Shapefile#

Use this skill for practical Shapefile handling, debugging, and migration planning.

Workflow#

1. Confirm whether the task is inspection, repair, conversion, schema explanation, or batch cleanup.
2. Identify which companion files are present: .shp, .shx, .dbf, .prj, and optionally .cpg.
3. Check CRS, encoding, geometry type, and field-name limits before suggesting edits or conversions.
4. Prefer writing outputs to a new path; avoid in-place mutation unless the user explicitly asks.
5. If the dataset is large or the workflow is repeated, prefer a deterministic CLI path through qgis.

Core Rules#

• Treat a Shapefile as a multi-file dataset, not a single .shp file.
• Missing .shx or .dbf usually means the dataset is incomplete.
• Missing .prj means CRS is unknown, not automatically WGS84.
• DBF field names are short and legacy-oriented; watch for truncation and type loss.
• Text encoding may depend on .cpg; without it, non-ASCII text can decode incorrectly.
• Shapefile is poor for long field names, rich types, large text, and modern metadata needs.

Common Failure Checks#

• File opens but attributes are broken: verify .dbf exists and encoding is correct.
• Features draw in the wrong place: verify .prj exists and the CRS was not guessed incorrectly.
• Import succeeds but schema looks wrong: check field-name truncation and DBF type limitations.
• Multipart or invalid geometry surprises: inspect geometry type before conversion or editing.
• One file was copied alone: remind that the full sidecar set must travel together.

Preferred Outcomes#

• For interchange with legacy systems, preserve the Shapefile but document its CRS and encoding explicitly.
• For ongoing editing or richer schema, migrate to GPKG.
• For lightweight web interchange, convert to GeoJSON only when the CRS and precision tradeoffs are acceptable.
• For deterministic file conversion or batch fixes, hand off execution to qgis.

Task Boundaries#

• Use this skill for Shapefile structure, limitations, troubleshooting, and migration guidance.
• For general CRS selection, use project or wgs84.
• For actual file-based conversion, reprojection, clipping, or repair commands, use qgis.
• For web map rendering or tiles, use mapbox or cesium as appropriate.

OpenClaw + ClawHub Notes#

• Keep examples generic and portable.
• Do not hardcode private data paths, private datasets, or machine-specific environments.
• For clawhub.ai publication, keep the skill concise, reproducible, and semver-friendly; keep detailed patterns in references.

Reference Docs In This Skill#

• Read {baseDir}/references/patterns.md when you need concrete Shapefile validation, packaging, or conversion guidance.