alsDB Documentation#
alsDB is an open-source Python package for processing Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS) point clouds at scale. It reads LAZ/LAS files via PDAL, stores them in a TileDB sparse array (locally or on S3), and provides a full pipeline for forest structure products: Canopy Height Model, DTM, DSM, gap fraction, LAI, LiDAR structural metrics, aboveground biomass, and large-footprint waveform simulation. All gridded outputs are written directly to a Zarr v3 store.
Getting Started
New to alsDB? Start here for a quick introduction to ingesting LAZ files and running your first processing pipeline.
User Guide
Dive into the User Guide for detailed explanations of the two-layer storage architecture, ingestion workflow, and all processing functions.
API Reference
Auto-generated reference for all public classes and functions: ALSDatabase, ALSProvider, ALSZarrStore, and all processing modules.
Contributor’s Guide
Want to contribute to alsDB? This guide covers how to set up a development environment, run tests, and submit pull requests.