WKT Viewer — Plot Well-Known Text on a Map

Paste Well-Known Text geometry to see it plotted on a map, check each line for errors, change its color, then export the result as GeoJSON. Open in full screen ↗

What Is WKT?

WKT, short for Well-Known Text, is a plain-text way to describe geometry: points, lines, polygons and their multi-part and collection variants. A single WKT string like "POINT (-122.6764 45.5165)" or "POLYGON ((30 10, 40 40, 20 40, 10 20, 30 10))" carries everything needed to draw that shape, no binary format or special software required. It shows up constantly in database query results, especially from spatial databases like PostGIS, since it's the standard way relational databases return geometry as readable text.

Common Questions

Can I go the other direction, from GeoJSON to WKT?

This tool is focused on WKT to GeoJSON. If you have GeoJSON you want to explore or restyle, try the GeoJSON Viewer instead.

Does changing the color re-fit the map view?

No. Only pasting new or different geometry moves the map. Changing the color just restyles what's already there, so you don't lose your place.

Does it support EWKT with an SRID prefix?

Yes. A leading "SRID=4326;" prefix, as produced by PostGIS's ST_AsEWKT(), is automatically stripped before parsing.

Can I change the color of just one geometry?

The color picker restyles every geometry on the map at once. To style geometries differently, view and export them in separate batches.

Why did one of my lines fail to parse?

The validation list shows the parser's error message for that specific line, which usually points to a missing parenthesis, a misspelled geometry type, or coordinates that aren't valid numbers.

How many geometries can I paste at once?

Paste as many as you like, one WKT geometry per line. Each line is validated and plotted independently, so a mistake on one line won't stop the rest from rendering.

Is my geometry uploaded to a server?

No. Everything is parsed and rendered entirely in your browser using JavaScript. Nothing is ever sent anywhere, which makes this safe for geometry pulled from a private or production database.

Which WKT geometry types are supported?

POINT, LINESTRING, POLYGON, MULTIPOINT, MULTILINESTRING, MULTIPOLYGON and GEOMETRYCOLLECTION, including geometries with a Z coordinate.

What does the GeoJSON export include?

It includes every line that parsed successfully as a GeoJSON FeatureCollection, ready to drop into any tool that reads GeoJSON. Lines with errors are left out.

What is WKT?

WKT (Well-Known Text) is a text format for describing geometry such as points, lines and polygons, defined by the Open Geospatial Consortium. It's the standard way spatial databases like PostGIS print geometry as readable text.

Step by Step

Step 1

Open the tool

Go to the WKT Viewer and you'll see an empty text box ready for your geometry.

Step 2

Paste your WKT

Paste one WKT geometry per line, or click Try Sample WKT to load a ready-made example.

Step 3

Check the validation list

See which lines parsed successfully and which have errors, with the reason for each failure.

Step 4

View it on the map

Every valid geometry is plotted automatically and the map zooms to fit everything you pasted.

Step 5

Click a shape for details

Click any point, line or polygon on the map to see which line number and geometry type it came from.

Step 6

Change the color

Pick a swatch or choose a custom color to restyle every geometry on the map instantly.

Step 7

Export as GeoJSON

Click GeoJSON to download every valid geometry as a ready-to-use .geojson file.

Step 8

Or copy it instead

Click Copy to send the same GeoJSON straight to your clipboard for pasting elsewhere.

Your Geometry Stays on Your Device

Every WKT string you paste here is parsed and rendered entirely inside your browser using JavaScript. Nothing is ever uploaded to a server, so it's safe to paste geometry straight out of a production database query without worrying about where that data ends up.

Why WKT Exists

WKT was defined by the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) as part of the Simple Features specification in the 1990s, created so different GIS systems, databases and programming languages could describe the exact same geometry in one interoperable text format instead of each using its own incompatible binary layout. Decades later it remains the default way spatial databases like PostGIS, SQL Server and Oracle Spatial print geometry to a screen or a query result, which is why so many developers end up with a block of WKT text and no quick way to see what it actually looks like.

Real-World Use Cases

🔀

Converting WKT to GeoJSON

Turn WKT from a legacy system or database export into GeoJSON that modern mapping tools expect.

🗄️

Checking Database Query Results

Paste geometry straight from a SQL query result to see what shape it actually describes.

🧪

Quick Geometry Sanity Checks

Confirm a geometry is in the right place and the right shape before using it in production code.

🐘

PostGIS & Spatial Database Work

Quickly visualize the WKT that ST_AsText() and similar functions return, without writing a mapping script.

🐞

Debugging Geometry Errors

Spot which line in a batch of WKT is malformed and see exactly why it failed to parse.

📚

Learning GIS & Spatial SQL

Experiment with different WKT geometry types and see the shape each one produces.

Watch: WKT Viewer in Under a Minute

Prefer to watch instead of read? This short walkthrough covers pasting Well-Known Text, rendering it on the map, and exporting the result.

More Tools You Might Like

GeoJSON Viewer

Upload, drag & drop, or paste GeoJSON data, then view it on a map, click features for details, and change the color.

Shapefile Viewer

Open and view ESRI Shapefile (.shp) data directly in your browser.

KML/KMZ Viewer

View KML and KMZ map files from Google Earth online for free.

DXF CAD Viewer

Upload an AutoCAD DXF file and view its lines, shapes, text and layers directly in your browser.

WKT and GeoJSON conversion powered by Terraformer. Every geometry you paste is parsed and rendered entirely in your browser — no data is ever sent to a server.