Provided by: gdal-bin_3.12.0+dfsg-1_amd64 
NAME
gdal-vector-explode-collections - Explode geometries of type collection of a vector dataset
Added in version 3.12.
SYNOPSIS
Usage: gdal vector explode-collections [OPTIONS] <INPUT> <OUTPUT>
Explode geometries of type collection of a vector dataset.
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
--active-layer <ACTIVE-LAYER> Set active layer (if not specified, all)
--active-geometry <ACTIVE-GEOMETRY> Geometry field name to which to restrict the processing (if not specified, all)
--geometry-type <GEOMETRY-TYPE> Geometry type
--skip-on-type-mismatch Skip feature when change of feature geometry type failed
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 explode-collections produces one feature for each geometry in any kind of geometry
collection.
For example if a feature contains a geometry MULTIPOINT(1 2,3 4), two corresponding target features will
be generated: one with a geometry POINT(1 2) and another one with geometry POINT(3 4). Note that
collections are not recursively exploded, i.e. GEOMETRYCOLLECTION(GEOMETRYCOLLECTION(POINT (1 2),POINT(3
4)) will be exploded as GEOMETRYCOLLECTION(POINT (1 2),POINT(3 4)).
It can also be used as a step of gdal vector pipeline.
Standard options
-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.
--active-layer <ACTIVE-LAYER>
Set the active layer. When it is specified, only the layer specified by its name will be subject
to the processing. Other layers will be not modified. If this option is not specified, all layers
will be subject to the processing.
--active-geometry <ACTIVE-GEOMETRY>
Set the active geometry field from its name. When it is specified, only the specified geometry
field will be subject to the processing. Other geometry fields will be not modified. If this
option is not specified, all geometry fields will be subject to the processing. This option can
be combined together with --active-layer.
--geometry-type <GEOMETRY-TYPE>
Change the geometry type of exploded geometries to be one of GEOMETRY, POINT, LINESTRING, POLYGON,
CIRCULARSTRING, COMPOUNDCURVE, CURVEPOLYGON, POLYHEDRALSURFACE or TIN. Z, M or ZM suffixes can be
appended to the above values to indicate the dimensionality. The presence of geometries that
cannot be coerced to the specified type will cause an error, unless --skip-on-type-mismatch is
specified.
--skip-on-type-mismatch
Do not generate output features when their target geometry type does not match the one specified
by --geometry-type.
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.
EXAMPLES
Example 1: Only retain parts of geometry collections that are of type Point.
$ gdal vector explode-collections --geometry-type=POINT --skip-on-type-mismatch in.gpkg points.shp --overwrite
AUTHOR
Even Rouault <even.rouault@spatialys.com>
COPYRIGHT
1998-2025
Nov 07, 2025 GDAL-VECTOR-EXPLODE-COLLECTIONS(1)