What Is Kumoy? Map Sharing for QGIS Users

Introduction

Once you can make maps in QGIS, the next obstacles are sharing and operation.

You want to show a map to people inside and outside your organization, but they do not use QGIS. Data and projects are scattered across individual PCs and shared folders, so nobody knows which version is the latest. Styles and display settings break depending on the environment. The more you use QGIS, the more often these problems come up.

This article introduces Kumoy (pronounced “kumoi”), a cloud service for QGIS users that solves the problems of sharing and jointly managing the maps and projects you create.

What is Kumoy? A cloud service that connects QGIS and the web seamlessly

Kumoy is a cloud service for QGIS that connects QGIS and the web seamlessly.

You can upload maps and data directly from QGIS to the cloud and store them there, and you can view and share the maps you create on the web with the same look they have in QGIS. You can also manage data centrally by organization or project and keep track of access permissions and update status. This extends QGIS from a “personal authoring tool” into a “platform that teams operate together.”

As of March 2026, a beta version is available, and you can try Kumoy's basic features for free.

Kumoy features and what you can do with them

Kumoy's features fall into three main groups.

1. Turn a QGIS map into a web map without changing its look

With Kumoy, you can view maps made in QGIS on the web.

Because you can switch layers and check attributes on the web too, users familiar with QGIS can work just as they normally do. People who have never used QGIS can also browse the map intuitively in a browser, which helps convey what the author intended. The design is easy to read on smartphones as well as PCs, so it also suits checking maps in the field or on the go.

Sharing is simple too: just share the URL to show a map, and you can also limit access to members of your organization. This makes it easy to handle cases where you want internal and external sharing to differ.

2. Upload directly from QGIS to the cloud

Kumoy lets you upload data to the cloud directly from QGIS and sync data stored in the cloud. It supports a wide range of the main vector data formats that QGIS handles, so you can work without thinking about file formats.

Kumoy also stores information such as styles along with the data. When another device or another user opens it, they can keep working and viewing with the same layer structure and appearance. For QGIS users, the real value is fewer do-overs caused by differences between environments, such as “it looks different” or “I can't reproduce the settings.”

3. Manage maps and data centrally across your organization

With Kumoy, you can manage access permissions and members by organization or team on the web. The update status of data is easy to share within the team, which helps prevent editing conflicts. Note that the organization management feature requires a Business plan or higher.

In addition, who edited or added which data, and when, is recorded automatically. Because the history of updates is shared across the whole team, it helps prevent a problem common in QGIS operation: “nobody knows who changed what.”

Potential use cases

Kumoy makes it easier to split roles: the author works in QGIS, which they know well, and viewers check the map intuitively on the web. Even when customers or supervisors need to review and approve a map, which was hard to do with sharing that assumed QGIS itself, you can now present it on the web without printing it or installing QGIS.

Collaborative data management with multiple people

Until now, when several people used QGIS, the common approach was to share a project file and have everyone process data on their own. With Kumoy, members access the project files and related data on the cloud in the same environment, so several people can create and update data smoothly.

You can also set permissions, such as editor or viewer, for each user. This reduces the risk of accidentally overwriting data and lets you set up a workflow in which only the necessary members can update. For example, if you assign permissions by role, such as view-only for field staff and edit access for GIS staff, you can keep review and sharing fast while also safeguarding quality.

Publishing information such as disaster hazard maps and urban plans

You can prepare the information you need, such as assumed flood areas and public facilities, in QGIS and share it in a form that stakeholders can view, without any web development. You can keep the detailed styles you built in QGIS as they are, overlay your own information, and share the result as a map that people can check on a smartphone while they are out.

Sharing analysis results from QGIS

In contracted work, for example, you can upload and share the results of analysis done in QGIS, such as buffers, service areas, and aggregation results, as they are. Even if the client cannot use QGIS, they can check the deliverables on the web. The author updates the data in QGIS and syncs it to the cloud, and the client only has to open the map to see the latest content. Because you can share the deliverable itself, you save the trouble of handing over files and explaining how to reproduce the results.

Conclusion

Kumoy is a cloud service for QGIS users that extends the value of the maps you make in QGIS to sharing and operation. You can view maps on the web with their look preserved, upload directly from QGIS to the cloud, and manage everything centrally by organization or project. All of these are useful wherever QGIS is in continuous use.

If your QGIS production workflow is already established but handing over deliverables and running the team are taking more effort, you should find it easy to feel the benefit of Kumoy. You can use Kumoy's basic features for free, so give it a try.

Data sources

• GSI Tiles
• ©OpenStreetMap contributors
• National Land Numerical Information (Storm Surge Inundation Assumption Area Data, Railway Data, Administrative Area Data, 250 m Mesh Future Population Estimates (2024 estimates by the National Spatial Planning and Regional Policy Bureau)) (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism)
• Urban Planning Decision GIS Data (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism)