3.3. Web Feature Service (WFS)

The 1.0.0 and 1.1.0 WFS standards implemented in QGIS Server provide a HTTP interface to query geographic features from a QGIS project. A typical WFS request defines the QGIS project to use and the layer to query.

Specifications document according to the version number of the service:

Standard requests provided by QGIS Server:

Request	Description
GetCapabilities	Returns XML metadata with information about the server
GetFeature	Returns a selection of features
DescribeFeatureType	Returns a description of feature types and properties
Transaction	Allows features to be inserted, updated or deleted

3.3.1. GetCapabilities

Standard parameters for the GetCapabilities request according to the OGC WFS 1.0.0 and 1.1.0 specifications:

Parameter	Required	Description
SERVICE	Yes	Name of the service (WFS)
REQUEST	Yes	Name of the request (GetCapabilities)
VERSION	No	Version of the service

In addition to the standard ones, QGIS Server supports the following extra parameters:

Parameter	Required	Description
MAP	Yes	QGIS project file

VERSION

This parameter allows to specify the version of the service to use. Available values for the VERSION parameter are:

1.0.0
1.1.0

If no version is indicated in the request, then 1.1.0 is used by default.

URL example:

http://localhost/qgisserver?
SERVICE=WFS
&VERSION=1.1.0
&...

3.3.2. GetFeature

Standard parameters for the GetFeature request according to the OGC WFS 1.0.0 and 1.1.0 specifications:

Parameter	Required	Description
SERVICE	Yes	Name of the service (WFS)
REQUEST	Yes	Name of the request (GetFeature)
VERSION	No	Version of the service
TYPENAME	No	Name of layers
FEATUREID	No	Filter the features by ids
OUTPUTFORMAT	No	Output Format
RESULTTYPE	No	Type of the result
PROPERTYNAME	No	Name of properties to return
MAXFEATURES	No	Maximum number of features to return
SRSNAME	No	Coordinate reference system
FILTER	No	OGC Filter Encoding
BBOX	No	Map Extent
SORTBY	No	Sort the results

In addition to the standard ones, QGIS Server supports the following extra parameters:

Parameter	Required	Description
MAP	Yes	QGIS project file
STARTINDEX	No	Paging
GEOMETRYNAME	No	Type of geometry to return
EXP_FILTER	No	Expression filtering

TYPENAME

This parameter allows to specify layer names and is mandatory if FEATUREID is not set.

URL example:

http://localhost/qgisserver?
SERVICE=WFS
&VERSION=1.1.0
&REQUEST=GetFeature
&TYPENAME=countries

FEATUREID

This parameter allows to specify the ID of a specific feature and is formed like typename.fid,typename.fid,....

URL example:

http://localhost/qgisserver?
SERVICE=WFS
&REQUEST=GetFeature
&FEATUREID=countries.0,places.1

XML response:

<wfs:FeatureCollection xmlns:wfs="http://www.opengis.net/wfs" xmlns:ogc="http://www.opengis.net/ogc" xmlns:gml="http://www.opengis.net/gml" xmlns:ows="http://www.opengis.net/ows" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns:qgs="http://www.qgis.org/gml" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.opengis.net/wfs http://schemas.opengis.net/wfs/1.1.0/wfs.xsd http://www.qgis.org/gml http://192.168.1.15/qgisserver?SERVICE=WFS&VERSION=1.1.0&REQUEST=DescribeFeatureType&TYPENAME=countries,places&OUTPUTFORMAT=text/xml; subtype%3Dgml/3.1.1">
  <gml:boundedBy>
    ...
  </gml:boundedBy>
  <gml:featureMember>
    <qgs:countries gml:id="countries.1">
      ...
    </qgs:countries>
  </gml:featureMember>
  <gml:featureMember>
    <qgs:places gml:id="places.1">
      ...
    </qgs:places>
  </gml:featureMember>
</wfs:FeatureCollection>

OUTPUTFORMAT

This parameter may be used to specify the format of the response. If VERSION is greater or equal than 1.1.0, GML3 is the default format. Otherwise GML2 is used.

Available values are:

gml2
text/xml; subtype=gml/2.1.2
gml3
text/xml; subtype=gml/3.1.1
geojson
application/vnd.geo+json,
application/vnd.geo json
application/geo+json
application/geo json
application/json

URL example:

http://localhost/qgisserver?
SERVICE=WFS
&REQUEST=GetFeature
&FEATUREID=countries.0
&OUTPUTFORMAT=geojson

GeoJSON response:

{
    "type":"FeatureCollection",
    "bbox":[
        -180,
        -90,
        180,
        83.6236
    ],
    "features":[
        {
            "bbox":[
                -61.891113,
                16.989719,
                -61.666389,
                17.724998
            ],
            "geometry":{
                "coordinates":[
                    "..."
                ],
                "type":"MultiPolygon"
            },
            "id":"countries.1",
            "properties":{
                "id":1,
                "name":"Antigua and Barbuda"
            },
            "type":"Feature"
        }
    ]
}

RESULTTYPE

This parameter may be used to specify the kind of result to return. Available values are:

results: the default behavior
hits: returns only a feature count

URL example:

http://localhost/qgisserver?
SERVICE=WFS
&VERSION=1.1.0
&REQUEST=GetFeature
&RESULTTYPE=hits
&...

PROPERTYNAME

This parameter may be used to specify a specific property to return. A property needs to be mapped with a TYPENAME or a FEATUREID:

Valid URL example:

http://localhost/qgisserver?
SERVICE=WFS
&REQUEST=GetFeature
&PROPERTYNAME=name
&TYPENAME=places

On the contrary, the next URL will return an exception:

http://localhost/qgisserver?
SERVICE=WFS
&REQUEST=GetFeature
&PROPERTYNAME=name
&TYPENAME=places,countries

<ServiceExceptionReport xmlns="http://www.opengis.net/ogc" version="1.2.0">
    <ServiceException code="RequestNotWellFormed">There has to be a 1:1 mapping between each element in a TYPENAME and the PROPERTYNAME list</ServiceException>
</ServiceExceptionReport>

MAXFEATURES

This parameter allows to limit the number of features returned by the request.

URL example:

http://localhost/qgisserver?
SERVICE=WFS
&REQUEST=GetFeature
&TYPENAME=places
&MAXFEATURES=1000

Note

This parameter may be useful to improve performances when underlying vector layers are heavy.

SRSNAME

This parameter allows to indicate the response output Spatial Reference System as well as the BBOX CRS and has to be formed like EPSG:XXXX.

URL example:

http://localhost/qgisserver?
SERVICE=WFS
&REQUEST=GetFeature
&TYPENAME=places
&SRSNAME=EPSG:32620

FILTER

This parameter allows to filter the response with the Filter Encoding language defined by the OGC Filter Encoding standard. For example:

http://localhost/qgisserver?
SERVICE=WFS&
REQUEST=GetFeature&
TYPENAME=places&
FILTER=<Filter><PropertyIsEqualTo><PropertyName>name</PropertyName><Literal>Paris</Literal></PropertyIsEqualTo></Filter>

In case of multiple typenames, filters have to be enclosed in parentheses:

http://localhost/qgisserver?
SERVICE=WFS
&REQUEST=GetFeature
&TYPENAME=places,countries
&FILTER=(<Filter><PropertyIsEqualTo><PropertyName>name</PropertyName><Literal>Paris</Literal></PropertyIsEqualTo></Filter>)(<Filter><PropertyIsEqualTo><PropertyName>name</PropertyName><Literal>France</Literal></PropertyIsEqualTo></Filter>)

Filter features that intersect with a polygon:

http://localhost/qgisserver?
SERVICE=WFS
&REQUEST=GetFeature
&VERSION=1.1.0
&TYPENAME=places
&FILTER=<Filter xmlns="http://www.opengis.net/ogc">
           <Intersects>
               <PropertyName>geometry</PropertyName>
               <Polygon xmlns="http://www.opengis.net/gml" srsName="EPSG:4326">
                   <exterior>
                       <LinearRing>
                           <posList>
                               -0.6389 42.5922
                               10.2683 51.9106
                               14.5196 41.0320
                               -0.6389 42.5922
                           </posList>
                       </LinearRing>
                   </exterior>
               </Polygon>
           </Intersects>
       </Filter>

BBOX

This parameter allows to specify the map extent with units according to the current CRS. Coordinates have to be separated by a comma.

The SRSNAME parameter may specify the CRS of the extent. If not specified, the CRS of the layer is used.

URL example:

http://localhost/qgisserver?
SERVICE=WFS
&REQUEST=GetFeature
&TYPENAME=places
&BBOX=-11.84,42.53,8.46,50.98

The FEATUREID parameter cannot be used with the BBOX. Any attempt will result in an exception:

<ServiceExceptionReport xmlns="http://www.opengis.net/ogc" version="1.2.0">
  <ServiceException code="RequestNotWellFormed">FEATUREID FILTER and BBOX parameters are mutually exclusive</ServiceException>
</ServiceExceptionReport>

SORTBY

This parameter allows to sort resulting features according to property values and has to be formed like propertyname SORTRULE.

Available values for SORTRULE in case of descending sorting:

D
+D
DESC
+DESC

Available values for SORTRULE in case of ascending sorting:

A
+A
ASC
+ASC

URL example:

http://localhost/qgisserver?
SERVICE=WFS
&REQUEST=GetFeature
&TYPENAME=places
&PROPERTYNAME=name
&MAXFEATURES=3
&SORTBY=name DESC

The corresponding result:

<wfs:FeatureCollection xmlns:wfs="http://www.opengis.net/wfs" xmlns:ogc="http://www.opengis.net/ogc" xmlns:gml="http://www.opengis.net/gml" xmlns:ows="http://www.opengis.net/ows" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns:qgs="http://www.qgis.org/gml" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.opengis.net/wfs http://schemas.opengis.net/wfs/1.1.0/wfs.xsd http://www.qgis.org/gml http://192.168.1.15/qgisserver?SERVICE=WFS&VERSION=1.1.0&REQUEST=DescribeFeatureType&TYPENAME=places&OUTPUTFORMAT=text/xml; subtype%3Dgml/3.1.1">
    <gml:boundedBy>
        ...
    </gml:boundedBy>
    <gml:featureMember>
        <qgs:places gml:id="places.90">
            <qgs:name>Zagreb</qgs:name>
        </qgs:places>
    </gml:featureMember>
    <gml:featureMember>
        <qgs:places gml:id="places.113">
            <qgs:name>Yerevan</qgs:name>
        </qgs:places>
    </gml:featureMember>
    <gml:featureMember>
        <qgs:places gml:id="places.111">
            <qgs:name>Yaounde</qgs:name>
        </qgs:places>
    </gml:featureMember>
</wfs:FeatureCollection>

GEOMETRYNAME

This parameter can be used to specify the kind of geometry to return for features. Available values are:

extent
centroid
none

URL example:

http://localhost/qgisserver?
SERVICE=WFS
&VERSION=1.1.0
&REQUEST=GetFeature
&GEOMETRYNAME=centroid
&...

STARTINDEX

This parameter is standard in WFS 2.0, but it’s an extension for WFS 1.0.0.

Actually, it can be used to skip some features in the result set and in combination with MAXFEATURES, it provides the ability to page through results.

URL example:

http://localhost/qgisserver?
SERVICE=WFS
&VERSION=1.1.0
&REQUEST=GetFeature
&STARTINDEX=2
&...

EXP_FILTER

This parameter allows to filter the response with QGIS expressions. The ; character is used to separate filters in case of multiple typenames.

URL example:

http://localhost/qgisserver?
SERVICE=WFS
&REQUEST=GetFeature
&TYPENAME=places,countries
&EXP_FILTER="name"='Paris';"name"='France'

3.3.3. DescribeFeatureType

Standard parameters for the DescribeFeatureType request according to the OGC WFS 1.0.0 and 1.1.0 specifications:

Parameter	Required	Description
SERVICE	Yes	Name of the service (WFS)
REQUEST	Yes	Name of the request (DescribeFeatureType)
VERSION	No	Version of the service
OUTPUTFORMAT	No	Format of the response
TYPENAME	No	Name of layers

In addition to the standard ones, QGIS Server supports the following extra parameters:

Parameter	Required	Description
MAP	Yes	QGIS project file

URL example:

http://localhost/qgisserver?
SERVICE=WFS
&VERSION=1.1.0
&REQUEST=DescribeFeatureType
&TYPENAME=countries

Output response:

<schema xmlns:ogc="http://www.opengis.net/ogc" xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" xmlns:qgs="http://www.qgis.org/gml" xmlns:gml="http://www.opengis.net/gml" targetNamespace="http://www.qgis.org/gml" version="1.0" elementFormDefault="qualified">
  <import schemaLocation="http://schemas.opengis.net/gml/3.1.1/base/gml.xsd" namespace="http://www.opengis.net/gml"/>
  <element type="qgs:countriesType" substitutionGroup="gml:_Feature" name="countries"/>
  <complexType name="countriesType">
    <complexContent>
      <extension base="gml:AbstractFeatureType">
        <sequence>
          <element minOccurs="0" type="gml:MultiPolygonPropertyType" maxOccurs="1" name="geometry"/>
          <element type="long" name="id"/>
          <element nillable="true" type="string" name="name"/>
        </sequence>
      </extension>
    </complexContent>
  </complexType>
</schema>

3.3.4. Transaction

This request allows to update, delete or add one or several features thanks to a XML document. The delete action may be achieved with a POST request as well as with the OPERATION parameter while the add and the update operations may be achieved through POST request only.

Standard parameters for the Transaction request according to the OGC WFS 1.0.0 and 1.1.0 specifications:

Parameter	Required	Description
SERVICE	Yes	Name of the service (WFS)
REQUEST	Yes	Name of the request (Transaction)
VERSION	No	Version of the service
FILTER	No	OGC Filter Encoding
BBOX	No	Map Extent
FEATUREID	No	Filter the features by ids
TYPENAME	No	Name of layers

In addition to the standard ones, QGIS Server supports the following extra parameters:

Parameter	Required	Description
MAP	Yes	QGIS project file
OPERATION	No	Specify the operation
EXP_FILTER	No	Expression filtering

OPERATION

This parameter allows to delete a feature without using a POST request with a dedicated XML document.

URL example:

http://localhost/qgisserver?
SERVICE=WFS
&VERSION=1.1.0
&REQUEST=Transaction
&OPERATION=DELETE
&FEATUREID=24

Note

FEATUREID, BBOX and FILTER parameters are mutually exclusive and prioritized in this order.

Add features

POST request example:

wget --post-file=add.xml "http://localhost/qgisserver?SERVICE=WFS&REQUEST=Transaction"

with the add.xml document:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<wfs:Transaction service="WFS" version="1.0.0" xmlns:wfs="http://www.opengis.net/wfs" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:ogc="http://www.opengis.net/ogc" xmlns="http://www.opengis.net/wfs" updateSequence="0" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.opengis.net/wfs http://schemas.opengis.net/wfs/1.0.0/WFS-capabilities.xsd" xmlns:gml="http://www.opengis.net/gml"  xmlns:ows="http://www.opengis.net/ows">
  <wfs:Insert idgen="GenerateNew">
    <qgs:places>
      <qgs:geometry>
        <gml:Point srsDimension="2" srsName="http://www.opengis.net/def/crs/EPSG/0/4326">
          <gml:coordinates decimal="." cs="," ts=" ">-4.6167,48.3833</gml:coordinates>
        </gml:Point>
      </qgs:geometry>
      <qgs:name>Locmaria-Plouzané</qgs:name>
    </qgs:places>
  </wfs:Insert>
</wfs:Transaction>

Update features

POST request example:

wget --post-file=update.xml "http://localhost/qgisserver?SERVICE=WFS&REQUEST=Transaction"

with the update.xml document:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<wfs:Transaction service="WFS" version="1.0.0" xmlns:wfs="http://www.opengis.net/wfs" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:ogc="http://www.opengis.net/ogc" xmlns="http://www.opengis.net/wfs" updateSequence="0" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.opengis.net/wfs http://schemas.opengis.net/wfs/1.0.0/WFS-capabilities.xsd" xmlns:gml="http://www.opengis.net/gml"  xmlns:ows="http://www.opengis.net/ows">
    <wfs:Update typeName="places">
      <wfs:Property>
          <wfs:Name>name</wfs:Name>
          <wfs:Value>Lutece</wfs:Value>
      </wfs:Property>
      <ogc:Filter>
          <ogc:FeatureId fid="24"/>
      </ogc:Filter>
    </wfs:Update>
</wfs:Transaction>

Delete features

POST request example:

wget --post-file=delete.xml "http://localhost/qgisserver?SERVICE=WFS&REQUEST=Transaction"

with the delete.xml document:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<wfs:Transaction service="WFS" version="1.0.0" xmlns:wfs="http://www.opengis.net/wfs" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:ogc="http://www.opengis.net/ogc" xmlns="http://www.opengis.net/wfs" updateSequence="0" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.opengis.net/wfs http://schemas.opengis.net/wfs/1.0.0/WFS-capabilities.xsd" xmlns:gml="http://www.opengis.net/gml"  xmlns:ows="http://www.opengis.net/ows">
    <wfs:Delete typeName="places">
        <ogc:Filter>
            <ogc:FeatureId fid="24"/>
        </ogc:Filter>
    </wfs:Delete>
</wfs:Transaction>