From lefsky at gmail.com  Mon Apr 13 07:43:09 2026
From: lefsky at gmail.com (lefsky at gmail.com)
Date: Mon, 13 Apr 2026 11:43:09 -0300
Subject: [pdal] Python API
Message-ID: <CAPryQ-NBrLFGb9A22vfNPyPR0X=xgimwwWuKxvo2bGGDq6_oBg@mail.gmail.com>

I'd like to use the Python API for my work with pdal, but I haven't found a
comprehensive reference for it. Can anyone point me in the correct
direction?

Thanks

Michael


-- 
Michael Lefsky (He/His)
Home Location: HVHF+GH
Cell: 970-980-9036
http://www.researcherid.com/rid/A-7224-2009

*?for being prematurely, and worse, intuitively right ? there?s a heavy
price. But for being wrong ? no, not so long as you?re wrong in a pack."
Gary Brecher / Portis*

*I acknowledge that I live and work on stolen land. This is the land of the
Cheyenne, Arapaho, Ute, and Ocheithi Sakowin people. To learn more about
these nations, please visit;
http://www.utemountainutetribe.com/
http://www.cheyennenation.com/
https://cheyenneandarapaho-nsn.gov/
https://native-land.ca/
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From runette at gmail.com  Mon Apr 13 08:05:56 2026
From: runette at gmail.com (Paul Harwood)
Date: Mon, 13 Apr 2026 16:05:56 +0100
Subject: [pdal] Python API
In-Reply-To: <CAPryQ-NBrLFGb9A22vfNPyPR0X=xgimwwWuKxvo2bGGDq6_oBg@mail.gmail.com>
References: <CAPryQ-NBrLFGb9A22vfNPyPR0X=xgimwwWuKxvo2bGGDq6_oBg@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <CAE8nN5PmH16hh_LuAjwT1fC8RFk2OAXgYE4-HC2pe4c=uGdC8w@mail.gmail.com>

The main and, as far as I know, only reference is the GitHub readme
https://github.com/PDAL/python.

Paul

On Mon, 13 Apr 2026, 15:43 lefsky--- via pdal, <pdal at lists.osgeo.org> wrote:

> I'd like to use the Python API for my work with pdal, but I haven't found
> a comprehensive reference for it. Can anyone point me in the correct
> direction?
>
> Thanks
>
> Michael
>
>
> --
> Michael Lefsky (He/His)
> Home Location: HVHF+GH
> Cell: 970-980-9036
> http://www.researcherid.com/rid/A-7224-2009
>
> *?for being prematurely, and worse, intuitively right ? there?s a heavy
> price. But for being wrong ? no, not so long as you?re wrong in a pack."
> Gary Brecher / Portis*
>
> *I acknowledge that I live and work on stolen land. This is the land of
> the Cheyenne, Arapaho, Ute, and Ocheithi Sakowin people. To learn more
> about these nations, please visit;
> http://www.utemountainutetribe.com/
> http://www.cheyennenation.com/
> https://cheyenneandarapaho-nsn.gov/
> https://native-land.ca/
>
> _______________________________________________
> pdal mailing list
> pdal at lists.osgeo.org
> https://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/pdal
>
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From howard at hobu.co  Mon Apr 13 08:18:08 2026
From: howard at hobu.co (Howard Butler)
Date: Mon, 13 Apr 2026 10:18:08 -0500
Subject: [pdal] Python API
In-Reply-To: <CAE8nN5PmH16hh_LuAjwT1fC8RFk2OAXgYE4-HC2pe4c=uGdC8w@mail.gmail.com>
References: <CAPryQ-NBrLFGb9A22vfNPyPR0X=xgimwwWuKxvo2bGGDq6_oBg@mail.gmail.com>
 <CAE8nN5PmH16hh_LuAjwT1fC8RFk2OAXgYE4-HC2pe4c=uGdC8w@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <2502DB52-908C-4BAF-8703-6B529BA0EA04@hobu.co>

As Paul says, there isn't a comprehensive one. The API surface is quite small, and if you ask your favorite LLM, you're likely to get something that's quite reasonable.

The best examples of specific things are in the tests.

> On Apr 13, 2026, at 10:05?AM, Paul Harwood via pdal <pdal at lists.osgeo.org> wrote:
> 
> The main and, as far as I know, only reference is the GitHub readme https://github.com/PDAL/python.
> 
> Paul 
> 
> On Mon, 13 Apr 2026, 15:43 lefsky--- via pdal, <pdal at lists.osgeo.org <mailto:pdal at lists.osgeo.org>> wrote:
>> I'd like to use the Python API for my work with pdal, but I haven't found a comprehensive reference for it. Can anyone point me in the correct direction? 
>> 
>> Thanks
>> 
>> Michael 
>> 
>> 
>> --
>> Michael Lefsky (He/His) 
>> Home Location: HVHF+GH
>> Cell: 970-980-9036
>> http://www.researcherid.com/rid/A-7224-2009
>> 
>> ?for being prematurely, and worse, intuitively right ? there?s a heavy price. But for being wrong ? no, not so long as you?re wrong in a pack." Gary Brecher / Portis
>> 
>> *I acknowledge that I live and work on stolen land. This is the land of the Cheyenne, Arapaho, Ute, and Ocheithi Sakowin people. To learn more about these nations, please visit;
>> http://www.utemountainutetribe.com/
>> http://www.cheyennenation.com/
>> https://cheyenneandarapaho-nsn.gov/
>> https://native-land.ca/
>> 
>> _______________________________________________
>> pdal mailing list
>> pdal at lists.osgeo.org <mailto:pdal at lists.osgeo.org>
>> https://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/pdal
> _______________________________________________
> pdal mailing list
> pdal at lists.osgeo.org
> https://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/pdal

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From lefsky at gmail.com  Mon Apr 13 09:07:36 2026
From: lefsky at gmail.com (lefsky at gmail.com)
Date: Mon, 13 Apr 2026 13:07:36 -0300
Subject: [pdal] Python API
In-Reply-To: <2502DB52-908C-4BAF-8703-6B529BA0EA04@hobu.co>
References: <CAPryQ-NBrLFGb9A22vfNPyPR0X=xgimwwWuKxvo2bGGDq6_oBg@mail.gmail.com>
 <CAE8nN5PmH16hh_LuAjwT1fC8RFk2OAXgYE4-HC2pe4c=uGdC8w@mail.gmail.com>
 <2502DB52-908C-4BAF-8703-6B529BA0EA04@hobu.co>
Message-ID: <CAPryQ-MpueWF32t89U38s_wEDBWNvSq8MwP4GNHY_feGZ5S+8Q@mail.gmail.com>

Do you anticipate maintaining the API?  (duplicate of github ticker)

Also, I'm a geographer, not a programmer. Is there a way to extract the
information on function and keyword names from the source code?

Thanks Michael

On Mon, Apr 13, 2026 at 12:18?PM Howard Butler <howard at hobu.co> wrote:

> As Paul says, there isn't a comprehensive one. The API surface is quite
> small, and if you ask your favorite LLM, you're likely to get something
> that's quite reasonable.
>
> The best examples of specific things are in the tests.
>
> On Apr 13, 2026, at 10:05?AM, Paul Harwood via pdal <pdal at lists.osgeo.org>
> wrote:
>
> The main and, as far as I know, only reference is the GitHub readme
> https://github.com/PDAL/python.
>
> Paul
>
> On Mon, 13 Apr 2026, 15:43 lefsky--- via pdal, <pdal at lists.osgeo.org>
> wrote:
>
>> I'd like to use the Python API for my work with pdal, but I haven't found
>> a comprehensive reference for it. Can anyone point me in the correct
>> direction?
>>
>> Thanks
>>
>> Michael
>>
>>
>> --
>> Michael Lefsky (He/His)
>> Home Location: HVHF+GH
>> Cell: 970-980-9036
>> http://www.researcherid.com/rid/A-7224-2009
>>
>> *?for being prematurely, and worse, intuitively right ? there?s a heavy
>> price. But for being wrong ? no, not so long as you?re wrong in a pack."
>> Gary Brecher / Portis*
>>
>> *I acknowledge that I live and work on stolen land. This is the land of
>> the Cheyenne, Arapaho, Ute, and Ocheithi Sakowin people. To learn more
>> about these nations, please visit;
>> http://www.utemountainutetribe.com/
>> http://www.cheyennenation.com/
>> https://cheyenneandarapaho-nsn.gov/
>> https://native-land.ca/
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> pdal mailing list
>> pdal at lists.osgeo.org
>> https://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/pdal
>>
> _______________________________________________
> pdal mailing list
> pdal at lists.osgeo.org
> https://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/pdal
>
>
>

-- 
Michael Lefsky (He/His)
Home Location: HVHF+GH
Cell: 970-980-9036
http://www.researcherid.com/rid/A-7224-2009

*?for being prematurely, and worse, intuitively right ? there?s a heavy
price. But for being wrong ? no, not so long as you?re wrong in a pack."
Gary Brecher / Portis*

*I acknowledge that I live and work on stolen land. This is the land of the
Cheyenne, Arapaho, Ute, and Ocheithi Sakowin people. To learn more about
these nations, please visit;
http://www.utemountainutetribe.com/
http://www.cheyennenation.com/
https://cheyenneandarapaho-nsn.gov/
https://native-land.ca/
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From runette at gmail.com  Mon Apr 13 09:54:53 2026
From: runette at gmail.com (Paul Harwood)
Date: Mon, 13 Apr 2026 17:54:53 +0100
Subject: [pdal] Python API
In-Reply-To: <CAPryQ-MpueWF32t89U38s_wEDBWNvSq8MwP4GNHY_feGZ5S+8Q@mail.gmail.com>
References: <CAPryQ-NBrLFGb9A22vfNPyPR0X=xgimwwWuKxvo2bGGDq6_oBg@mail.gmail.com>
 <CAE8nN5PmH16hh_LuAjwT1fC8RFk2OAXgYE4-HC2pe4c=uGdC8w@mail.gmail.com>
 <2502DB52-908C-4BAF-8703-6B529BA0EA04@hobu.co>
 <CAPryQ-MpueWF32t89U38s_wEDBWNvSq8MwP4GNHY_feGZ5S+8Q@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <CAE8nN5MSmRJkZ9R0r-NRxW+apZu5bA6NpWOLBBsGL4ZMuOQXNA@mail.gmail.com>

The Python API is maintained and stable.

The PDAL Python API is relatively small:
- Create a pipeline using stages (pdal.Reader, pdal.Writer, pdal.Filter)
see
https://github.com/PDAL/python?tab=readme-ov-file#programmatic-pipeline-construction
- execute the pipeline (nn.execute)
- get the results using Numpy (nn.arrays)

This requires an understanding of the PDAL Pipeline concept documented here
https://pdal.org/en/2.10.1/pipeline.html AND an understanding of Numpy -
which can be challenging for non-programmers but is extensively documented.
The best solution to the latter is your favourite AI as Howard said.

You can also get the results as a pandas DataFrame
<https://pandas.pydata.org/docs/reference/api/pandas.DataFrame.html>
or a geopandas
GeoDataFrame
<https://geopandas.org/en/stable/docs/reference/api/geopandas.GeoDataFrame.html>and
I notice that these are not documented. We should probably do
something about that!

PM me directly if you want to talk through some of the possibilities ...

On Mon, 13 Apr 2026 at 17:08, lefsky--- via pdal <pdal at lists.osgeo.org>
wrote:

> Do you anticipate maintaining the API?  (duplicate of github ticker)
>
> Also, I'm a geographer, not a programmer. Is there a way to extract the
> information on function and keyword names from the source code?
>
> Thanks Michael
>
> On Mon, Apr 13, 2026 at 12:18?PM Howard Butler <howard at hobu.co> wrote:
>
>> As Paul says, there isn't a comprehensive one. The API surface is quite
>> small, and if you ask your favorite LLM, you're likely to get something
>> that's quite reasonable.
>>
>> The best examples of specific things are in the tests.
>>
>> On Apr 13, 2026, at 10:05?AM, Paul Harwood via pdal <pdal at lists.osgeo.org>
>> wrote:
>>
>> The main and, as far as I know, only reference is the GitHub readme
>> https://github.com/PDAL/python.
>>
>> Paul
>>
>> On Mon, 13 Apr 2026, 15:43 lefsky--- via pdal, <pdal at lists.osgeo.org>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> I'd like to use the Python API for my work with pdal, but I haven't
>>> found a comprehensive reference for it. Can anyone point me in the correct
>>> direction?
>>>
>>> Thanks
>>>
>>> Michael
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Michael Lefsky (He/His)
>>> Home Location: HVHF+GH
>>> Cell: 970-980-9036
>>> http://www.researcherid.com/rid/A-7224-2009
>>>
>>> *?for being prematurely, and worse, intuitively right ? there?s a heavy
>>> price. But for being wrong ? no, not so long as you?re wrong in a pack."
>>> Gary Brecher / Portis*
>>>
>>> *I acknowledge that I live and work on stolen land. This is the land of
>>> the Cheyenne, Arapaho, Ute, and Ocheithi Sakowin people. To learn more
>>> about these nations, please visit;
>>> http://www.utemountainutetribe.com/
>>> http://www.cheyennenation.com/
>>> https://cheyenneandarapaho-nsn.gov/
>>> https://native-land.ca/
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> pdal mailing list
>>> pdal at lists.osgeo.org
>>> https://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/pdal
>>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> pdal mailing list
>> pdal at lists.osgeo.org
>> https://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/pdal
>>
>>
>>
>
> --
> Michael Lefsky (He/His)
> Home Location: HVHF+GH
> Cell: 970-980-9036
> http://www.researcherid.com/rid/A-7224-2009
>
> *?for being prematurely, and worse, intuitively right ? there?s a heavy
> price. But for being wrong ? no, not so long as you?re wrong in a pack."
> Gary Brecher / Portis*
>
> *I acknowledge that I live and work on stolen land. This is the land of
> the Cheyenne, Arapaho, Ute, and Ocheithi Sakowin people. To learn more
> about these nations, please visit;
> http://www.utemountainutetribe.com/
> http://www.cheyennenation.com/
> https://cheyenneandarapaho-nsn.gov/
> https://native-land.ca/
>
> _______________________________________________
> pdal mailing list
> pdal at lists.osgeo.org
> https://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/pdal
>
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