las2las

las2las is a command-line utility within the LAStools software package designed to manipulate and convert LiDAR point cloud data stored in LAS and LAZ formats. It provides a flexible, single-pass workflow for transforming, filtering, and reformatting point clouds, making it suitable for data preparation, quality control, and downstream analysis.

Core capabilities include converting between LAS versions and output formats (LAS or compressed LAZ), reprojecting coordinates to a different coordinate reference system, and applying scaling and offsets to coordinates or attributes. It can filter points by attributes such as classification, return number, intensity, or time, and by spatial extent using bounding boxes or polygons. It supports subsetting, thinning, and dropping or reordering point fields, as well as updating header metadata.

las2las is commonly used to standardize data from different sensors, extract specific classes (for example ground or noise), clip data to a study area, and reduce file size for sharing or visualization. It is often used in conjunction with other LAStools utilities to build processing pipelines.

Developed originally by Martin Isenburg and maintained by rapidlasso GmbH, las2las is distributed as part of LAStools and is available for Windows and Linux. It is widely used in industry, academia, and government for LiDAR data processing.