Buffer Node
Create a geographic buffer (radius zone) around points or geometries
Last updated 24 Jun 2026
The Buffer node generates a buffer polygon at a specified distance around each record's geometry — either a coordinate point (lat/lng columns) or an existing geometry column. The resulting polygon is added as a new column and can be used for spatial filtering, enrichment, or visualization.
When to Use
Use Buffer when you want to define a catchment area around points — store locations, event venues, delivery addresses — for radius-based targeting or analysis.
Configuration
| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
geometrySource | coordinates | column | Whether to buffer lat/lng coordinate columns or an existing geometry column (default: coordinates) |
latColumn | string | Column containing latitude (required for coordinates source) |
lngColumn | string | Column containing longitude (required for coordinates source) |
geometryColumn | string | Column containing the input geometry (required for column source) |
distanceMeters | number | Buffer distance, expressed in distanceUnit. Required |
distanceUnit | meters | kilometers | miles | Unit for distanceMeters (default: meters) |
outputColumn | string | Column name for the output geometry (default: buffer_geometry) |
Example
Create a 5 km buffer around store locations:
geometrySource: coordinates
latColumn: lat
lngColumn: lng
distanceMeters: 5
distanceUnit: kilometers
outputColumn: catchment_area
Notes
- Buffering runs in PostGIS; the output geometry is a GeoJSON polygon stored in
outputColumn. - The buffer distance is converted to meters and capped at a maximum — distances above the cap are rejected.
- Input rows whose geometry/coordinates are missing or invalid are reported in the node's success/failure counts.
- The output geometry can feed a downstream Clip or Geo Profiling node.
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