
geospatial-data-pipeline
Process, analyze, and visualize geospatial data at scale. Handles drone imagery, GPS tracks, GeoJSON optimization, coordinate transformations, and tile generation. Use for mapping apps, drone data processing, location-based services. Activate on "geospatial", "GIS", "PostGIS", "GeoJSON", "map tiles", "coordinate systems". NOT for simple address validation, basic distance calculations, or static map embeds.
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Install
Works with every agent the skills CLI supports.
npx skills add https://github.com/curiositech/some_claude_skills --skill geospatial-data-pipeline- 01
Install
Run the command in your project. The CLI asks which agents to install for.
- 02
Describe the task
Ask your agent for something this skill covers. It loads geospatial-data-pipeline automatically when relevant.
- 03
Review the result
The agent follows the SKILL.md steps, scripts and references bundled with the skill.
SKILL.md
The instructions your agent reads when the skill is triggered.
Geospatial Data Pipeline
Expert in processing, optimizing, and visualizing geospatial data at scale.
When to Use
✅ Use for:
- Drone imagery processing and annotation
- GPS track analysis and visualization
- Location-based search (find nearby X)
- Map tile generation for web/mobile
- Coordinate system transformations
- Geofencing and spatial queries
- GeoJSON optimization for web
❌ NOT for:
- Simple address validation (use address APIs)
- Basic distance calculations (use Haversine formula)
- Static map embeds (use Mapbox Static API)
- Geocoding (use Nominatim or Google Geocoding API)
Technology Selection
Database: PostGIS vs MongoDB Geospatial
| Feature | PostGIS | MongoDB |
|---|---|---|
| Spatial indexes | GiST, SP-GiST | 2dsphere |
| Query language | SQL + spatial functions | Aggregation pipeline |
| Geometry types | 20+ (full OGC support) | Basic (Point, Line, Polygon) |
| Coordinate systems | 6000+ via EPSG | WGS84 only |
| Performance (10M points) | <100ms | <200ms |
| Best for | Complex spatial analysis | Document-centric apps |
Timeline:
- 2005: PostGIS 1.0 released
- 2012: MongoDB adds geospatial indexes
- 2020: PostGIS 3.0 with improved performance
- 2024: PostGIS remains gold standard for GIS workloads
Common Anti-Patterns
Anti-Pattern 1: Storing Coordinates as Strings
Novice thinking: "I'll just store lat/lon as text, it's simple"
Problem: Can't use spatial indexes, queries are slow, no validation.
Wrong approach:
// ❌ String storage, no spatial features
interface Location {
id: string;
name: string;
latitude: string; // "37.7749"
longitude: string; // "-122.4194"
}
// Linear scan for "nearby" queries
async function findNearby(lat: string, lon: string): Promise<Location[]> {
const all = await db.locations.findAll();
return all.filter(loc => {
const distance = calculateDistance(
parseFloat(lat),
parseFloat(lon),
parseFloat(loc.latitude),
parseFloat(loc.longitude)
);
return distance < 5000; // 5km
});
}
Why wrong: O(N) linear scan, no spatial index, string parsing overhead.
Correct approach:
// ✅ PostGIS GEOGRAPHY type with spatial index
CREATE TABLE locations (
id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
name VARCHAR(255),
location GEOGRAPHY(POINT, 4326) -- WGS84 coordinates
);
-- Spatial index (GiST)
CREATE INDEX idx_locations_geography ON locations USING GIST(location);
-- TypeScript query
async function findNearby(lat: number, lon: number, radiusMeters: number): Promise<Location[]> {
const query = `
SELECT id, name, ST_AsGeoJSON(location) as geojson
FROM locations
WHERE ST_DWithin(
location,
ST_SetSRID(ST_MakePoint($1, $2), 4326)::geography,
$3
)
ORDER BY location <-> ST_SetSRID(ST_MakePoint($1, $2), 4326)::geography
LIMIT 100
`;
return db.query(query, [lon, lat, radiusMeters]); // <10ms with index
}
Timeline context:
- 2000s: Stored lat/lon as FLOAT columns, did math in app code
- 2010s: PostGIS adoption, spatial indexes
- 2024:
GEOGRAPHYtype handles Earth curvature automatically
Anti-Pattern 2: Not Using Spatial Indexes
Problem: Proximity queries do full table scans.
Wrong approach:
-- ❌ No index, sequential scan
CREATE TABLE drone_images (
id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
image_url VARCHAR(255),
location GEOGRAPHY(POINT, 4326)
);
-- This query scans ALL rows
SELECT * FROM drone_images
WHERE ST_DWithin(
location,
ST_SetSRID(ST_MakePoint(-122.4194, 37.7749), 4326)::geography,
1000 -- 1km
);
EXPLAIN output: Seq Scan on drone_images (cost=0.00..1234.56 rows=1 width=123)
Correct approach:
-- ✅ GiST index for spatial queries
CREATE INDEX idx_drone_images_location ON drone_images USING GIST(location);
-- Same query, now uses index
SELECT * FROM drone_images
WHERE ST_DWithin(
location,
ST_SetSRID(ST_MakePoint(-122.4194, 37.7749), 4326)::geography,
1000
);
EXPLAIN output: Bitmap Index Scan on idx_drone_images_location (cost=4.30..78.30 rows=50 width=123)
Performance impact: 10M points, 5km radius query
- Without index: 3.2 seconds (full scan)
- With GiST index: 12ms (99.6% faster)
Anti-Pattern 3: Mixing Coordinate Systems
Novice thinking: "Coordinates are just numbers, I can mix them"
Problem: Incorrect distances, misaligned map features.
Wrong approach:
// ❌ Mixing EPSG:4326 (WGS84) and EPSG:3857 (Web Mercator)
const userLocation = {
lat: 37.7749, // WGS84
lon: -122.4194
};
const droneImage = {
x: -13634876, // Web Mercator (EPSG:3857)
y: 4545684
};
// Comparing apples to oranges!
const distance = Math.sqrt(
Math.pow(userLocation.lon - droneImage.x, 2) +
Math.pow(userLocation.lat - droneImage.y, 2)
);
Result: Wildly incorrect distance (millions of "units").
Correct approach:
-- ✅ Transform to common coordinate system
SELECT ST_Distance(
ST_Transform(
ST_SetSRID(ST_MakePoint(-122.4194, 37.7749), 4326), -- WGS84
3857 -- Transform to Web Mercator
),
ST_SetSRID(ST_MakePoint(-13634876, 4545684), 3857) -- Already Web Mercator
) AS distance_meters;
Or better: Always store in one system (WGS84), transform on display only.
Timeline:
- 2005: Web Mercator (EPSG:3857) introduced by Google Maps
- 2010: Confusion peaks as apps mix WGS84 data with Web Mercator tiles
- 2024: Best practice: Store WGS84, transform to 3857 only for tile rendering
Anti-Pattern 4: Loading Huge GeoJSON Files
Problem: 50MB GeoJSON file crashes browser.
Wrong approach:
// ❌ Load entire file into memory
const geoJson = await fetch('/drone-survey-data.geojson').then(r => r.json());
// 50MB of GeoJSON = browser freeze
map.addSource('drone-data', {
type: 'geojson',
data: geoJson // All 10,000 polygons loaded at once
});
Correct approach 1: Vector tiles (pre-chunked)
// ✅ Serve as vector tiles (MBTiles or PMTiles)
map.addSource('drone-data', {
type: 'vector',
tiles: ['https://api.example.com/tiles/{z}/{x}/{y}.pbf'],
minzoom: 10,
maxzoom: 18
});
// Browser only loads visible tiles
Correct approach 2: GeoJSON simplification + chunking
# Simplify geometry (reduce points)
npm install -g @mapbox/geojson-precision
geojson-precision -p 5 input.geojson output.geojson
# Split into tiles
npm install -g geojson-vt
# Generate tiles programmatically (see scripts/tile_generator.ts)
Correct approach 3: Server-side filtering
// ✅ Only fetch visible bounds
async function fetchVisibleFeatures(bounds: Bounds): Promise<GeoJSON> {
const response = await fetch(
`/api/features?bbox=${bounds.west},${bounds.south},${bounds.east},${bounds.north}`
);
return response.json();
}
map.on('moveend', async () => {
const bounds = map.getBounds();
const geojson = await fetchVisibleFeatures(bounds);
map.getSource('dynamic-data').setData(geojson);
});
Anti-Pattern 5: Euclidean Distance on Spherical Earth
Novice thinking: "Distance is just Pythagorean theorem"
Problem: Incorrect at scale, worse near poles.
Wrong approach:
// ❌ Flat Earth distance (wrong!)
function distanceKm(lat1: number, lon1: number, lat2: number, lon2: number): number {
const dx = lon2 - lon1;
const dy = lat2 - lat1;
return Math.sqrt(dx * dx + dy * dy) * 111.32; // 111.32 km/degree (WRONG)
}
// Example: San Francisco to New York
const distance = distanceKm(37.7749, -122.4194, 40.7128, -74.0060);
// Returns: ~55 km (WRONG! Actual: ~4,130 km)
Why wrong: Earth is a sphere, not a flat plane.
Correct approach 1: Haversine formula (great circle distance)
// ✅ Haversine formula (spherical Earth)
function haversineKm(lat1: number, lon1: number, lat2: number, lon2: number): number {
const R = 6371; // Earth radius in km
const dLat = toRadians(lat2 - lat1);
const dLon = toRadians(lon2 - lon1);
const a =
Math.sin(dLat / 2) * Math.sin(dLat / 2) +
Math.cos(toRadians(lat1)) * Math.cos(toRadians(lat2)) *
Math.sin(dLon / 2) * Math.sin(dLon / 2);
const c = 2 * Math.atan2(Math.sqrt(a), Math.sqrt(1 - a));
return R * c;
}
// San Francisco to New York
const distance = haversineKm(37.7749, -122.4194, 40.7128, -74.0060);
// Returns: ~4,130 km ✅
Correct approach 2: PostGIS (handles curvature automatically)
-- ✅ PostGIS ST_Distance with GEOGRAPHY
SELECT ST_Distance(
ST_SetSRID(ST_MakePoint(-122.4194, 37.7749), 4326)::geography,
ST_SetSRID(ST_MakePoint(-74.0060, 40.7128), 4326)::geography
) / 1000 AS distance_km;
-- Returns: 4130.137 km ✅
Accuracy comparison:
| Method | SF to NYC | Error |
|---|---|---|
| Euclidean (flat) | 55 km | 98.7% wrong |
| Haversine (sphere) | 4,130 km | ✅ Correct |
| PostGIS (ellipsoid) | 4,135 km | Most accurate |
Production Checklist
□ PostGIS extension installed and spatial indexes created
□ All coordinates stored in consistent SRID (recommend: 4326)
□ GeoJSON files optimized (<1MB) or served as vector tiles
□ Coordinate transformations use ST_Transform, not manual math
□ Distance calculations use ST_Distance with GEOGRAPHY type
□ Bounding box queries use ST_MakeEnvelope + ST_Intersects
□ Large geometries chunked (not >100KB per feature)
□ Map tiles pre-generated for common zoom levels
□ CORS configured for tile servers
□ Rate limiting on geocoding/reverse geocoding endpoints
When to Use vs Avoid
| Scenario | Appropriate? |
|---|---|
| Drone imagery annotation and search | ✅ Yes - process survey data |
| GPS track visualization | ✅ Yes - optimize paths |
| Find nearest coffee shops | ✅ Yes - spatial queries |
| Jurisdiction boundary lookups | ✅ Yes - point-in-polygon |
| Simple address autocomplete | ❌ No - use Mapbox/Google |
| Embed static map on page | ❌ No - use Static API |
| Geocode single address | ❌ No - use geocoding API |
References
/references/coordinate-systems.md- EPSG codes, transformations, Web Mercator vs WGS84/references/postgis-guide.md- PostGIS setup, spatial indexes, common queries/references/geojson-optimization.md- Simplification, chunking, vector tiles
Scripts
scripts/geospatial_processor.ts- Process drone imagery, GPS tracks, GeoJSON validationscripts/tile_generator.ts- Generate vector tiles (MBTiles/PMTiles) from GeoJSON
This skill guides: Geospatial data | PostGIS | GeoJSON | Map tiles | Coordinate systems | Drone data processing | Spatial queries
FAQ
What does the geospatial-data-pipeline skill do?
Process, analyze, and visualize geospatial data at scale. Handles drone imagery, GPS tracks, GeoJSON optimization, coordinate transformations, and tile generation. Use for mapping apps, drone data processing, location-based services. Activate on "geospatial", "GIS", "PostGIS", "GeoJSON", "map tiles", "coordinate systems". NOT for simple address validation, basic distance calculations, or static map embeds.
How do I install geospatial-data-pipeline?
Run npx skills add https://github.com/curiositech/some_claude_skills --skill geospatial-data-pipeline in your project. The skills CLI detects the agents you use and copies the skill into the right folder. For Claude Code you can also place the skill folder at ~/.claude/skills/geospatial-data-pipeline/ (personal) or .claude/skills/geospatial-data-pipeline/ (project).
Which AI agents can use geospatial-data-pipeline?
Any agent that supports the open Agent Skills format (a folder with a SKILL.md file), including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, Cline, OpenCode and more.
Is geospatial-data-pipeline safe to install?
No partner security audit is available yet. Skills can run commands and scripts, so read the SKILL.md and any bundled files before installing.
Who maintains geospatial-data-pipeline?
It is published by curiositech in curiositech/some_claude_skills. It has 345 recorded installs.
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