NAME

       gdal-vector-check-coverage - Check polygon coverage for validity

       Added in version 3.12.

SYNOPSIS

          Usage: gdal vector check-coverage [OPTIONS] <INPUT> <OUTPUT>

          Check a polygon coverage for validity

          Positional arguments:
            -i, --input <INPUT>                                  Input vector datasets [required]
            -o, --output <OUTPUT>                                Output vector dataset [required]

          Common Options:
            -h, --help                                           Display help message and exit
            --json-usage                                         Display usage as JSON document and exit
            --config <KEY>=<VALUE>                               Configuration option [may be repeated]
            -q, --quiet                                          Quiet mode (no progress bar)

          Options:
            -l, --layer, --input-layer <INPUT-LAYER>             Input layer name(s) [may be repeated]
            -f, --of, --format, --output-format <OUTPUT-FORMAT>  Output format ("GDALG" allowed)
            --co, --creation-option <KEY>=<VALUE>                Creation option [may be repeated]
            --lco, --layer-creation-option <KEY>=<VALUE>         Layer creation option [may be repeated]
            --overwrite                                          Whether overwriting existing output is allowed
            --update                                             Whether to open existing dataset in update mode
            --overwrite-layer                                    Whether overwriting existing output is allowed
            --append                                             Whether appending to existing layer is allowed
                                                                 Mutually exclusive with --upsert
            --output-layer <OUTPUT-LAYER>                        Output layer name
            --skip-errors                                        Skip errors when writing features
            --include-valid                                      Include valid inputs in output, with empty geometry
            --geometry-field <GEOMETRY-FIELD>                    Name of geometry field to check
            --maximum-gap-width <MAXIMUM-GAP-WIDTH>              Maximum width of a gap to be flagged

          Advanced Options:
            --if, --input-format <INPUT-FORMAT>                  Input formats [may be repeated]
            --oo, --open-option <KEY>=<VALUE>                    Open options [may be repeated]
            --output-oo, --output-open-option <KEY>=<VALUE>      Output open options [may be repeated]
            --upsert                                             Upsert features (implies 'append')
                                                                 Mutually exclusive with --append

DESCRIPTION

       gdal vector check-coverage checks whether a polygon dataset forms a valid coverage, meaning:

       • no polygons overlap

       • all shared edges have nodes at the same locations

       • any gaps between polygons are larger than a specified width

       For each polygon not satisfying these criteria, a linear feature with the geometry of the invalid edge is
       output.  If the coverage is valid, the output dataset will be empty unless --include-valid is used.

       It  is  assumed  that  the  individual polygons are themselves valid according to the OGC Simple Features
       standard. This can be checked by gdal vector check-geometry.

       NOTE:
          This command requires a GDAL build against the GEOS library (version 3.12 or greater).

   Standard options
       --geometry-field
              Specify the name of the geometry field to test, for layers having  multiple  geometry  fields.  By
              default the first geometry field will be used.

       --include-valid
              Include  features for valid geometries in the output, maintaining 1:1 correspondence between input
              and output features.

       --maximum-gap-width <MAXIMUM-GAP-WIDTH>
              Defines the largest area that should be considered a gap.

       -f, --of, --format, --output-format <OUTPUT-FORMAT>
              Which output vector format to use. Allowed values may be given by gdal --formats | grep  vector  |
              grep rw | sort

       --co <NAME>=<VALUE>
              Many  formats  have  one  or  more  optional  dataset creation options that can be used to control
              particulars about the file created. For instance, the GeoPackage driver supports creation  options
              to control the version.

              May be repeated.

              The  dataset  creation  options  available  vary by format driver, and some simple formats have no
              creation options at all. A list of options supported for a format can be listed with the --formats
              command line option but the documentation for the format is the definitive source  of  information
              on  driver  creation options.  See Vector drivers format specific documentation for legal creation
              options for each format.

              Note that dataset creation options are different from layer creation options.

       -lco <NAME>=<VALUE>
              Layer creation option (format specific)

       --overwrite
              Allow program to overwrite existing target file or dataset.  Otherwise, by  default,  gdal  errors
              out if the target file or dataset already exists.

   Advanced options
       --oo <NAME>=<VALUE>
              Dataset open option (format specific).

              May be repeated.

       --if <format>
              Format/driver  name  to  be  attempted to open the input file(s). It is generally not necessary to
              specify it, but it can be used to skip automatic driver detection, when it  fails  to  select  the
              appropriate  driver.   This  option  can  be  repeated  several times to specify several candidate
              drivers.  Note that it does not force those drivers to  open  the  dataset.  In  particular,  some
              drivers have requirements on file extensions.

              May be repeated.

GDALG OUTPUT (ON-THE-FLY / STREAMED DATASET)

       This  program  supports  serializing  the command line as a JSON file using the GDALG output format.  The
       resulting file can then be opened as a vector dataset using the GDALG: GDAL  Streamed  Algorithm  driver,
       and apply the specified pipeline in a on-the-fly / streamed way.

       NOTE:
          However  this  algorithm  is  not  natively  streaming  compatible. Consequently a in-memory temporary
          dataset will be generated, which may cause significant processing time at opening.

AUTHOR

       Dan Baston <dbaston@gmail.com>

COPYRIGHT

       1998-2025

                                                  Nov 07, 2025                     GDAL-VECTOR-CHECK-COVERAGE(1)