Community Spotlight - Meet the People

One of the most exciting things about CoMaps is the amazing community behind it. We want to shine a spotlight on some of the incredible people who are already contributing to the project.

· gedankenstuecke – helps with the website, German matrix/telegram room operator and planning for decision-making structure.
· Flummic – Designed the CoMaps logo and worked with the community to iterate branding with creativity.
· metehan – Runs Weblate, the translation system, and the operator of the Turkish chat.
· AlexeyNaumenko – a recruiter who believes in the power of open-source - published an article about CoMaps.

Their dedication and expertise are what makes CoMaps possible. We're always looking for more people to join. If you're interested, get involved!

https://www.comaps.app/support/how-do-i-start-contributing/

Map Area Showcase

Share a screenshot of your favorite spot on the map, along with its coordinates! An intricate city, a hidden natural wonder, or something totally unique, tell us what makes this place special! Let's see your top picks!

#maps #mapping #OSM

Codeberg – the center for requests, code and feature discussions.
Out of 260,000 Codeberg projects, CoMaps is #7! And the CoMaps project is rising! If you would like to show your support to help it rise further, give CoMaps a star:
https://codeberg.org/comaps/comaps

A new Android test build 2025.08.03-02-test, prepared by @hb0nd!
https://codeberg.org/comaps/comaps/issues/1243

- Search can now handle more synonyms
- Add search/bookmark icons for fast food, bicycle, charging stations, and fuel
- Support Irish postcodes in the editor
- Save track altitudes and open the track's place page on saving
- Update aerialway station and dog park icons
- Improve scrub/wood style distinction
- Round map download percentage
- Improve layouts in RTL mode with LTR texts
- Migrate many drawables to SVG
- Migrate some UI elements to newer components
- Remove the New Year tree feature
- Fix android 5-7 crashing on launch
- Fix hamburger menu donate button
- Fix crosshair jump when adding POI
- Avoid duplicate background OSM uploads
- Split project into SDK and App modules
- Update translations (thanks to many translators!)

There are thousands of hiking trails in the world, which trail would you recommend to others?
#hiking #nature #community

A new iOS TestFlight build 2025.08.06-9 by @yannikbloscheck!
https://codeberg.org/comaps/comaps/issues/1276

- Added two finger panning of the map and a search keyboard shortcut for the iOS version on Macs with Apple Silicon
- Improved water visibility
- Improved general and pedestrian area visibility
- Fix local language not being used in some cases
- Updated translations (by our many great translators)

How does an idea become a feature?

As a project which is completely open, not just the code, but the processes as well, how does an idea become a feature?

Anyone can submit a request (Issue) for a feature in Codeberg. And anyone can work on the feature. There are many great requests which are waiting for the right developer to create positive impact.

Since the project started in April, here is what was done:

Issues created: ~1300
App developers who contributed: 29

The power of the community pulling together to create great things.

#community #navigation #opensource #volunteers

2025.08.08-2 Android Hotfix
https://codeberg.org/comaps/comaps/releases/tag/2025.08.08-2-android

A hotfix to a previous 2025.07.23-4 release:
- fixed app crashing at launch on Android 5-7 (by @hb0nd)

A new Android test build 2025.08.10-23-test
https://codeberg.org/comaps/comaps/issues/1315

Please provide feedback on following changes:
- colored POI labels; feedback to https://codeberg.org/comaps/comaps/pulls/1283
- black-filled bookmarks icons for the night mode; feedback to https://codeberg.org/comaps/comaps/pulls/1292

More changes from the previous test build:
- smooth position arrow movements
- improve general and pedestrian areas visibility
- improve water color, waterways and associated labels legibility
- adjust water and parking search category icon
- switch food courts to fork and knife icon
- adjust intermediate stops icons color
- add more Android bookmark icons types to the bookmarks screen
- improve default map language choice
- don't ignore minor roads at roundabouts
- fix add to OpenStreetMap crosshair jump
- fix random weird map colors bug
- more search aliases for various map features
- refactor android project structure
- migrate to material components
- update translations

OpenStreetMap turns 21! Happy Birthday! CoMaps would not be possible without all the OSM people, the community is amazing

https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/OpenStreetMap_21st_Anniversary_Birthday_party

#OpenStreetMap #OSM #mapping #community

CoMaps now has more than 7k subscribers across different social media platforms – today reaching 7,777. And the biggest growth is on open-source platforms:

Mastodon - distributed microblogging
Matrix - distributed group messaging
Lemmy - distributed discussion communities
Bluesky - microblogging
Pixelfed - Photos
SimpleX - private messaging

If you have not tried these, check them out!

A new 2025.08.13-8 release! 🎉

Android Codeberg version: https://codeberg.org/comaps/comaps/releases/tag/v2025.08.13-8

Map changes:
- improve water color, waterways and associated labels legibility (by @yannikbloscheck)
- stronger distinction between forest, scrub and grassland colors (by @yannikbloscheck)
- green color for dog parks (by @yannikbloscheck)
- upgrade altitude contour lines to 20m step for some popular hiking regions (by @pastk; see list at https://codeberg.org/comaps/comaps/pulls/1108)
- improve general and pedestrian areas visibility (by @yannikbloscheck)
- adjust water and parking search category icon (by @yannikbloscheck)
- add/update search and bookmark icons for fast food, bicycle, charging stations, and fuel (by @dvdmrtnz via OM)
- add escape games (by @starsep)
- add luggage lockers and covered bicycle parkings (by @dvdmrtnz via OM)
- add ranger stations and post office partners (by @vng via OM)
- add labels to garages and retail areas (by @pastk)

...changelog continues...

A new release is available!

Highlights:
– Improvements to search: added abbreviations (st, ave) for many languages and aliases for many map features
– Improved layouts for right-to-left languages

Full list of features:
https://codeberg.org/comaps/comaps/releases/tag/v2025.08.13-8

#navigation #maps #apps #opensource

We’re thrilled that 179 amazing people have donated to support CoMaps! A special thank you for your generosity, it is helping bring this project to life and make real impact.

As a community-driven project which is about transparency, including financial, we prefer to use systems which are about communities and openness - this is why we use Open Collective and LiberaPay.

As donations grow, we’ll be able to hire engineers and accelerate the development of new features. This means faster progress, and a better experience.

Every donation, big or small, creates impact. Thank you for being part of this journey! Together, we can make CoMaps a powerful tool for everyone.

https://opencollective.com/comaps
https://liberapay.com/CoMaps

#CommunityPower #TechForGood #OpenCollective #LiberaPay #community

Cartographers!

1307 people contributed to OpenStreetMap using CoMaps in July — building maps one detail, one POI, one community at a time.

#OpenStreetMap #OSM #mapping #maps #mappingcommunity #cartography

A new iOS Test Flight build 2025.08.22-49 🍏
To Join: https://codeberg.org/comaps/comaps/issues/1530

Changes since the last test build:
- Improved dark style
- Colored POI labels (by @x7z4w)
- Improved dark mode bookmarks (by @x7z4w)
- Fixed CarPlay panning not working (by @yannikbloscheck)
- Small track recording improvements and other small changes (via the OM project)
- Updated translations (by our many great translators)

Notable changes in the last builds:
- OpenStreetMap data as of August 4
- CarPlay support

The average review rating in Google Play is 4.5 and App Store is 4.7. Reviews have a significant impact on the app, both in a positive and negative direction. If you are enjoying the app and would like to leave a 5-star review, that will help other people discover the app and help the project!

There are variations in ratings by country, if you would like to help, you can have an impact!

CoMaps on Google Play and on Apple App Store

A new Android Test build 2025.08.24-43-test 🤖
https://codeberg.org/comaps/comaps/issues/1561

Please provide feedback on following changes:
- improved dark map style - by @yannikbloscheck - feedback
- colored POI labels - by @x7z4w - feedback
- black-filled bookmarks icons for the night mode - by @x7z4w - feedback
- added current speed and speedlimit widgets - by @TobiPeterG and @gpesquero - feedback
- tap-cycle through final destination and intermediate stops info in navigation panel - by @gpesquero - feedback

Changes:
- add standalone addresses via OSM editor - by @map-per
- prefer routes with less turns - by @bluelight_henry
- tracks are tap-selectable and deletable - by @kavikhalique via OM
- interactive altitude graph for tracks with recorded altitude - by @kavikhalique via OM
- quick changing of bookmarks color and list - by @kavikhalique via OM
- possibility to add standalone OSM notes - by @hemanggs via OM
- proper road shield colors for many European countries - by @vikiawv

Many apps have code that is closed and not visible publicly. Other apps like CoMaps, have code that anyone can see and use. What makes open-source apps great?

Transparency: You or any developer can peek under the hood, see exactly what happens and how your data is handled.

Community Power: Developers worldwide collaborate, spot bugs faster, and add cool features you’d never get from closed-source code project.

Innovation: Because anyone can improve or fork the project, ideas evolve quickly— crowdsourced creativity.

Freedom: No lock‑in, no hidden fees, and you keep control of your digital life.

Open‑source apps turn “users” into co‑creators, making software safer, smarter, and more adaptable for everyone.

A new Android test build 2025.08.27-19-test 🤖
https://codeberg.org/comaps/comaps/issues/1621

Please provide feedback on following changes:
- add conditional access support to routing - by @bluelight_henry, feedback
- prefer GPS bearing for the position arrow direction instead of compass (2.5kph threshold) - by @pastk, feedback

Changes:
- remove passed intermediate points when assembling a modified route mid-navigation - by @RicoElectrico and @gekeleda
- display power substations icons earlier; display some minor amenities labels earlier - by @pastk
- outdoor style: thicker rivers and streams - by @pastk
- entrances and exits are visible earlier - by @pastk and @yannikbloscheck
- fine-tuned dark map style and colored POI labels as per test feedback - by @yannikbloscheck

The iodéOS team, developer of a Google-free Android, chooses CoMaps as the default map navigation app!

https://iode.tech/iodeos/

Iodé’s core value is prioritizing open source apps, and a poll let the community decide. It’s wonderful to see the community coming together to shape the future.

https://community.iode.tech/t/preinstalled-navigation-app-change-changement-de-lapplication-de-navigation-preinstallee-anderung-der-vorinstallierten-navigations-app/6138

#iodéOS #OpenSource #AndroidFreedom #TechCommunity #Privacy