tidytlg
A tables-listings-graphs package that reached CRAN and then went quiet.
Comparison · Analytics
osmextract vs webmockr
A side-by-side editorial comparison of osmextract and webmockr — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
osmextract vs webmockr: at a glance
What is osmextract?
osmextract stopped throwing your OpenStreetMap downloads away at the end of every session.
osmextract downloads OpenStreetMap extracts from Geofabrik, BBBike and openstreetmap.fr and translates them into sf objects via GDAL. The 0.6.0 release moved its download cache from `tempdir()` to a persistent `tools::R_user_dir()` location and raised the R floor to 4.1.0 to get it. It also made spatial `place` inputs self-clipping: pass an sf or bbox object and the boundary is now set to match, so only the relevant slice of a country-sized extract is processed.
What is webmockr?
The stubbing library added httr2 support, then spent a year cutting itself free of everything else
webmockr intercepts HTTP requests in R tests and returns stubbed responses, and since 1.0.0 it covers all three clients that matter — httr, httr2 and crul. The releases through 2025 have been about shedding dependencies: internal R6 classes unexported in 2.1.0, crul demoted from Imports to Suggests in the same release, and the mutual dependency with vcr severed in 2.2.0. The package now installs and runs without pulling in the rest of the rOpenSci HTTP stack.
osmextract vs webmockr: editorial side-by-side
osmextract
0.0ANALYTICS
osmextract stopped throwing your OpenStreetMap downloads away at the end of every session.
◆ Current state
osmextract downloads OpenStreetMap extracts from Geofabrik, BBBike and openstreetmap.fr and translates them into sf objects via GDAL. The 0.6.0 release moved its download cache from `tempdir()` to a persistent `tools::R_user_dir()` location and raised the R floor to 4.1.0 to get it. It also made spatial `place` inputs self-clipping: pass an sf or bbox object and the boundary is now set to match, so only the relevant slice of a country-sized extract is processed.
◆ Where it's heading
Two threads run through every release. One is chasing GDAL — SQL syntax adjusted for 3.10, ogr2ogr options fixed for 3.9, and an `osmconf.ini` that 0.6.0 finally keeps automatically in sync with whatever sf or GDAL provides rather than shipping a snapshot. The other is the road-network extraction added experimentally in 0.3.1, which has been quietly accumulating real routing semantics since: `access = no` links retained when the mode-specific tag permits them, a `oneway` column by default for driving, and `motor_vehicle` always included.
◆ Prediction
Given that `oe_get_network()` has gained transport-mode detail in three separate releases while remaining flagged as experimental, the next substantive work is most likely there — either more modes or a formal exit from experimental status.
webmockr
0.0ANALYTICS
The stubbing library added httr2 support, then spent a year cutting itself free of everything else
◆ Current state
webmockr intercepts HTTP requests in R tests and returns stubbed responses, and since 1.0.0 it covers all three clients that matter — httr, httr2 and crul. The releases through 2025 have been about shedding dependencies: internal R6 classes unexported in 2.1.0, crul demoted from Imports to Suggests in the same release, and the mutual dependency with vcr severed in 2.2.0. The package now installs and runs without pulling in the rest of the rOpenSci HTTP stack.
◆ Where it's heading
Two arcs run in sequence. The first is coverage — multiple queued responses in 0.7.0, basic auth mocking, async through crul, then httr2 — building out what can be stubbed. The second, starting with 2.0.0, is correctness and independence: stubs are now deleted if an error occurs mid-construction rather than lingering half-built, partial matching arrives for bodies and queries, and the dependency graph is pruned release by release. The 2.2.0 split from vcr landed within a minute of crul's release taking mocking control into its own clients.
◆ Prediction
RequestPattern is documented as still exported in 2.1.0 but slated for removal, so the next major release is where that lands. Expect continued dependency pruning rather than new client support — the three clients that exist are already covered.
Alternatives to osmextract and webmockr
Other Analytics products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either osmextract or webmockr.
Tplyr
Tplyr made clinical summary tables explain where every number came from.
rlistings
Clinical listings that keep inheriting their hardest problem — pagination — from the layer below.
hoardr
A cache-directory helper that has shipped nothing but CRAN-triggered patches for seven years.
gigs
gigs redesigned its whole conversion API for rOpenSci, then spent three releases getting the docs to build.
riem
A weather-data client that keeps rewriting its HTTP layer while slowly tightening its API.
See all osmextract alternatives → · See all webmockr alternatives →
Recent activity from osmextract and webmockr
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 4mo agoosmextractDownloads move to a persistent cache outside tempdir ⚡
- 1y agowebmockrvcr dependency severed
- 1y agowebmockrInternal classes unexported; crul becomes an optional dependency
- 1y agoosmextractoe_match gains a version argument for historical extracts
- 1y agowebmockrFailed stub construction cleans up; partial matching extends to bodies and queries
- 1y agoosmextractRouting semantics sharpen for driving and restricted-access links
- 2y agowebmockrhttr2 joins httr and crul as a supported client ⚡
- 2y agoosmextract51 new openstreetmap.fr regions and a GDAL 3.9 fix
- 3y agoosmextractNon-Geofabrik downloads were saved under the wrong filename
- 3y agowebmockrQueued responses, body matching and integer status codes fixed
- 3y agowebmockrRegex URI matching fixed
- 3y agoosmextractHelp files regenerated for valid HTML5
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between osmextract and webmockr?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. osmextract and webmockr are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 0.0 vs 0.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is osmextract better than webmockr?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. osmextract and webmockr are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 0.0 vs 0.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Analytics products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to osmextract?
Top osmextract alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "osmextract alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/osmextract for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to webmockr?
Top webmockr alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "webmockr alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/webmockr for the full list with editorial commentary on each.