# KML to Shapefile Converter

Last updated: 2026-10-18

Turn a KML file from Google Earth into a shapefile for QGIS or ArcGIS. Polygons, lines and points keep their names and attributes.

Open the tool: https://restorationscope.com/tools/kml-to-shapefile (free, no account).

## How it works

1. Pick or drop a KML file, for example one exported from Google Earth or a field app.
2. Check the shapes on the map and read any notes about what changed.
3. Download the zip. It holds the .shp, .shx, .dbf, .prj and .cpg files that QGIS, ArcGIS and other GIS software open together.

## Input and output

- Input: A .kml file, for example from Google Earth or a field app.
- Output: A .zip with the .shp, .shx, .dbf, .prj and .cpg files of a shapefile in WGS84 latitude and longitude (EPSG:4326).

## Example

Input:

```text
plots.kml:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<kml xmlns="http://www.opengis.net/kml/2.2">
  <Document>
    <name>plots</name>
    <Placemark>
      <name>Plot 1</name>
      <ExtendedData>
        <Data name="species"><value>Cedrela odorata</value></Data>
        <Data name="planted"><value>2025-03-01</value></Data>
      </ExtendedData>
      <Polygon><outerBoundaryIs><LinearRing>
        <coordinates>-76.3658,-6.483 -76.3649,-6.483 -76.3649,-6.4821 -76.3658,-6.4821 -76.3658,-6.483</coordinates>
      </LinearRing></outerBoundaryIs></Polygon>
    </Placemark>
  </Document>
</kml>
```

Output:

```text
plots_shapefile.zip: plots.shp, plots.shx, plots.dbf, plots.prj, plots.cpg
Attributes: name = Plot 1, species = Cedrela odorata, planted = 2025-03-01
Note: KML styles (colours, icons) and folders are not kept.
```

## Limits

- Styles (colours, icons) and folders aren't kept; names, descriptions and data fields become attributes.
- Attribute names are cut to 10 plain letters, digits or underscores, text values to 254 bytes, and a table to 255 attributes. The page lists every name it changed.
- Heights (Z values) are left out, because the shapefile is 2D.
- A file that mixes points, lines and polygons gives one shapefile for each.
- Multipoints become one point each and geometry collections split into separate shapes; features without a shape and rings with no area are left out. The page lists each change.

## Privacy

Everything runs in your browser. Your files are never uploaded to our servers.

## Questions

### How do I convert KML to a shapefile?

Drop the KML file on the KML to Shapefile Converter, check the shapes on the map, then download the zip. Unzip it and open the .shp file in QGIS or ArcGIS; keep the other files beside it, because together they make up the shapefile.

### Why did I get more than one shapefile?

A shapefile holds one kind of shape. If your KML mixes polygons, lines and points, the zip has one shapefile for each, named _polygons, _lines and _points.

### Why are some attribute names shorter?

The shapefile attribute table (.dbf) allows names of up to 10 characters, without accents or spaces. Longer names are shortened and kept unique, and the page lists every name it changed.

### Which coordinate system does the shapefile use?

WGS84 latitude and longitude (EPSG:4326), the same as KML. The .prj file in the zip says so, so GIS software places the shapes correctly.