A networked, walkable 3D copy of the real world built from open public data and shared between everyone looking at it — a social map where you can see how a place is built and talk about it with people who are there.

Yes. The source code is free and open source under MIT OR Apache-2.0, the clients are free to use, and the server can be self-hosted. Third-party data, avatars and fonts carry their own terms listed in LICENSE-THIRD-PARTY.md.

Which platforms does it run on?

Browser (cartopolis.org, requires WebGPU), Linux and Windows desktop binaries (macOS by building from source), and Android 9+ via an APK. Desktop binaries need AVX2 and FMA (roughly 2013+ CPUs).

Where does the data come from?

Buildings from the Dutch BAG registry and TU Delft's 3DBAG (LoD2.2), elevation from AHN, aerial photography from PDOK, street trees/lighting/paving from Groningen municipal open data, map data from OpenStreetMap, live transit from OVapi, weather from MET Norway and NOAA, and stars from the HYG catalogue.

Does the detailed building and register data cover the whole world?

No. Register detail is available for the Netherlands, plus municipal data where a city publishes it. Elsewhere the ground is flat and buildings come from OpenStreetMap.

Can I self-host the server?

Yes. The simulator is a standalone Tokio + SQLite server with a dedicated server guide for deploying the sim and the self-hosted geo services; it can also be run locally with cargo run -p cartopolis_simulator.

Are private chats encrypted?

Yes. Private chats use end-to-end encryption (MLS) via a dedicated Bevy-free crate, and the server only relays sealed bytes it cannot open.

Can I add my own content to the world?

Yes. You can place and script objects and 3D models, swap a building for an IFC model, and export/import content over an HTTP API.

Cartopolis — A walkable 3D social map of the real world

Cartopolis is a free, open-source, networked 3D virtual world that recreates the real world from open public data. It presents a walkable, planet-scale 3D map with real building geometry, live weather, sun position, transit departures and routing, combined with social features like avatars, proximity chat and end-to-end encrypted private messaging. It is written in Rust on the Bevy engine and runs in the browser (WebGPU), on desktop (Linux, Windows, macOS from source) and on Android.

Cartopolis

Key Features

A walkable 3D copy of the real world

Detailed building cards

Social layer with proximity communication

Sharing and place authoring

Server-side moderation and administration

Live environment simulation

AI agent support via MCP

Self-hostable architecture

How It Works

Build the world from open registers

Share one world across clients

Run anywhere, including offline

Pros & Cons

Pros

Cons

Who It's For

Best for

Not ideal for

Use Cases

Pricing

Open Source

FAQ

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