Cli Anything Cloudcompare

cli-anything-cloudcompare

Agent-friendly command-line harness for CloudCompare — the open-source 3D point cloud and mesh processing software.

41 commands across 9 groups.

Installation

pip install cli-anything-cloudcompare

Prerequisites:

• Python 3.10+
• CloudCompare installed on your system
• Linux (Flatpak): flatpak install flathub org.cloudcompare.CloudCompare
• macOS/Windows: download from https://cloudcompare.org

Tested with: CloudCompare 2.13.2 (Flatpak, Linux)

Global Options

These options must be placed before the subcommand:

cli-anything-cloudcompare [--project FILE] [--json] COMMAND [ARGS]...

Command Groups

1. project — Project Management (3 commands)

project new

Create a new empty project file.

# Create a project with default name
cli-anything-cloudcompare project new -o myproject.json

# Create a project with a custom name
cli-anything-cloudcompare project new -o myproject.json -n "Bridge Survey 2024"

# JSON output for agents
cli-anything-cloudcompare --json project new -o myproject.json

Options: -o/--output TEXT (required), -n/--name TEXT

project info

Show project info and loaded entities.

cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json project info

# JSON output
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json --json project info

project status

Show quick project status (cloud count, mesh count, last operation).

cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json project status

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2. session — Session Management (4 commands)

session save

Save the current project state to disk.

cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json session save

session history

Show recent operation history.

# Show last 10 operations (default)
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json session history

# Show last 5 operations
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json session history -n 5

Options: -n/--last INTEGER

session set-format

Update the default export format for future operations.

# Set default cloud export to LAS
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json session set-format --cloud-fmt LAS --cloud-ext las

# Set default mesh export to OBJ
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json session set-format --mesh-fmt OBJ --mesh-ext obj

# Set both cloud and mesh defaults
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json session set-format \
  --cloud-fmt PLY --cloud-ext ply \
  --mesh-fmt STL --mesh-ext stl

Options: --cloud-fmt TEXT, --cloud-ext TEXT, --mesh-fmt TEXT, --mesh-ext TEXT

session undo

Remove the last operation from history (soft undo — does not delete output files).

cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json session undo

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3. cloud — Point Cloud Operations (21 commands)

All cloud commands take CLOUD_INDEX (0-based integer from cloud list) and most accept --add-to-project to register the output back into the project.

cloud add

Add a point cloud file to the project.

# Add a LAS file
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json cloud add /data/scan.las

# Add with a label
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json cloud add /data/scan.las -l "roof scan"

Options: -l/--label TEXT

cloud list

List all clouds currently in the project.

cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json cloud list

# JSON output for parsing indices
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json --json cloud list

cloud convert

Convert a cloud from one format to another (format determined by file extension).

# LAS → PLY
cli-anything-cloudcompare cloud convert /data/scan.las /data/scan.ply

# PCD → LAS
cli-anything-cloudcompare cloud convert /data/cloud.pcd /data/cloud.las

cloud subsample

Reduce the number of points using RANDOM, SPATIAL, or OCTREE method.

# Random: keep 100 000 points
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json cloud subsample 0 \
  -o /data/sub_random.las -m random -n 100000

# Spatial: minimum distance 0.05 m between points
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json cloud subsample 0 \
  -o /data/sub_spatial.las -m spatial -n 0.05

# Octree: level 8
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json cloud subsample 0 \
  -o /data/sub_octree.las -m octree -n 8 --add-to-project

Options: -o/--output TEXT (required), -m/--method [random|spatial|octree], -n/--param FLOAT, --add-to-project

cloud crop

Crop a cloud to an axis-aligned bounding box.

# Keep points inside the box
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json cloud crop 0 \
  -o /data/cropped.las \
  --xmin 0.0 --ymin 0.0 --zmin 0.0 \
  --xmax 10.0 --ymax 10.0 --zmax 5.0

# Keep points OUTSIDE the box
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json cloud crop 0 \
  -o /data/exterior.las \
  --xmin 0.0 --ymin 0.0 --zmin 0.0 \
  --xmax 10.0 --ymax 10.0 --zmax 5.0 --outside

Options: -o/--output TEXT (required), --xmin/ymin/zmin/xmax/ymax/zmax FLOAT (all required), --outside, --add-to-project

cloud normals

Compute surface normals via the octree method.

# Compute normals at octree level 6
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json cloud normals 0 \
  -o /data/with_normals.ply --level 6

# Compute normals oriented toward +Z
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json cloud normals 0 \
  -o /data/with_normals.ply --level 6 --orientation plus_z --add-to-project

Options: -o/--output TEXT (required), --level INTEGER (1–10), --orientation [plus_x|plus_y|plus_z|minus_x|minus_y|minus_z], --add-to-project

cloud invert-normals

Flip all normal vectors in the cloud.

cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json cloud invert-normals 0 \
  -o /data/flipped_normals.ply --add-to-project

Options: -o/--output TEXT (required), --add-to-project

cloud filter-sor

Statistical Outlier Removal — removes isolated noise points.

# Default parameters (k=6 neighbours, 1.0 std ratio)
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json cloud filter-sor 0 \
  -o /data/denoised.las

# Custom parameters
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json cloud filter-sor 0 \
  -o /data/denoised.las --nb-points 12 --std-ratio 2.0 --add-to-project

Options: -o/--output TEXT (required), --nb-points INTEGER, --std-ratio FLOAT, --add-to-project

cloud noise-filter

Remove noisy points using the PCL noise filter (KNN or radius mode).

# KNN mode (default)
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json cloud noise-filter 0 \
  -o /data/clean.las --knn 8 --noisiness 1.0

# Radius mode
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json cloud noise-filter 0 \
  -o /data/clean.las --radius 0.1 --use-radius --add-to-project

Options: -o/--output TEXT (required), --knn INTEGER, --noisiness FLOAT, --radius FLOAT, --use-radius, --absolute, --add-to-project

cloud filter-csf

Ground filtering using the Cloth Simulation Filter (CSF) algorithm. Separates ground from off-ground points (buildings, vegetation).

# Extract ground only — mixed terrain
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json cloud filter-csf 0 \
  --ground /data/ground.las --scene relief

# Split ground + off-ground — urban scene
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json cloud filter-csf 0 \
  --ground /data/ground.las \
  --offground /data/buildings.las \
  --scene flat --cloth-resolution 0.5 --class-threshold 0.3

# Steep forested slope with slope post-processing
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json cloud filter-csf 0 \
  --ground /data/terrain.las --scene slope --proc-slope --add-to-project

Options: -g/--ground TEXT (required), -u/--offground TEXT, --scene [slope|relief|flat], --cloth-resolution FLOAT, --class-threshold FLOAT, --max-iteration INTEGER, --proc-slope, --add-to-project

cloud filter-sf

Filter a cloud by scalar field value range (keep points where SF ∈ [min, max]).

# Keep points with SF value between 10 and 50
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json cloud filter-sf 0 \
  -o /data/filtered.las --min 10.0 --max 50.0

# Filter using a specific SF index
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json cloud filter-sf 0 \
  -o /data/filtered.las --min 0.0 --max 1.5 --sf-index 2 --add-to-project

Options: -o/--output TEXT (required), --min FLOAT (required), --max FLOAT (required), --sf-index INTEGER, --add-to-project

cloud sf-from-coord

Convert a coordinate axis (X/Y/Z) to a scalar field. Commonly used to create a height (Z) scalar field.

# Create Z scalar field (height)
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json cloud sf-from-coord 0 \
  -o /data/with_z_sf.las --dim z --add-to-project

# Create X scalar field with a specific active index
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json cloud sf-from-coord 0 \
  -o /data/with_x_sf.las --dim x --sf-index 0

Options: -o/--output TEXT (required), --dim [x|y|z] (default: z), --sf-index INTEGER, --add-to-project

cloud sf-filter-z

Convenience command: convert Z → scalar field and filter by height range in one step.

# Extract points between z=1.0 m and z=2.5 m
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json cloud sf-filter-z 0 \
  -o /data/slice.las --min 1.0 --max 2.5 --add-to-project

# Only apply upper bound
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json cloud sf-filter-z 0 \
  -o /data/below_5m.las --max 5.0

Options: -o/--output TEXT (required), --min FLOAT, --max FLOAT, --add-to-project

cloud sf-to-rgb

Convert the active scalar field to RGB colours.

cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json cloud sf-to-rgb 0 \
  -o /data/coloured.ply --add-to-project

Options: -o/--output TEXT (required), --add-to-project

cloud rgb-to-sf

Convert RGB colours to a scalar field (luminance value).

cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json cloud rgb-to-sf 0 \
  -o /data/luminance.las --add-to-project

Options: -o/--output TEXT (required), --add-to-project

cloud curvature

Compute curvature scalar field (MEAN or GAUSS).

# Mean curvature with radius 0.5 m
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json cloud curvature 0 \
  -o /data/curvature.las --type mean --radius 0.5

# Gaussian curvature
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json cloud curvature 0 \
  -o /data/curvature.las --type gauss --radius 0.5 --add-to-project

Options: -o/--output TEXT (required), --type [mean|gauss], -r/--radius FLOAT, --add-to-project

cloud roughness

Compute roughness scalar field (deviation from local best-fit plane).

cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json cloud roughness 0 \
  -o /data/roughness.las --radius 0.2 --add-to-project

Options: -o/--output TEXT (required), -r/--radius FLOAT, --add-to-project

cloud density

Compute point density scalar field.

# KNN density
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json cloud density 0 \
  -o /data/density.las --type knn --radius 0.5

# Surface density
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json cloud density 0 \
  -o /data/density.las --type surface --radius 1.0 --add-to-project

Options: -o/--output TEXT (required), -r/--radius FLOAT, --type [knn|surface|volume], --add-to-project

cloud segment-cc

Segment cloud into connected components (clusters). Each component is saved as a separate file.

# Segment with octree level 8, minimum 100 points per component
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json cloud segment-cc 0 \
  -o /data/components/ --octree-level 8 --min-points 100

# Save components as PLY files
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json cloud segment-cc 0 \
  -o /data/components/ --octree-level 6 --min-points 50 --fmt ply

Options: -o/--output-dir TEXT (required), --octree-level INTEGER, --min-points INTEGER, --fmt TEXT

cloud merge

Merge all clouds in the project into a single cloud.

cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json cloud merge \
  -o /data/merged.las --add-to-project

Options: -o/--output TEXT (required), --add-to-project

cloud mesh-delaunay

Build a 2.5-D Delaunay triangulation mesh from a cloud.

# Basic Delaunay mesh
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json cloud mesh-delaunay 0 \
  -o /data/surface.obj

# Best-fit plane with max edge length limit
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json cloud mesh-delaunay 0 \
  -o /data/surface.ply --best-fit --max-edge-length 2.0 --add-to-project

Options: -o/--output TEXT (required), --best-fit, --max-edge-length FLOAT, --add-to-project

---

4. mesh — Mesh Operations (3 commands)

mesh add

Add a mesh file to the project.

cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json mesh add /data/model.obj

# Add with label
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json mesh add /data/model.ply -l "building model"

Options: -l/--label TEXT

mesh list

List all meshes in the project.

cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json mesh list

# JSON output
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json --json mesh list

mesh sample

Sample a point cloud from a mesh surface.

# Sample 50 000 points from mesh at index 0
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json mesh sample 0 \
  -o /data/sampled.las -n 50000

# Add sampled cloud back to project
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json mesh sample 0 \
  -o /data/sampled.las -n 100000 --add-to-project

Options: -o/--output TEXT (required), -n/--count INTEGER, --add-to-project

---

5. distance — Distance Computation (2 commands)

distance c2c

Compute cloud-to-cloud distances. Adds a distance scalar field to the compared cloud.

# Compare cloud 1 to reference cloud 0
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json distance c2c \
  --compare 1 --reference 0 -o /data/distances.las

# Split into X/Y/Z components at octree level 8
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json distance c2c \
  --compare 1 --reference 0 -o /data/distances.las \
  --split-xyz --octree-level 8 --add-to-project

Options: --compare TEXT (required), --reference TEXT (required), -o/--output TEXT (required), --split-xyz, --octree-level INTEGER, --add-to-project

distance c2m

Compute cloud-to-mesh distances. Adds a distance scalar field to the cloud.

# Basic cloud-to-mesh distance
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json distance c2m \
  --cloud 0 --mesh 0 -o /data/c2m_dist.las

# With flipped normals and unsigned distances
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json distance c2m \
  --cloud 0 --mesh 0 -o /data/c2m_dist.las \
  --flip-normals --unsigned --add-to-project

Options: --cloud INTEGER (required), --mesh INTEGER (required), -o/--output TEXT (required), --flip-normals, --unsigned, --add-to-project

---

6. transform — Transformations and Registration (2 commands)

transform apply

Apply a 4×4 rigid-body transformation matrix to a cloud.

# Apply a transformation matrix from file
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json transform apply 0 \
  -o /data/transformed.las -m /data/matrix.txt

# Apply the inverse transformation
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json transform apply 0 \
  -o /data/transformed.las -m /data/matrix.txt --inverse --add-to-project

The matrix file must contain 4 rows of 4 space-separated values:

1 0 0 0
0 1 0 0
0 0 1 0
0 0 0 1

Options: -o/--output TEXT (required), -m/--matrix TEXT (required), --inverse, --add-to-project

transform icp

Run ICP (Iterative Closest Point) registration to align one cloud to another.

# Basic ICP alignment
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json transform icp \
  --aligned 1 --reference 0 -o /data/aligned.las

# ICP with overlap and iteration control
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json transform icp \
  --aligned 1 --reference 0 -o /data/aligned.las \
  --max-iter 50 --overlap 80 --min-error-diff 1e-6 --add-to-project

Options: --aligned INTEGER (required), --reference INTEGER (required), -o/--output TEXT (required), --max-iter INTEGER, --min-error-diff FLOAT, --overlap FLOAT, --add-to-project

---

7. export — Export Clouds and Meshes (4 commands)

export formats

List all available export format presets.

cli-anything-cloudcompare export formats

# JSON output
cli-anything-cloudcompare --json export formats

export cloud

Export a cloud to a target format.

# Export cloud at index 0 as LAS
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json export cloud 0 /data/output.las

# Export as PLY using preset
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json export cloud 0 /data/output.ply -f ply

# Overwrite if file exists
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json export cloud 0 /data/output.las -f las --overwrite

Supported presets: las, laz, ply, pcd, xyz, asc, csv, bin, e57

Options: -f/--preset TEXT, --overwrite

export mesh

Export a mesh to a target format.

# Export mesh at index 0 as OBJ
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json export mesh 0 /data/model.obj

# Export as STL
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json export mesh 0 /data/model.stl -f stl --overwrite

Supported presets: obj, stl, ply, bin

Options: -f/--preset TEXT, --overwrite

export batch

Batch export all project clouds to a directory.

# Export all clouds as LAS
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json export batch \
  -d /data/exports/ -f las

# Overwrite existing files
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json export batch \
  -d /data/exports/ -f ply --overwrite

Options: -d/--output-dir TEXT (required), -f/--preset TEXT, --overwrite

---

8. info — Installation Info (1 command)

Show CloudCompare installation path and version.

cli-anything-cloudcompare info

# JSON output
cli-anything-cloudcompare --json info

---

9. repl — Interactive REPL (1 command)

Start the interactive REPL session with history and undo support.

# Start REPL without a project
cli-anything-cloudcompare repl

# Start REPL with an existing project
cli-anything-cloudcompare repl -p myproject.json

# Equivalent: run without subcommand
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project myproject.json

Options: -p/--project TEXT

Inside the REPL, type help to list available commands or session undo to revert the last operation.

---

Supported File Formats

---

Typical Workflows

Workflow 1: LiDAR Pre-processing Pipeline

P=myproject.json

# 1. Create project and load scan
cli-anything-cloudcompare project new -o $P
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project $P cloud add /data/scan.las
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project $P cloud list  # note index → 0

# 2. Denoise
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project $P cloud filter-sor 0 \
  -o /data/denoised.las --nb-points 6 --std-ratio 1.0 --add-to-project

# 3. Subsample to 5 cm grid
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project $P cloud subsample 1 \
  -o /data/subsampled.las -m spatial -n 0.05 --add-to-project

# 4. Extract ground plane (CSF)
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project $P cloud filter-csf 2 \
  --ground /data/ground.las --offground /data/objects.las \
  --scene relief --add-to-project

# 5. Export result
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project $P export cloud 3 /data/ground_final.las -f las --overwrite

Workflow 2: Change Detection Between Two Scans

P=compare.json
cli-anything-cloudcompare project new -o $P
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project $P cloud add /data/scan_2023.las   # index 0
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project $P cloud add /data/scan_2024.las   # index 1

# ICP alignment (align 2024 to 2023)
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project $P transform icp \
  --aligned 1 --reference 0 -o /data/aligned_2024.las \
  --overlap 90 --add-to-project   # index 2

# Cloud-to-cloud distance
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project $P distance c2c \
  --compare 2 --reference 0 -o /data/change_map.las --add-to-project

# Export as LAS with distance scalar field
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project $P export cloud 3 /data/change_map_final.las --overwrite

Workflow 3: Height Slice Extraction

P=slice.json
cli-anything-cloudcompare project new -o $P
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project $P cloud add /data/building.las

# Extract points at 2–3 m height (floor level)
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project $P cloud sf-filter-z 0 \
  -o /data/floor_slice.las --min 2.0 --max 3.0 --add-to-project

# Export
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project $P export cloud 1 /data/floor_slice_out.las --overwrite

Workflow 4: Surface Reconstruction

P=mesh.json
cli-anything-cloudcompare project new -o $P
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project $P cloud add /data/terrain.las

# Compute normals
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project $P cloud normals 0 \
  -o /data/with_normals.ply --level 6 --orientation plus_z --add-to-project

# Delaunay mesh
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project $P cloud mesh-delaunay 1 \
  -o /data/terrain_mesh.obj --max-edge-length 1.0 --add-to-project

# Export mesh
cli-anything-cloudcompare --project $P export mesh 0 /data/terrain_mesh_final.obj --overwrite

---

Error Handling

Common errors:

# CloudCompare not found
# → Install CloudCompare; check `cli-anything-cloudcompare info`

# Index out of range
# → Run `cloud list` or `mesh list` to confirm valid indices

# File already exists (no --overwrite)
# → Add --overwrite flag to export commands

# fcntl not available (Windows)
# → File locking is skipped automatically; project save still works

---

For AI Agents

1. Always use `--json` flag for parseable output 2. Check return codes — 0 for success, non-zero for errors 3. Parse stderr for error messages on failure 4. Use absolute paths for all file arguments 5. Verify output files exist after export operations 6. Chain with `--add-to-project` to build multi-step pipelines without re-loading files 7. Use `cloud list --json` to discover valid cloud indices before each operation 8. Use `export formats --json` to discover available format presets

Version