GeoPackage (GPKG)
Open BetaGeoPackage is a modern OGC format for storing geodata in a single SQLite-based file. A replacement for the legacy Shapefile, supporting vector and raster layers in one container.
Key Features
About GeoPackage Format
GeoPackage is an OGC standard adopted in 2014. Under the hood it is an ordinary SQLite database in which layers, geometry and metadata are laid out by the standard's rules. A single .gpkg file can hold any number of vector layers, rasters, styles and tables without geometry.
It was devised as the replacement for the shapefile, and it cured all of its ailments: field names of any length, UTF-8 with no tricks, no set of companion files that must never be separated, and no two-gigabyte limit. Today GeoPackage is the default format in QGIS and the standard exchange unit in many organizations.
Each map layer becomes a separate table with its own OpenStreetMap attributes and a spatial index that is built automatically. Coordinates are WGS84 (EPSG:4326). All of it in one file: convenient to send, to put in the cloud or to take with you into the field.
You can also work with it as a database: a .gpkg opens in any SQLite client, and ordinary SQL queries apply to the layers.
What Program Opens GeoPackage Files
The following programs and applications can open, edit, and work with GeoPackage (GPKG) (.gpkg) files exported from OSM2CDR:
Format specifications
- Open standard
- 3D coordinates supported
- Lossless (no quality loss)
- Stores feature attributes
- Output: 1 file
- OGC GeoPackage (SQLite). Single .gpkg file contains all layers. Direct import in QGIS 3.x, ArcGIS Pro, GDAL/OGR.
Who Uses GeoPackage Maps
How to Export GeoPackage
How to Open After Export
- QGIS (free) — drag the .gpkg into the program window; a list of layers appears, tick the ones you need. Edits are saved right into that same file.
- ArcGIS Pro — Add Data, choose the .gpkg: the feature classes connect as if from a geodatabase.
- ogr2ogr — ogrinfo -so map.gpkg shows the list of layers, and ogr2ogr -f PostgreSQL PG:"..." map.gpkg loads them all into PostGIS in one command.
- Python — geopandas.read_file("map.gpkg", layer="roads"); the list of layers comes from fiona.listlayers.
- Field apps — QField, Mergin Maps and the like take a .gpkg as an offline source: one file on the phone, and the map works with no network.
Popular maps in GeoPackage
Get GeoPackage (GPKG) map exports
Download professional GeoPackage maps from OpenStreetMap. Instant generation, any area.
Frequently Asked Questions
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