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MapToPoster is a powerful Python CLI tool that transforms OpenStreetMap data into stunning, print-ready map posters. Create minimalist city map art with customizable themes, multilingual support, and high-resolution output. Example map posters of various cities

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What is MapToPoster?

MapToPoster generates beautiful, minimalist map posters for any city in the world. It fetches street network data from OpenStreetMap using OSMnx, applies artistic themes, and creates high-quality images featuring:
  • Street networks with hierarchical road styling
  • Water features (rivers, bays, coastlines)
  • Parks and green spaces
  • Elegant typography with city name, country, and coordinates
  • Custom themes for different aesthetic styles

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Key Features

17 Built-in Themes

From noir minimalism to neon cyberpunk, choose themes that match your aesthetic. Each theme features carefully curated color palettes for backgrounds, roads, water, and parks.

Multilingual Support

Display city names in their native scripts (Japanese, Arabic, Thai, Korean, Chinese, etc.) with automatic Google Fonts integration and intelligent script detection.

High-Resolution Output

Generate posters at 300 DPI in PNG, SVG, or PDF formats. Configurable dimensions up to 20x20 inches for professional printing or digital displays.

Smart Caching

Automatic caching of map data and coordinates reduces API calls and speeds up regeneration with different themes or settings.

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How It Works

MapToPoster follows a simple pipeline:
  1. Geocoding: Converts city/country names to coordinates using Nominatim
  2. Data Fetching: Downloads street networks, water features, and parks from OpenStreetMap via OSMnx
  3. Rendering: Applies theme colors and hierarchical road styling using matplotlib
  4. Typography: Adds city name, country, and coordinates with automatic script detection
  5. Export: Saves high-resolution poster in your chosen format
All map data comes from OpenStreetMap contributors and is properly attributed on each poster.

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Popular Use Cases

  • Personal Art: Create posters of cities you’ve lived in or visited
  • Gifts: Generate custom map art of meaningful locations
  • Interior Design: Print minimalist city maps for home or office decor
  • Digital Wallpapers: Create 4K wallpapers of your favorite cities
  • Social Media: Generate Instagram-ready square format maps

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Architecture Overview

MapToPoster is built with:
  • OSMnx: Fetches and processes OpenStreetMap data
  • GeoPandas: Handles geographic features and projections
  • Matplotlib: Renders high-quality poster graphics
  • geopy: Geocodes city names to coordinates
  • Google Fonts API: Automatic font downloads for multilingual support
┌─────────────────┐     ┌──────────────┐     ┌─────────────────┐
│   CLI Parser    │────▶│  Geocoding   │────▶│  Data Fetching  │
│   (argparse)    │     │  (Nominatim) │     │    (OSMnx)      │
└─────────────────┘     └──────────────┘     └─────────────────┘
                                                     │
                        ┌──────────────┐             ▼
                        │    Output    │◀────┌─────────────────┐
                        │  (matplotlib)│     │   Rendering     │
                        └──────────────┘     │  (matplotlib)   │
                                             └─────────────────┘

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Example Output

# Generate a Paris poster with default terracotta theme
python create_map_poster.py --city "Paris" --country "France"

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Project Status

  • Version: 0.2.0
  • License: MIT
  • Python: Requires Python 3.11+
  • Platform: Cross-platform (Linux, macOS, Windows)

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What’s Next?

Installation

Get MapToPoster installed with uv or pip

Quick Start

Create your first poster in minutes

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