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gpx-kml-visualizer

This skill should be used when the user wants to visualize GPS track routes from KML or GPX files. Trigger when the user mentions drawing, plotting, converti...

personAuthor: ziemenhubclawhub
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GPX / KML Route Visualizer

Overview

Convert GPS track files (KML/GPX) into professional route visualization outputs:

  • Static JPG: High-resolution image with route map + elevation profile + statistics panel
  • Interactive HTML: Browser-based Leaflet map with zoom, layer switching, and embedded elevation chart

Workflow

Step 1: Parse Track File

Run the parsing script to extract coordinates and compute statistics:

python scripts/parse_track.py <input.kml|input.gpx> -o track_data.json

This produces a JSON file containing:

  • Parsed track points (lat, lon, ele, cumulative dist)
  • Route statistics (total distance, elevation gain/loss, max/min/average elevation)

Step 2: Generate Visualization

Choose output format based on user request:

Option A: Static JPG Image

Generate a printable/static route map image:

python scripts/plot_static.py track_data.json -o route_map.jpg --dpi 150

Output layout:

  • Top panel: Route trajectory with elevation-based color gradient, start/end markers, elevation colorbar
  • Bottom panel: Distance vs. elevation profile with gain/loss annotations
  • Footer: Key statistics text strip

Option B: Interactive HTML Map

Generate a browser-based interactive map:

python scripts/plot_interactive.py track_data.json -o route_map.html

Features:

  • Leaflet map centered on route with OSM, Satellite, and Terrain tile layers
  • Route colored by elevation (viridis gradient)
  • Clickable start/end markers with coordinates and elevation
  • Auto-fit bounds to show entire route
  • Embedded elevation profile image below the map
  • Statistics header panel

Combined One-Liner Workflow

For quick generation, chain the scripts:

# Static JPG
python scripts/parse_track.py input.gpx -o track_data.json && python scripts/plot_static.py track_data.json -o route_map.jpg

# Interactive HTML
python scripts/parse_track.py input.gpx -o track_data.json && python scripts/plot_interactive.py track_data.json -o route_map.html

Dependencies

Required Python packages:

pip install matplotlib numpy folium Pillow
  • matplotlib: Static plotting and image generation
  • numpy: Numerical operations for statistics
  • folium: Interactive Leaflet HTML map generation
  • Pillow: Image handling (usually installed with matplotlib)

All scripts use only the Python standard library plus the above packages.

Script Reference

| Script | Purpose | Input | Output | |--------|---------|-------|--------| | scripts/parse_track.py | Parse KML/GPX, compute stats | .kml or .gpx | track_data.json | | scripts/plot_static.py | Generate static JPG | track_data.json | .jpg image | | scripts/plot_interactive.py | Generate interactive HTML | track_data.json | .html page |

File Format Support

  • KML: Parses <coordinates> elements inside <LineString> (handles both KML 2.1 and 2.2 namespaces)
  • GPX: Parses <trkpt> elements with lat/lon attributes and <ele> child elements (GPX 1.1)

For detailed format specifications, see references/formats.md.

Notes

  • Static JPG DPI can be increased (--dpi 300) for print-quality output
  • Interactive HTML is fully self-contained (no external dependencies after generation) except for map tile CDN requests
  • The parser handles both namespaced and non-namespaced XML automatically
  • Large track files (>100k points) may take several seconds to process