Shapely

2.1.2 verified Tue May 12 auth: no python install: verified quickstart: verified

Shapely is a BSD-licensed Python package for manipulation and analysis of planar geometric objects. It wraps the widely deployed open-source geometry library GEOS (the engine of PostGIS) to provide both a feature-rich Geometry interface for scalar geometries and high-performance NumPy ufuncs for operations on arrays of geometries. The current version is 2.1.2, with a regular release cadence that includes bug fixes, new features, and compatibility updates for Python and GEOS versions.

pip install shapely

Warnings

breaking Shapely 2.0 introduced a complete internal refactor (merging PyGEOS), making geometries immutable and changing how multi-part geometries behave. ↓

fix Geometries are now immutable and hashable; do not attempt in-place modification. For multi-part geometries (e.g., `MultiPolygon`), they are no longer sequence-like (no `len()`, not iterable, not indexable) – use the `.geoms` attribute to access individual parts.

breaking Direct conversion of geometry objects to NumPy arrays (`np.asarray(geom)`) is deprecated and removed in 2.0. ↓

fix Use `np.asarray(geom.coords)` to convert geometry coordinates to a NumPy array.

breaking The `STRtree` API changed significantly in Shapely 2.0. Operations now return indices of input geometries instead of the geometries themselves. ↓

fix Review the `STRtree` documentation for the updated `query()` method, which merges `query()` and `query_bulk()` and directly includes predicate evaluation.

deprecated Many function parameters, especially boolean flags like `normalized` or `include_z`, are being transitioned to keyword-only arguments. Passing them positionally is deprecated and raises warnings. ↓

fix Always pass such parameters as keyword arguments (e.g., `geom.buffer(distance, quad_segs=16)` instead of `geom.buffer(distance, 16)`).

gotcha When installing Shapely in a Conda environment, installing via `pip install shapely` can sometimes lead to issues with GEOS library discovery, potentially bundling an outdated GEOS. ↓

fix Always install Shapely via `conda install shapely --channel conda-forge` when using Conda to ensure proper GEOS linking.

gotcha Shapely is a planar geometry library; Z coordinates are generally ignored in geometric analysis, and geometries differing only in Z are not distinguished. `LineString([(0, 0, 0), (0, 0, 1)])` results in an invalid line with zero length. ↓

fix Be aware that Shapely's core operations are 2D. While geometries can store Z/M values (especially since 2.1.0), most analytical methods primarily use X and Y coordinates. Validate your geometry inputs to avoid unexpected behavior with Z differences.

Install

conda install shapely --channel conda-forge

Install compatibility verified last tested: 2026-05-12

python os / libc status wheel install import disk

3.10 alpine (musl) wheel - 0.32s 103.9M

3.10 alpine (musl) - - 0.24s 103.9M

3.10 slim (glibc) wheel 4.0s 0.23s 97M

3.10 slim (glibc) - - 0.19s 97M

3.11 alpine (musl) wheel - 0.37s 112.1M

3.11 alpine (musl) - - 0.38s 112.1M

3.11 slim (glibc) wheel 3.9s 0.32s 105M

3.11 slim (glibc) - - 0.32s 105M

3.12 alpine (musl) wheel - 0.33s 100.4M

3.12 alpine (musl) - - 0.31s 100.4M

3.12 slim (glibc) wheel 3.7s 0.37s 93M

3.12 slim (glibc) - - 0.32s 93M

3.13 alpine (musl) wheel - 0.28s 99.9M

3.13 alpine (musl) - - 0.33s 99.7M

3.13 slim (glibc) wheel 3.7s 0.34s 92M

3.13 slim (glibc) - - 0.37s 92M

3.9 alpine (musl) build_error - - - -

3.9 alpine (musl) - - - -

3.9 slim (glibc) wheel 4.6s 0.30s 105M

3.9 slim (glibc) - - 0.23s 105M

Imports

Point
```
from shapely import Point
```
Polygon
```
from shapely import Polygon
```
box
```
from shapely import box
```
shapely.geometry.Point
wrong
```
import shapely.geometry.Point
```
correct
```
from shapely.geometry import Point
```
Geometry subclasses are now available directly in the top-level `shapely` namespace (since 2.0), making `from shapely import Point` the preferred modern import. `from shapely.geometry import Point` still works for individual geometry types.
shapely.geos
wrong
```
import shapely.geos
```
correct
```
from shapely import GEOS_VERSION
```
The `shapely.geos` module is deprecated in 2.1.x; GEOS-version related attributes are now directly available from the top-level `shapely` namespace (e.g., `shapely.GEOS_VERSION`).
shapely.vectorized.contains
wrong
```
from shapely.vectorized import contains
```
correct
```
from shapely import contains_xy
```
The `shapely.vectorized` module is deprecated in 2.1.x. Use top-level vectorized functions like `shapely.contains_xy` and `shapely.intersects_xy` instead.

Quickstart verified last tested: 2026-04-23

This quickstart demonstrates creating basic `Point` and `Polygon` geometries and performing a simple spatial intersection. It also includes an example of a vectorized operation using NumPy arrays, a key performance feature introduced in Shapely 2.0.

import shapely
from shapely import Point, Polygon

# Create a point and a polygon
point = Point(0, 0)
polygon = Polygon([(0, 0), (1, 1), (1, 0)])

# Perform a spatial operation
intersection = point.intersection(polygon)

print(f"Point: {point}")
print(f"Polygon: {polygon}")
print(f"Intersection: {intersection}")
print(f"Point within polygon: {polygon.contains(point)}")

# Example of a vectorized operation (Shapely 2.0+)
import numpy as np
geoms = np.array([Point(0.5, 0.5), Point(1.5, 0.5)])
print(f"\nVectorized contains: {shapely.contains(polygon, geoms)}")