GDAL-VECTOR-SORT(1)                  GDAL                  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:

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

              o 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

                                  May 8, 2026              GDAL-VECTOR-SORT(1)