Explode Lines

Draft: written, not yet checked by a person Operation · explode-lines

Splits each line into its individual segments, one feature per pair of consecutive vertices.

Pitfall. Curved geometries are segmentized first, so one arc becomes many segments.

About this operation
Also called	Split Line At Vertices, line segments, dump segments, split lines into segments
Group	`vector/geometry`
Checks	`geometry.valid`
Pitfalls	1 listed above
Columbus tool	Not stated
Notes	Not stated
Status	active
Broader	Not stated
Narrower	Not stated
Related	`extract-vertices` `densify` `multipart-to-singlepart`

Parameters

Not stated

Direction	Name	Type	Geometry	Note
Input	`layer`	vector	line	Not stated
Output	`output`	vector	line	Not stated

Engine	Tool	Parameters	Differences
`apache-sedona`	`sedona.sql.ST_LineSegments`	`layer` → `geom`	Returns an array of two-point lines; lenient returns an empty array instead of failing on other geometry types. A Spark SQL function: arguments are columns or column names, run over a Spark DataFrame.
`grass`	`v.split`	`layer` → `input` `output` → `output`	v.split cuts lines into pieces; this mapping sets vertices = 2, so every piece is one segment. Preset: `{"vertices":2}`
`postgis`	`st_dumpsegments`	`layer` → `#1`	Returns rows of (path, geom), one per segment.
`qgis`	`native:explodelines`	`layer` → `INPUT` `output` → `OUTPUT`	None noted
`turf-js`	`turf.lineSegment`	`layer` → `geojson`	Turf works on GeoJSON in longitude/latitude (WGS 84); data in another CRS must be reprojected first.