How-To Guides

Concrete, step-by-step solutions for the most common Python GIS tasks — from loading data to producing analysis outputs.

These guides are built around specific, real-world tasks. Each one starts with a clear problem statement, gives you a quick working answer, and then walks through a complete solution with code you can copy and adapt.

Tasks range from the everyday — reading a shapefile, reprojecting layers, filtering by attribute — to more complex operations like spatial joins, buffer analysis, fishnet grids, and connecting GeoPandas directly to PostGIS.

Every guide is self-contained. You don't need to read them in order. Search for the task you need, follow the steps, and get back to your work.

27 How-To guides
8 Foundation guides
8 Troubleshooting guides

What you can do

Read shapefiles & GeoJSON Spatial joins Buffer analysis Clip & dissolve Choropleth maps Raster extraction Points to lines PostGIS connection Batch processing Interactive Folium maps Fishnet grids Automate GIS workflows

Popular guides

The most commonly needed GIS tasks in Python, each with a full step-by-step walkthrough.

All how-to guides

27 guides covering the full range of everyday Python GIS tasks.

Running into errors?

If something's not working — a CRS mismatch, an installation failure, a spatial join returning empty results — the troubleshooting guides have targeted fixes.

Browse Troubleshooting 🔧 Review Foundations 🧭