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How to open .GPKG files on iOS

To open .GPKG files on iOS, if you cannot open it on-device, transfer the .gpkg to a desktop GIS app (for example QGIS) to view or export its layers.

Step-by-step instructions

  1. If you cannot open it on-device, transfer the .gpkg to a desktop GIS app (for example QGIS) to view or export its layers.

Common issues

The file opens as a database, but no layers appear in a GIS app

A .gpkg is a SQLite database; if it does not follow the GeoPackage schema (or contains unexpected tables only), GIS software may not show any layers even though the database opens.

  1. Try opening it in QGIS via the GeoPackage/SQLite data source workflow and look for selectable layers inside the file.
  2. If it still shows no layers, verify the file is actually an OGC GeoPackage (not just a generic SQLite database renamed to .gpkg) and obtain a correct export from the data provider.

Vector layer loads but raster/tiles do not (or vice versa)

GeoPackage can contain different kinds of content; some tools handle certain GeoPackage content types better than others. QGIS supports GeoPackage as a container for both vector and raster, and GDAL documents GeoPackage raster/tiles support, but not every workflow is symmetric.

  1. Open the file in QGIS and try adding it as both a Vector and a Raster source to see which layers are present.
  2. If raster tiles are involved, test with a GDAL-enabled toolchain that supports GeoPackage raster/tiles and re-export if needed.

The file is locked or changes do not save

Because GeoPackage is SQLite-based, concurrent access can lead to database locks or write failures, especially if multiple programs open the same .gpkg for editing at once.

  1. Close other applications that might be using the same .gpkg and reopen it in a single editor (for example, one QGIS session).
  2. Copy the .gpkg to a local drive (not a shared/network location) and edit the local copy, then replace the original if needed.

Security note

A .gpkg is a SQLite database; it does not typically contain “active” code like macros, but parsing untrusted geospatial databases can still expose bugs in GIS software or libraries (for example, GIS apps or GDAL-based pipelines). Prefer opening unknown files in up-to-date software.

Back to .GPKG extension page