Sync with other maps apps (Favorites, Tracks, etc.)

[jancborchardt]

We should work on having these apps sync with us:

• GNOME Maps might become compatible this summer, ref Provide APIs to sync with gnome-maps Provide APIs to sync with gnome-maps #30, cc @Sumaid @mlundblad
• Marble would require a few changes to be compatible
• OsmAnd would be nice! Nothing like that yet. Discussion about sync at Enable synchronisation of favourites osmandapp/OsmAnd#2750 (comment)
• Maps.me would be best since they are widely used, but they have a company behind them and already offer their own proprietary favorites backup.
• Organic Maps is a fork of Maps.me without the proprietary features. Discussion about sync at Bookmark synchronization/online backup organicmaps/organicmaps#622

(Carried over from @eneiluj’s notes in #56 )

[thomas-mc-work]

There is a very actively developed clone of Maps.me called Maps (on F-Droid). Maybe this would be a good candidate for integration? They have already implemented track recording which would play nicely with the sync feature.

Features over upstream repo:

• Track Recording (record your tracks)
• Custom Bookmarks path (helps backup your bookmarks with apps like: Syncthing)
• Removed ads and binaries (peace and freedom)
• Screenlock option (prevent app stay turned on while in pocket with lockscreen enabled)

[jancborchardt]

@thomas-mc-work good call, yes! Do you have any contacts there or do you want to open an issue in their tracker linking both projects up? :)

[thomas-mc-work]

I've raised an issue here, mostly copied from the OsmAnd issue and hopefully phrased as expected.

Where can I find the API documentation? Preferably in the OpenAPI format.

[julien-nc]

@thomas-mc-work Actually there is no Maps Favorites API documentation. It's pretty straightforward though. It's a REST API with 4 routes (listed in appinfo/routes.php):

• GET https://mync.org/index.php/apps/maps/api/1.0/favorites => get a JSON list of the favorites
• POST https://mync.org/index.php/apps/maps/api/1.0/favorites => add a favorite, parameters are name (string), lat (float), lng (float), category (string), comment (string), extensions (string)
• PUT https://mync.org/index.php/apps/maps/api/1.0/favorites/ID => with a value instead of "ID", edit a favorite. Params are the same as POST ones.
• DELETE https://mync.org/index.php/apps/maps/api/1.0/favorites/ID => with a value instead of "ID", deletes a favorite

For accessing those routes, you need to be authenticated with a session or with basic http auth.

I'm completely open to make changes to this API since it's not used yet 😉.

[rinigus]

I wonder whether favorites fields are fixed now. There are some extra fields that I would like to have for Pure Maps or are those expected to be stored under "extensions"?

As I don't have any experience with Nextcloud sync - what would be the best way to authenticate for access? I would prefer not to store any passwords - some kind of session id? Maybe pointers towards docs on it?

[szaimen]

Maybe this?
https://github.com/nextcloud/Android-SingleSignOn

[rinigus]

@szaimen : thanks, but I am looking for something running on Linux (desktop and mobile), not Android.

[bugzy]

What changes would marble require to become compatible? The API looks similar to what was designed for Marble's sync in 2013 or so.

[tacruc]

@bugzy I had a brief look at the marble code, unfortunately I have only very basic c and c++ skills and none in QT. For me it looks like the was hardcoded in some way (.../apps/MARBLEAPP/...), so for sure the URL's needs to be adapted. But I guess than a lot of code could be reused.

[Spartachetto]

Just for information: the current release of OsmAnd introduced the option to export and import all data. For reference have a look here: https://osmand.net/blog/osmand-3-9-released .
It states that We added the option to export and import all data including settings, resources, my places. It's a big step to the backup feature, which we will plan to add in the next release .

[keunes]

Maps.me would be best since they are widely used, but they have a company behind them and already offer their own proprietary favorites backup.

@jancborchardt, all: There now is a fork of Maps.me in development: Organic Maps - I reckon it could be added to the list in the first post (or replace the Maps.me list item). I would love to have synchronisation between the two, and added synchronisation request over at Organic Maps as well.

[penguin86]

I recently switched to Nextcloud and have the urgent need to open my imported geobookmarks in Organic Maps. I tried to clone the OM sources and build the app, just to have an idea of the complexity of the implementation, but didn't succeed... I'm a little rusty at Android development.
So I developed a very basic app that allows to open the Nextcloud Maps geobookmarks in any android app supporting Geo URI (e.g. Organic Maps, Google Maps...). Don't expect bells and whistles, it's the bare minimum to get me on the road again, but I hope it can be useful to someone.

You can download from the github page and soon will be available on F-Droid.

I home the source can be useful as an example to integrate Nextcloud Geobookmarks support in any of the proposed apps.

[szaimen]

Very cool! Do you mind opening a PR in the maps repository that adds it to the readme? Would definitely improve the discoverability :)

[penguin86]

Very cool! Do you mind opening a PR in the maps repository that adds it to the readme? Would definitely improve the discoverability :)

Thank you @szaimen ! It's a very good idea, but I'd wait until the app is mature enough... As a user, finding the link to the app, I'd expect it to implement all the functionalities provided by Nextcloud Maps (Photos, Geobookmarks, Tracks, Contacts), at least at a basic level...

[szaimen]

Though having at least a geobookmark sync is already more than any other Android app is currently capable of, afaik. So I still vote for adding it to the readme :)

[xplosionmind]

Hi! I noticed that this issue has been stale for almost two years now, even though it is the one with the most thumbs up… are there any news? It would be great to have some bookmarks integration!

[tacruc]

Well the bookmarks app is out there. https://gitlab.com/fdroid/fdroiddata/-/merge_requests/9655

[FailurePoint]

Hey, so did anyone ever develop a app or add sync to an existing one? I would love to be able to dich google maps and have it sync to my server.

[KrausMatthias]

I would suggest using https://ogcapi.ogc.org/features/ as exchange api, then you don't need to implement a sync API for every single Map App / Server

[SyndicatedPillbug]

Just really wishing for this! I use OSMAnd and it'd be So nice to automatically sync favorites and locations and photos and everything else from OSMand to nextcloud.