FAQ
What file formats does DroneDB support?
DroneDB supports a wide range of geospatial file formats:
| Category | Formats |
|---|---|
| Images | JPG, JPEG, DNG, TIF, TIFF, PNG, GIF, WEBP |
| Videos | MP4, MOV, WEBM, M4V, AVI, MKV |
| Point Clouds | LAS, LAZ, E57, PTS, XYZ, PLY* |
| 3D Models | OBJ, GLTF, GLB, PLY*, OGC 3D Tiles (.3tz) |
| Gaussian Splats | PLY*, SPLAT, SPZ, KSPLAT |
| Vector Data | GeoJSON, DXF, DWG, SHP, SHZ, FGB, TopoJSON, KML, KMZ, GPKG |
| Rasters | GeoTIFF (orthophotos, DEMs) |
| Other | Markdown (README.md), PDF |
*PLY files are automatically classified as point clouds, 3D models, or Gaussian Splats based on their content.
What is the difference between DroneDB CLI and Registry?
DroneDB CLI (ddb) is a command-line tool for local data management. It's ideal for:
- Indexing and organizing files on your local drives
- Checking data quality after a drone flight
- Building tiles, thumbnails, and derivative products
- Power users and automated workflows
Registry is a web-based platform for hosting and sharing datasets. It's ideal for:
- Collaboration with team members
- Sharing data with clients
- Self-hosting your own data infrastructure
- Public data distribution with STAC compliance
What is STAC and why should I care?
STAC (SpatioTemporal Asset Catalog) is an open standard for describing geospatial data. Registry implements STAC to:
- Make your public datasets discoverable
- Enable interoperability with other geospatial tools
- Provide standardized metadata for your assets
How do I make a dataset public?
You can change dataset visibility in several ways:
Via Web UI:
- Go to your dataset
- Open settings
- Change visibility to "Public"
Via CLI:
ddb meta set visibility 1
To make it private again:
ddb meta set visibility 0
Can I self-host Registry?
Yes! Registry is open source and can be self-hosted using Docker or natively. See the Registry documentation for detailed instructions.
What is the status of DroneDB Desktop?
DroneDB Desktop (the standalone Windows application) serves a niche offline user base and is still available as a one-time purchase on the plans page. It is now in maintenance mode: no further developments are planned. For active development we recommend the web-based Registry/Hub platform, which provides a richer feature set and works on any operating system with a browser.
What databases does Registry support?
Registry supports:
- SQLite (default, for development and small deployments)
- MySQL/MariaDB (recommended for production)
- Microsoft SQL Server (no automatic migrations)
How do I get commercial support?
Commercial support is available. Get in touch.