readwfs
Read vector features from OGC Web Feature Services (WFS), OGC API Features (OAPIF), and ArcGIS REST endpoints. Returns tibbles with wk geometry columns.
Built on gdalraster.
Installation
# install.packages("pak")
pak::pak("mdsumner/readwfs")Quick start
library(readwfs)
# What services do we know about?
wfs_services()
#> # A tibble: 2 × 7
#> name url driver region description srs notes
#> <chr> <chr> <chr> <chr> <chr> <chr> <chr>
#> 1 LIST Tasmania https://services… WFS Tasma… Cadastral … EPSG… Rich…
#> 2 Esri SampleWorldCities https://samplese… WFS Global Continents… EPSG… Alwa…
# Tasmania LIST open data WFS
url <- wfs_example_url("list_tasmania")
# What layers are there?
wfs_layers(url, version = "2.0.0", srs = "EPSG:28355")
#> [1] "Public_OpenDataWFS:Climate_Futures_Tasmania_-_Scenario_A2"
#> [2] "Public_OpenDataWFS:Climate_Futures_Tasmania_-_Scenario_B1"
#> [3] "Public_OpenDataWFS:Interim_Planning_Scheme_-_Overlays"
#> [4] "Public_OpenDataWFS:Interim_Planning_Scheme_-_Zoning_Boundaries"
#> [5] "Public_OpenDataWFS:Interim_Planning_Scheme_-__Zoning"
#> [6] "Public_OpenDataWFS:LIDAR_Climate_Futures_Index"
#> [7] "Public_OpenDataWFS:LiDAR_Coal_Mines_Port_Arthur_Index"
#> [8] "Public_OpenDataWFS:LiDAR_DPAC_Coastal_Index"
#> [9] "Public_OpenDataWFS:LiDAR_Mt._Wellington_Index"
#> [10] "Public_OpenDataWFS:LIST_Address_Points"
#> [11] "Public_OpenDataWFS:LIST_Authority_Land"
#> [12] "Public_OpenDataWFS:LIST_Boundary_Segments"
#> [13] "Public_OpenDataWFS:LIST_Building_Points"
#> [14] "Public_OpenDataWFS:LIST_Building_Polygons_2D"
#> [15] "Public_OpenDataWFS:LIST_Cadastral_Parcels"
#> [16] "Public_OpenDataWFS:LIST_Coastline__MHWM_"
#> [17] "Public_OpenDataWFS:LIST_Contours_10m"
#> [18] "Public_OpenDataWFS:LIST_Contours_5m"
#> [19] "Public_OpenDataWFS:LIST_Crown_Leases"
#> [20] "Public_OpenDataWFS:LIST_Crown_Licences"
#> [21] "Public_OpenDataWFS:LIST_Easements__not_a_maintained_dataset_"
#> [22] "Public_OpenDataWFS:LIST_Electoral_Divisions"
#> [23] "Public_OpenDataWFS:LIST_Hydrographic_Areas"
#> [24] "Public_OpenDataWFS:LIST_Hydrographic_Lines"
#> [25] "Public_OpenDataWFS:LIST_Hydrographic_Points"
#> [26] "Public_OpenDataWFS:LIST_Land_Districts"
#> [27] "Public_OpenDataWFS:LIST_Land_Tenure"
#> [28] "Public_OpenDataWFS:LIST_Legislative_Council_Divisions"
#> [29] "Public_OpenDataWFS:LIST_Local_Government_Areas"
#> [30] "Public_OpenDataWFS:LIST_Local_Government_Reserves"
#> [31] "Public_OpenDataWFS:LIST_Locality_and_Postcode_Areas"
#> [32] "Public_OpenDataWFS:LIST_Marine_Leases"
#> [33] "Public_OpenDataWFS:LIST_Marine_Nature_Reserves"
#> [34] "Public_OpenDataWFS:LIST_Named_Feature_Extents"
#> [35] "Public_OpenDataWFS:LIST_Nomenclature"
#> [36] "Public_OpenDataWFS:LIST_Parish_and_Town_Boundaries"
#> [37] "Public_OpenDataWFS:LIST_Points_of_Interest"
#> [38] "Public_OpenDataWFS:LIST_Private_Reserves"
#> [39] "Public_OpenDataWFS:LIST_Public_Land_Classification"
#> [40] "Public_OpenDataWFS:LIST_Ramsar_Wetlands"
#> [41] "Public_OpenDataWFS:LIST_Survey_Control"
#> [42] "Public_OpenDataWFS:LIST_Transport_Nodes"
#> [43] "Public_OpenDataWFS:LIST_Transport_Segments"
#> [44] "Public_OpenDataWFS:LIST_Water_Districts"
#> [45] "Public_OpenDataWFS:LIST_Water_Management_Areas"
#> [46] "Public_OpenDataWFS:Land_Tasmania_Aerial_Photography_Centres"
#> [47] "Public_OpenDataWFS:Land_Tasmania_Aerial_Photography_Coverages"
#> [48] "Public_OpenDataWFS:TASMAP_1_to_100000_Map_Index"
#> [49] "Public_OpenDataWFS:TASMAP_1_to_25000_Map_Index"
#> [50] "Public_OpenDataWFS:TASMAP_1_to_250000_Map_Index"
#> [51] "Public_OpenDataWFS:TASMAP_1_to_5000_Orthophoto_Index"
#> [52] "Public_OpenDataWFS:TASMAP_1_to_50000_Map_Index"
#> [53] "Public_OpenDataWFS:TASMAP_Towns_Street_Atlas_Page_Index__v8_"
#> [54] "Public_OpenDataWFS:LIST_Water_Management_Plan_Areas"
#> [55] "Public_OpenDataWFS:TASVEG_3.0"
#> [56] "Public_OpenDataWFS:TASVEG_4.0"
# Find specific layers
wfs_find_layers(url, "CADASTRAL|TASVEG")
#> [1] "Public_OpenDataWFS:LIST_Cadastral_Parcels"
#> [2] "Public_OpenDataWFS:TASVEG_3.0"
#> [3] "Public_OpenDataWFS:TASVEG_4.0"
# Inspect before downloading
wfs_fields(url, "Public_OpenDataWFS:LIST_CADASTRAL_PARCELS",
version = "2.0.0", srs = "EPSG:28355")
#> # A tibble: 16 × 7
#> name type subtype width precision is_nullable is_unique
#> <chr> <chr> <chr> <int> <int> <lgl> <lgl>
#> 1 gml_id OFTString OFSTNone 0 0 FALSE FALSE
#> 2 OBJECTID OFTInteger OFSTNone 0 0 TRUE FALSE
#> 3 CID OFTInteger OFSTNone 0 0 TRUE FALSE
#> 4 VOLUME OFTString OFSTNone 8 0 TRUE FALSE
#> 5 FOLIO OFTInteger OFSTInt16 0 0 TRUE FALSE
#> 6 PID OFTInteger OFSTNone 0 0 TRUE FALSE
#> 7 POT_PID OFTInteger OFSTNone 0 0 TRUE FALSE
#> 8 LPI OFTString OFSTNone 7 0 TRUE FALSE
#> 9 CAD_TYPE1 OFTString OFSTNone 60 0 TRUE FALSE
#> 10 CAD_TYPE2 OFTString OFSTNone 60 0 TRUE FALSE
#> 11 TENURE_TY OFTString OFSTNone 60 0 TRUE FALSE
#> 12 FEAT_NAME OFTString OFSTNone 60 0 TRUE FALSE
#> 13 STRATA_LEV OFTString OFSTNone 60 0 TRUE FALSE
#> 14 COMP_AREA OFTReal OFSTNone 0 0 TRUE FALSE
#> 15 MEAS_AREA OFTReal OFSTNone 0 0 TRUE FALSE
#> 16 UFI OFTString OFSTNone 12 0 TRUE FALSE
# Read features
parcels <- wfs_read(
url,
layer = "Public_OpenDataWFS:LIST_CADASTRAL_PARCELS",
bbox = wfs_example_bbox("sandy_bay"),
srs = "EPSG:28355", max_features = 1400
)
#> Reading 'Public_OpenDataWFS:LIST_CADASTRAL_PARCELS': 464 features available, geometry column 'SHAPE'
#> 498 features returned
parcels
#> # A tibble: 498 × 18
#> FID gml_id OBJECTID CID VOLUME FOLIO PID POT_PID LPI CAD_TYPE1
#> <int64> <chr> <int> <int> <chr> <int> <int> <int> <chr> <chr>
#> 1 2688 LIST_C… 2688 1104474 59944 4 5677504 0 GRF64 Private …
#> 2 2877 LIST_C… 2877 1023836 128641 1 1816976 0 FMR21 Private …
#> 3 3425 LIST_C… 3425 1145853 126957 1 3273346 0 FJA84 Authorit…
#> 4 4682 LIST_C… 4682 1023837 128641 2 1816984 0 FMR21 Private …
#> 5 6102 LIST_C… 6102 1249716 252507 1 7570663 0 FAC83 Private …
#> 6 6287 LIST_C… 6287 1023828 127656 3 1789939 0 FBF18 Private …
#> 7 6395 LIST_C… 6395 1502061 173638 1 9165211 0 GAV70 Private …
#> 8 8685 LIST_C… 8685 1407763 231575 1 0 0 <NA> Casement
#> 9 10819 LIST_C… 10819 1334013 152956 1 2818818 0 GDH05 Private …
#> 10 11600 LIST_C… 11600 1091759 58505 2 5677731 0 HSF79 Private …
#> # ℹ 488 more rows
#> # ℹ 8 more variables: CAD_TYPE2 <chr>, TENURE_TY <chr>, FEAT_NAME <chr>,
#> # STRATA_LEV <chr>, COMP_AREA <dbl>, MEAS_AREA <dbl>, UFI <chr>,
#> # geometry <wk_wkb>
wk::wk_plot(parcels$geometry)
Service type auto-detection
readwfs detects the service type from the URL pattern:
| URL pattern | GDAL driver | Example |
|---|---|---|
WFSServer, service=WFS
|
WFS | Tasmania LIST, Esri SampleWorldCities |
arcgis/rest/…/MapServer, FeatureServer
|
ESRIJSON | ArcGIS REST services |
/collections, ogc/features
|
OAPIF | OGC API Features |
Or set driver explicitly: wfs_read(url, layer, driver = "ESRIJSON").
Exported functions
| Function | Purpose |
|---|---|
wfs_services() |
Catalogue of known public endpoints |
wfs_layers() |
List all layers on a service |
wfs_find_layers() |
Search layers by regex pattern |
wfs_layer_info() |
Geometry type, extent, feature count |
wfs_fields() |
Attribute schema for a layer |
wfs_read() |
Fetch features → tibble + wk geometry |
wfs_example_url() |
Pre-configured example URLs |
wfs_example_bbox() |
Pre-configured bounding boxes |
Design
- gdalraster for all I/O — no sf or terra required
- wk vectors for geometry interchange
- tibble for tabular output (unclassed, no sticky geometry)
- geos for spatial operations (suggested, not required)
Contributing example services
If you find a good public WFS / OAPIF / ArcGIS REST endpoint, open an issue. Good candidates are: no authentication required, reasonably fast, interesting data, and ideally from a different part of the world than existing examples.
Code of Conduct
Please note that the readwfs project is released with a Contributor Code of Conduct. By contributing to this project, you agree to abide by its terms.
