What is a .PBF file?
PBF is a compact binary format for OpenStreetMap data and Mapbox vector tiles.
- Did you know
- PBF uses Protocol Buffers to pack map data far smaller than XML.
- PBF is built on Google’s Protocol Buffers, packing map data far more tightly than the equivalent XML.
- OpenStreetMap planet dumps and Mapbox vector tiles both use .pbf yet follow completely different, unrelated schemas.
- What Analyser reads
- Inspect geospatial and GIS files without a map: TopoJSON, OpenStreetMap XML, Esri Shapefile siblings (SHP/SHX/DBF/PRJ/CPG), world files, GML, NMEA GPS logs, IGC flight logs, MapInfo TAB/MIF, GDAL VRT, PMTiles, DTED terrain, Esri ASCII grids and SRTM .hgt - surfacing CRS/EPSG, feature/record counts, bounding boxes and elevation ranges. GRIB/NetCDF/GeoPackage/MBTiles/MrSID/ECW identified.
- Depth of analysis
- .PBF is an identification-grade format: Analyser recognises it from its bytes and decodes the header metadata it carries, rather than opening it in a full viewer. Formats that do get a full viewer are marked "Full" on the formats page.
- Open a .PBF file
- Drag a .PBF file onto the Analyser home page (or tap to pick one). It is identified entirely in your browser - nothing is uploaded, there is no account, and it works offline once installed.