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R package to read and write .las and .laz binary files used to store LiDAR data.

This package is used by the lidR package and is not intended to be used by regular users. Everything you need is in the lidR package with a high-level front end. Only package developers who would like to build something new from a low-level API might be interested in rlas.

rlas relies on a modified version of LASlib and LASzip that were modified to be compatible with R. The library can therefore be compiled into R without any complaints from R CMD check. It enables R users to read and write binary files commonly used to store LiDAR data. LAS/LAZ version 1.0 to 1.4 are supported.

library(rlas)
lasdata   <- read.las("<myfile.las>")
lasheader <- read.lasheader("<myfile.las>")

Copyright Information

rlas contains code written by both Jean-Romain Roussel and Martin Isenburg. The latter is included for technical reasons. Details below.

  • For LASlib and LASzip:
  • For rlas code enabling Martin Isenburg's code to be wrapped into R:
    • (c) 2016-2021 Jean-Romain Roussel
    • Provided under GPL-3 license.

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Version

Install

install.packages('rlas')

Monthly Downloads

3,934

Version

1.8.4

License

GPL-3

Issues

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Maintainer

Jean-Romain Roussel

Last Published

January 29th, 2026

Functions in rlas (1.8.4)

read.las

Read data from a .las or .laz file
read.lasheader

Read header from a .las or .laz file
public_header_block_tools

Public Header Block Tools
extra_bytes_attribute_tools

Extra Bytes Attributes Tools
crs_tools

Coordinate Reference System Tools
help_filter

LASlib filter and transform operation
compression

ALTREP utilities
fwf_interpreter

Full Waveform Interpreter
las_specification_tools

A set of function to test conformance with LAS specifications
check_las_validity

Check if data and headers respect the LAS specification
write.las

Write a .las or .laz file
writelax

Write a .lax file from a .las or .laz file