v.in.pdal(1)

NAME
v.in.pdal - Converts LAS LiDAR point clouds to a GRASS vector map with PDAL.

KEYWORDS
vector, import, LIDAR

SYNOPSIS
v.in.pdal
v.in.pdal --help
v.in.pdal [-wocr] input=name output=name [id_layer=string] [return_layer=string] [class_layer=string] [rgb_layer=string] [spatial=xmin,ymin,xmax,ymax] [zrange=min,max] [return_filter=string] [class_filter=integer[,integer,...]] [input_srs=string] [--overwrite] [--help] [--verbose] [--quiet] [--ui]

  Flags:

-w
    Reproject to projects’s coordinate system if needed
    Reprojects input dataset to the coordinate system of the GRASS project (by default only datasets with the matching coordinate system can be imported

-o
    Override projection check (use current project’s CRS)
    Assume that the dataset has the same coordinate reference system as the current project

-c
    Do not automatically add unique ID as category to each point
    Create only requested layers and categories

-r
    Limit import to the current region

--overwrite
    Allow output files to overwrite existing files

--help
    Print usage summary

--verbose
    Verbose module output

--quiet
    Quiet module output

--ui
    Force launching GUI dialog

  Parameters:

input=name [required]
    LAS input file
    LiDAR input files in LAS format (*.las or *.laz)

output=name [required]
    Name for output vector map

id_layer=string
    Layer number to store generated point ID as category
    Set to 1 by default, use -c to not store it

return_layer=string
    Layer number to store return information as category
    Leave empty to not store it

class_layer=string
    Layer number to store class number as category
    Leave empty to not store it

rgb_layer=string
    Layer number where RBG colors are stored as category
    Leave empty to not store it

spatial=xmin,ymin,xmax,ymax
    Import subregion only
    Format: xmin,ymin,xmax,ymax - usually W,S,E,N

zrange=min,max
    Filter range for z data (min,max)

return_filter=string
    Only import points of selected return type
    If not specified, all points are imported
    Options: first, last, mid

class_filter=integer[,integer,...]
    Only import points of selected class(es)
    Input is comma separated integers. If not specified, all points are imported.

input_srs=string
    Input dataset projection (WKT or EPSG, e.g. EPSG:4326)
    Override input dataset coordinate system using EPSG code or WKT definition

DESCRIPTION

Imports a point cloud (e.g. from a LAS file) as vector points with the PDAL library. v.in.pdal supports the following filters:

    •   2D region filter

    •   Z coordinates filter

    •   return filter

    •   class filter

EXAMPLES
Import only XYZ coordinates of points, limit the import to the current computational region and reproject to the current project’s coordinate reference system during the import:

v.in.pdal input=points.las output=points -c -r -w

REFERENCES

    •   V. Petras, A. Petrasova, J. Jeziorska, H. Mitasova (2016): Processing UAV and lidar point clouds in GRASS GIS. XXIII ISPRS Congress 2016 [ISPRS Archives, ResearchGate]

SEE ALSO
r.in.pdal, g.region, v.vect.stats, v.in.ogr

AUTHOR
Vaclav Petras, NCSU GeoForAll Lab

SOURCE CODE

Available at: v.in.pdal source code (history)

Accessed: Monday May 11 17:55:11 2026

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