FlatGeobuf

.fgb

Supported

FlatGeobuf is a geospatial data format based on FlatBuffers, designed for efficient geospatial data storage and transmission. It supports spatial indexing (based on Packed Hilbert Curve R-tree) enabling spatial filtering during reads, loading only data for the area of interest. FlatGeobuf is particularly suited for web applications and streaming processing scenarios requiring fast random access to large datasets.

Specifications

Standard: Open Geospatial

MIME: application/octet-stream

Key Features

Built-in spatial index supporting efficient area filtering queries
FlatBuffers-based with zero-copy reads for excellent performance
Supports streaming reads for very large datasets

Advantages

Read performance far exceeds GeoJSON and Shapefile
Single file contains spatial index, no additional index files needed

Limitations

Relatively new ecosystem, tool support not as widespread as traditional formats
Binary format, not human-readable

Common Use Cases

High-performance rendering of large datasets in web maps
Geospatial data streaming and incremental updates

Related Tools

FGB → GEOJSON GEOJSON → FGB