tylermorganwall/rayshader

Health v2 · maintenance only

Flags: no_releases no_license

Adoption not part of the score

2175 stars · 220 forks observed · 2026-08-28

What it is AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, 2026-08-30, confidence not recorded

rayshader is an open-source R package for producing 2D and 3D data visualizations, best known for generating stunning hillshaded and raytraced maps from elevation matrices. It also converts ggplot2 objects into 3D visualizations and supports interactive viewing, animations, pathtraced rendering, and STL/OBJ export for 3D printing.

Use cases

• create 3D terrain maps from elevation data in R
• render hillshaded 2D maps with custom lighting
• turn ggplot2 charts into 3D visualizations
• animate flyover camera movements over terrain
• export 3D maps as STL files for 3D printing
• add Open Street Map or satellite imagery overlays to 3D maps
• apply depth of field effects to map renders

When to choose

• you work in R and need publication-quality 2D or 3D terrain visualizations
• you want to visualize ggplot2 data in 3D
• you need to 3D-print a physical model of terrain
• you want raytraced, cinematic map renders with shadows and water

When to avoid

• you need a general-purpose GIS with analysis tools rather than visualization
• you don't use R
• you need real-time web-based map rendering
• you require a permissive license for commercial use given no license is specified

Facets

library · maturity active

data-visualization graphics simulation geospatial data-visualization graphics data-science python cross-platform r-package hillshading raytracing 3d-maps ggplot2 terrain-rendering 3d-printing stl-export maps desktop

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