LAS and LAZ
Uncompressed LAS and LASzip compressed LAZ both open directly. LAZ is decompressed in the browser with WebAssembly.
Nothing leaves your machine
The file is read with the browser File API and rendered with WebGL. No upload, no account, nothing stored.
Built for survey data
Georeferenced coordinates are shifted before rendering so UTM scale clouds keep their detail. Colour by RGB, intensity or height.
What a LAS file is
LAS is the open exchange format for LiDAR data, maintained by ASPRS. Aerial scanners, terrestrial scanners, mobile mapping rigs and photogrammetry tools all export it. A LAS file has a header with the scale, offset and bounds, followed by fixed size point records. LAZ is the same data compressed losslessly, and is how most open LiDAR datasets are distributed.
How to view a LAS or LAZ file online
- 1. Drop the file in. Drag a .las or .laz onto the viewer or press Choose a file.
- 2. Orbit and zoom. Drag to rotate, scroll to zoom, right drag to pan. Use the iso, top, front and side presets.
- 3. Change the colouring. Switch between RGB, intensity and height to read terrain, vegetation and structures.
Frequently asked questions
What is a LAS file?
LAS is the ASPRS standard binary format for LiDAR point clouds. Each point stores X, Y and Z as scaled integers plus intensity, return number, classification and, in some point formats, RGB colour and GPS time. Survey, mapping and aerial LiDAR tools almost all read and write it.
What is the difference between LAS and LAZ?
LAZ is LAS compressed with the lossless LASzip algorithm. The points are identical, the file is usually 7 to 20 times smaller. This viewer decompresses LAZ in your browser with a WebAssembly build of laz-perf.
Can I open a LAS file without installing software?
Yes. Drop the file in and it is parsed and rendered with WebGL in this tab. You do not need CloudCompare, QGIS, LAStools or PDAL.
Which LAS versions and point formats are supported?
LAS 1.0 to 1.4 with point data formats 0 to 10. Colour is shown for formats that carry RGB (2, 3, 5, 7, 8 and 10). Very large files are sampled evenly to 5 million points for display.
Why does my georeferenced cloud look right but the numbers are small?
Georeferenced coordinates such as UTM are in the hundreds of thousands of metres, which loses precision on the GPU. The viewer shifts the cloud to its header minimum before rendering, so the shape stays exact and the bounding box is shown in metres.
Is my file uploaded anywhere?
No. The file is read with the browser File API and decoded locally. There is no upload, no temporary storage and no server side processing.
Related tools and guides
Have a point cloud PCD instead? Use the PCD and PLY viewer, switch formats with the point cloud converter, or read the point cloud file formats guide. To build a LAS map from a robot recording, see rosbag to PCD.
Free while we launch
Have a rosbag or MCAP? Turn it into a georeferenced LAS map.