URL to the service providing the extracts and updates. eg:
-4. Replication URL. eg:
-
BASEURL="https://download.geofabrik.de"
DOWNCOUNTRYPOSTFIX="-latest.osm.pbf"
-
-!!! tip
- If your database already exists and you want to add more countries, replace the setting up part
- `${SETUPFILE} --osm-file ${UPDATEDIR}/tmp/combined.osm.pbf --all 2>&1`
- with `${UPDATEFILE} --import-file ${UPDATEDIR}/tmp/combined.osm.pbf 2>&1`.
-### Setting up multiple regions
+5. Followup in the update script can be set according to your installation.
+ E.g. for Photon,
-Run the following command from your Nominatim directory after configuring the file.
+ FOLLOWUP="curl http://localhost:2322/nominatim-update"
- bash ./utils/import_multiple_regions.sh
+ will handle the indexing.
-!!! danger "Important"
- This file uses osmium-tool. It must be installed before executing the import script.
- Installation instructions can be found [here](https://osmcode.org/osmium-tool/manual.html#installation).
-## Updating multiple regions
+To start the initial import, change into the project directory and run
-To import multiple regions in your database, you need to configure and run ```utils/update_database.sh```.
-This uses the update directory set up while setting up the DB.
+```
+ bash import_multiple_regions.sh
+```
-### Configuring multiple regions
+### Updating the database
-The file `update_database.sh` needs to be edited as per your requirement:
+Change into the project directory and run the following command:
-1. List of countries. eg:
+ bash update_database.sh
- COUNTRIES="europe/monaco europe/andorra"
+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.
-2. Path to Build directory. eg:
+## Using an external PostgreSQL database
- NOMINATIMBUILD="/srv/nominatim/build"
+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
+uses a custom normalization library that needs to be made accessible to the
+PostgreSQL server. This section explains how to set up the normalization
+library.
-3. Path to Update directory. eg:
-
- UPDATEDIR="/srv/nominatim/update"
+!!! note
+ The external module is only needed when using the legacy tokenizer.
+ If you have choosen the ICU tokenizer, then you can ignore this section
+ and follow the standard import documentation.
-4. Replication URL. eg:
-
- BASEURL="https://download.geofabrik.de"
- DOWNCOUNTRYPOSTFIX="-updates"
+### Option 1: Compiling the library on the database server
-5. Followup can be set according to your installation. eg: For Photon,
+The most sure way to get a working library is to compile it on the database
+server. From the prerequisites you need at least cmake, gcc and the
+PostgreSQL server package.
- FOLLOWUP="curl http://localhost:2322/nominatim-update"
+Clone or unpack the Nominatim source code, enter the source directory and
+create and enter a build directory.
- will handle the indexing.
+```sh
+cd Nominatim
+mkdir build
+cd build
+```
-### Updating the database
+Now configure cmake to only build the PostgreSQL module and build it:
+
+```
+cmake -DBUILD_IMPORTER=off -DBUILD_API=off -DBUILD_TESTS=off -DBUILD_DOCS=off -DBUILD_OSM2PGSQL=off ..
+make
+```
+
+When done, you find the normalization library in `build/module/nominatim.so`.
+Copy it to a place where it is readable and executable by the PostgreSQL server
+process.
+
+### Option 2: Compiling the library on the import machine
+
+You can also compile the normalization library on the machine from where you
+run the import.
+
+!!! important
+ You can only do this when the database server and the import machine have
+ the same architecture and run the same version of Linux. Otherwise there is
+ no guarantee that the compiled library is compatible with the PostgreSQL
+ server running on the database server.
+
+Make sure that the PostgreSQL server package is installed on the machine
+**with the same version as on the database server**. You do not need to install
+the PostgreSQL server itself.
+
+Download and compile Nominatim as per standard instructions. Once done, you find
+the normalization library in `build/module/nominatim.so`. Copy the file to
+the database server at a location where it is readable and executable by the
+PostgreSQL server process.
+
+### Running the import
+
+On the client side you now need to configure the import to point to the
+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](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.
-Run the following command from your Nominatim directory after configuring the file.
+Create a project directory on your destination machine and set up the `.env`
+file to match the configuration on the source machine. Finally run
- bash ./utils/update_database.sh
+ nominatim refresh --website
-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.
+to make sure that the local installation of Nominatim will be used.
-## Verification and further setup
+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
-Instructions for import verification and other details like importing Wikidata can be found in [import page](Import.md)
+ nominatim refresh --functions
+on the target machine to update the the location of the module.