Taking your data with you

GeoLens is designed so that leaving it is a normal operation rather than a project. This page collects every route your data can take on the way out, so you can confirm the exit before you commit to the entrance.

Nothing here is a special export mode. These are the same interfaces the product uses day to day.

Your data is already in your own database

GeoLens stores vector datasets as ordinary PostGIS tables in the Postgres instance you run. There is no proprietary storage layer in front of them, and no format that only GeoLens can read.

That means the database side of your catalog comes out as a standard Postgres dump, taken with the same tooling any Postgres deployment uses. The backup guide covers the dump and restore procedure GeoLens ships, including the automated backup container and optional S3-compatible replication. A dump contains your vector tables, your metadata, your collections, and your map definitions. Uploaded files and rasters live outside the database, and the section below covers how to take those too.

If you imported a table using Register mode, GeoLens never copied it at all. The catalog holds a reference and queries run against your existing table, so that data was always yours and stays where it is when GeoLens goes away. See Importing data for how register mode differs from upload.

Per-dataset exports in open formats

Any catalogued vector dataset exports to GeoPackage, GeoJSON, Shapefile, CSV, or GeoParquet, from the UI’s Export menu or from /api/datasets/{id}/export. Raster datasets download as Cloud-Optimized GeoTIFF. Exports accept bounding box, attribute filter, and CRS reprojection at request time.

Because the export surface is an API endpoint, exporting the whole catalog is a loop over your dataset IDs rather than a support ticket. See Exports and integrations for the parameters and worked examples, and the CLI guide for scripting it.

Live standards endpoints, no export step

Your catalog is readable over OGC API Features, OGC API Records, and STAC 1.0 while GeoLens is still running. QGIS, ArcGIS Pro, GDAL, MapLibre, and pystac-client connect to those URLs directly.

This matters for migration because another system can read GeoLens as a source during a cutover, instead of you staging a pile of intermediate files. The OGC and STAC reference has the endpoint list and client examples.

Maps and styles

Maps built in the map builder export as a MapLibre style document, which is an open specification other renderers consume. That covers sources, layers, filters, labels, and viewport metadata.

Uploaded files and rasters

Uploaded source files and generated rasters (COGs) live outside the database, and where they sit depends on STORAGE_PROVIDER:

• Local, the default. Objects sit in the upload_staging volume on the API container. The backup service tars this volume alongside each database dump as staging-<timestamp>.tar.gz, so a GeoLens backup already includes them. To leave, take that volume, or the staging archive, together with your dump.
• S3 or MinIO (STORAGE_PROVIDER=s3). Objects sit in the bucket you configured, reachable with any S3 client using credentials you hold. The backup service does not reach an external bucket, so back it up separately through the bucket’s own lifecycle.

A bare Postgres dump does not include your files

A plain pg_dump captures the catalog, metadata, collections, and maps, but not the uploaded files and rasters. Take the staging volume (local storage) or the bucket (S3 or MinIO) with you, not just the dump. The backup guide covers exactly what the bundled backup service includes.

What does not come with you

Being straightforward about the edges:

• Access control assignments, API keys, and audit history are GeoLens concepts. They live in the database dump and are readable, but no other product will import them directly.
• Semantic search embeddings are tied to the embedding provider and model you configured. They are regenerable rather than portable.
• The catalog’s internal dataset IDs are GeoLens identifiers. Anything you built that references them by ID will need remapping.

None of these block a migration. They are the parts that need re-creating in whatever you move to, and knowing that up front is the point of this page.

Licensing

GeoLens is licensed under Apache 2.0. You can run it, modify it, and keep running a version you already deployed, without asking anyone. The EDITIONS document states which capabilities stay in the open-source software.