GDAL-VECTOR-SORT(1)

NAME
gdal-vector-sort - Spatially sort a vector dataset

Added in version 3.13.

SYNOPSIS

    Usage: gdal vector sort [OPTIONS] <INPUT> <OUTPUT>
    Spatially order the features in a layer
    Positional arguments:
      -i, --input <INPUT>                                  Input vector datasets [required] [not available in pipelines]
      -o, --output <OUTPUT>                                Output vector dataset [required] [not available in pipelines]
    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 or warning message) [not available in pipelines]
    Options:
      -l, --layer, --input-layer <INPUT-LAYER>             Input layer name(s) [may be repeated] [not available in pipelines]
      -f, --of, --format, --output-format <OUTPUT-FORMAT>  Output format ("GDALG" allowed) [not available in pipelines]
      --co, --creation-option <KEY>=<VALUE>                Creation option [may be repeated] [not available in pipelines]
      --lco, --layer-creation-option <KEY>=<VALUE>         Layer creation option [may be repeated] [not available in pipelines]
      --overwrite                                          Whether overwriting existing output dataset is allowed [not available in pipelines]
      --update                                             Whether to open existing dataset in update mode [not available in pipelines]
      --overwrite-layer                                    Whether overwriting existing output layer is allowed [not available in pipelines]
      --append                                             Whether appending to existing layer is allowed [not available in pipelines]
                                                           Mutually exclusive with --upsert
      --output-layer <OUTPUT-LAYER>                        Output layer name [not available in pipelines]
      --skip-errors                                        Skip errors when writing features [not available in pipelines]
      --geometry-field <GEOMETRY-FIELD>                    Name of geometry field to use in sort
      --method <METHOD>                                    Geometry sorting algorithm. METHOD=hilbert|strtree (default: hilbert)
      --use-tempfile                                       Write features to a temporary file to avoid reading the entire input dataset into memory
    Advanced Options:
      --if, --input-format <INPUT-FORMAT>                  Input formats [may be repeated] [not available in pipelines]
      --oo, --open-option <KEY>=<VALUE>                    Open options [may be repeated] [not available in pipelines]
      --output-oo, --output-open-option <KEY>=<VALUE>      Output open options [may be repeated] [not available in pipelines]
      --upsert                                             Upsert features (implies 'append') [not available in pipelines]
                                                           Mutually exclusive with --append

DESCRIPTION

gdal vector sort sorts the features in a vector dataset according to the position of its geometries. The sorting method can be specified via --method, with Hilbert and Sort-Tile-Recursive (STRTree) algorithms available.

Features that have null or empty geometries will be placed at the end of the sorted dataset.

This command can also be used as a step of gdal vector pipeline.

NOTE: Use of the STRtree algorithm requires a GDAL build against the GEOS library.

PROGRAM-SPECIFIC OPTIONS

--geometry-field <GEOMETRY-FIELD>
    The name of the geometry field by which features should be sorted.

--method <METHOD>
    Specifies the sorting method. Available options are:

•   hilbert : default method. Geometries are sorted according to the Hilbert code of the center point of their bounding box

•   strtree : Geometries are sorted by constructing a sort-tile-recursive tree using the GEOS library and performing a depth-first iteration.

--use-tempfile
    Write the input features to a temporary file from which they can be read in sorted order. Avoids the need to load the entire input layer into memory.

RETURN STATUS CODE

The program returns status code 0 in case of success, and non-zero in case of error (non-blocking errors emitted as warnings are considered as a successful execution).

EXAMPLES

  Example 1: Create a cloud-optimized Shapefile

    $ gdal vector sort in.gpkg out.shp --method hilbert --lco SPATIAL_INDEX=YES

AUTHOR
Dan Baston <dbaston@gmail.com>

COPYRIGHT
1998-2026