PostGIS 3.5+ Knowledge Patch
Claude's baseline knowledge covers PostGIS through 3.4. This skill provides features from 3.5 (Sep 2024) onwards.
Source: PostGIS news at https://postgis.net/news/
Additional Resources
Reference Files
For detailed descriptions, code examples, and full context on each change, consult:
- references/postgis-3.5-3.6-details.md — Detailed changelog organized by topic (breaking changes, new vector/raster/topology/SFCGAL functions)
3.5.0 (2024-09-25)
Requires: PostgreSQL 12-17, GEOS 3.8+, Proj 6.1+. SFCGAL 1.5 for all SFCGAL features.
Breaking Changes
Change Impact
SFCGAL ST_* → CG_* prefix All SFCGAL functions renamed. Old ST_ names deprecated.
ST_DFullyWithin semantics Now ST_Contains(ST_Buffer(A, R), B) . May return different results.
ST_AsGeoJSON(record) signature Can promote column as Feature id . Materialized views need rebuild.
ST_GeneratePoints seed Seeded random points produce different results. Regenerate if needed.
ST_Clip variants replaced New touched param added. Materialized views need rebuild.
New Functions
Function Purpose
ST_HasZ(geom) / ST_HasM(geom)
Boolean Z/M dimension checks
ST_CurveN(geom, n) / ST_NumCurves(geom)
CompoundCurve accessors
ST_RemoveIrrelevantPointsForView(geom, ...)
Viewport-based simplification
ST_RemoveSmallParts(geom, ...)
Remove small polygon parts (slivers)
TopoGeo_LoadGeometry(topo, geom, tol)
Load geometry into topology
CG_Visibility(polygon, point)
Visibility polygon (SFCGAL)
CG_*Partition functions Polygon partitioning algorithms (SFCGAL)
ST_ExtrudeStraightSkeleton(geom)
Extrude along straight skeleton (SFCGAL)
ST_Clip touched (Raster)
-- Include pixels touched by geometry, not just centers-inside SELECT ST_Clip(rast, geom, touched => true) FROM raster_table;
3.5.1 (2024-12-22)
Breaking: ST_TileEnvelope now clips envelopes to tile plane extent. Edge tiles return smaller geometries than before.
3.6.0 (2025-09-01)
Requires: PostgreSQL 12-18, GEOS 3.8+, Proj 6.1+. GEOS 3.14+ for full features. SFCGAL 2.2+ for all SFCGAL features.
Breaking Changes
Change Impact
TIN/PolyhedralSurface accessors ST_NumGeometries /ST_GeometryN return 1. Use ST_NumPatches /ST_PatchN instead.
Topology bigint Topology IDs now bigint . Integer functions replaced with bigint versions.
st_approxquantile(raster, double precision)
Removed (ambiguous). Use variant with additional params.
New Functions
Function Purpose
ST_CoverageClean(geom[])
Clean polygonal coverage — edge match + gap removal (GEOS 3.14)
ST_AsRasterAgg(...)
Aggregate: create raster from geometries
ST_ReclassExact(rast, ...)
Remap exact values in raster
ST_IntersectionFractions(rast, geom)
Raster pixel/geometry intersection fractions (GEOS 3.14)
ValidateTopologyPrecision / MakeTopologyPrecise
Topology precision validation and repair
New SFCGAL Functions (SFCGAL 2.2)
Function Purpose
CG_Simplify
3D geometry simplification
CG_3DAlphaWrapping
Tight 3D surface around point set
CG_Scale / CG_Translate / CG_Rotate
3D affine transformations
CG_Buffer3D
3D buffering
CG_StraightSkeletonPartition
Partition polygon via straight skeleton
SFCGAL now supports M coordinates (SFCGAL >= 1.5.0).