---
title: "Nominatim v5 Re-import"
type: project
tags: [recon, storage]
related: []
status: complete
updated: 2026-06-23
---

# Nominatim v5 Re-import

Spun off from the [[fleet-patch-audit]] (2026-06-19). Completed 2026-06-23 as a standalone maintenance window.

## Deployed 2026-06-23

Nominatim was upgraded from **v4.5 → v5.3.2** on recon-vm (VM 1130). This was a full fresh re-import; no in-place upgrade path exists between 4.x and 5.x due to data model changes.

### What shipped

| Parameter | Value |
|-----------|-------|
| Container name | `nominatim-v5` |
| Image | `mediagis/nominatim:5.3.2` |
| Port | 8010 (mapped from container :8080) |
| Coverage | Western-11 US states (see below) |
| PG version | 16 |
| IMPORT_STYLE | full |
| FREEZE | true |
| OSM data date | 2026-06-21 |
| pgdata path | `/mnt/nav/nominatim-v5/postgres-data/pgdata` |
| DB size (post-import) | ~29 GB |
| Restart policy | `--restart unless-stopped` + systemd unit `/etc/systemd/system/nominatim.service` (targets `nominatim-v5`) |

**Western-11 coverage:** arizona, california, colorado, idaho, montana, nevada, new-mexico, oregon, utah, washington, wyoming. Outside these states the service returns only country-level ("United States") fallback — this was also the case for v4.5; coverage did not change.

**Build artifact** (retained on pi-nas):
- Tarball: `pi-nas:/export/data/nav/nominatim-staging/western-us-11states-v5.3.2-pgdata.tar.gz`
- SHA-256 prefix: `cc0f0497`
- `BUILD-INFO.txt` co-located with tarball
- Built on matt-desktop (~3h41m, 14 threads) from a 3.13 GB merged PBF

### Old v4.5 cleanup (2026-06-23)

The prior v4.5 container, its ~26 GB DB, and the `mediagis/nominatim:4.5` image were removed after cutover validation. `/mnt/nav` has ~70 GB free post-cleanup.

### Coverage clarification

The v4.5 deployment was also western-11 only — this was not always clearly documented. The v5 upgrade was a like-for-like data freshness + engine refresh, not a coverage expansion.

### Photon — not coupled this upgrade

**Photon was left at v1.1.0 (port 2322) and was not touched.** Photon is independent: it runs from a komoot dump, not built from the Nominatim DB. No version coupling applied for this data refresh. The prior doc note about mandatory Photon 1.2.0 co-upgrade was based on an assumption that Photon reads Nominatim's internal tables directly — that does not apply here.

## Full-US expansion (future option, not done)

Full-US coverage is the next natural scope expansion but requires significant resources that are not currently available.

### Requirements

| Resource | Estimate |
|----------|----------|
| Final DB size | ~120 GB+ (likely 150–250 GB — dense eastern address data) |
| Peak build disk | ~350–600 GB (scratch + output) |
| RAM during build | 48–64 GB |
| Build time | ~15–24 h |

### Blockers

1. **recon-vm `/mnt/nav` disk**: ~70 GB free — insufficient for a full-US build or DB. Would require either reclaiming existing storage or relocating the volume.
2. **matt-desktop build-disk capacity**: the gating number for build scratch space is unconfirmed. Must be established before committing to a full-US build.

Until both blockers are resolved, full-US is deferred.

## Context

Nominatim v5 (released February 2025) changed the underlying data model relative to 4.x. A full OSM re-import is required; there is no in-place upgrade path.
