Executor Reference

Each executor is an n8n workflow that implements a specific data processing step. Executors are registered in Ordo's step_executor table and define the contract that recipes are validated against.

Executor table

Type	Accepts	Produces	Params	Category
BUILD_COPC	input_las: las	output_copc: las	none	Format conversion
BUILD_EPT	input_las: las	output_ept: ept	none	Format conversion
BUILD_POTREE	input_las: las	output_potree: potree	none	Visualization prep
REPROJECT_LAS	input_las: las	output_las: las	source_epsg, target_epsg	CRS normalization
ASSIGN_PROJECTION	input_las: las	output_las: las	target_epsg	CRS normalization
REGRID_LAS	input_las: las	output_las: las	resolution	Surface reconstruction
COLORIZE_AS_DEM	input_las: las	output_las: las	pallete, resolution	Colorization
COLORIZE_FROM_TIF	input_las: las, input_tif: tif	output_las: las	none	Colorization
DATASET_INFO	input_las: las	metadata: json	none	Inspection
CALL_WEBHOOK	waits_for: *	—	webhook_url	Side effects
BUILD_HILLSHADE_DSM	input_las: las	hillshade_dsm: tif	resolution†, output_type†, z_factor†	2D raster
BUILD_COLORED_DSM	input_las: las	colored_dsm_tif: tif	pallete†, resolution†, output_type†	2D raster
BUILD_COLORED_HILLSHADE_DSM	input_las: las	colored_hillshade_dsm: tif	pallete†, resolution†, output_type†, z_factor†	2D raster
BUILD_CONTOURS	input_las: las	contours_mbtiles: mbtiles, contours_pmtiles: pmtiles	all optional†	Vector tiles
BUILD_XYZ_TILES	input_tif: tif	output_tiles: xyz_tiles	none	Web tiles

† optional — executor defaults apply if omitted.

Executor categories

CRS normalization — REPROJECT_LAS, ASSIGN_PROJECTION Transform or assign coordinate reference systems. Usually the first step in pipelines that need a consistent spatial reference. Use REPROJECT_LAS when the source CRS is known and coordinates need to change; use ASSIGN_PROJECTION when the dataset has no valid CRS and coordinates are already correct.

Surface reconstruction — REGRID_LAS Convert irregular point clouds into regularly spaced grids. Especially useful for MBES bathymetry data.

Colorization — COLORIZE_AS_DEM, COLORIZE_FROM_TIF Add RGB color attributes to point clouds. COLORIZE_AS_DEM derives color from elevation; COLORIZE_FROM_TIF drapes an external raster.

Format conversion — BUILD_COPC, BUILD_EPT Convert LAS/LAZ to streamable/tiled formats for web delivery and analytics.

Visualization prep — BUILD_POTREE Convert LAS/LAZ to Potree tileset format for browser-based viewers.

Inspection — DATASET_INFO Extract metadata from a point cloud without modifying it. Included in all standard pipelines to run in parallel with the main conversion.

Side effects — CALL_WEBHOOK Send HTTP notifications. Does not consume or produce artifacts. Used in on_exit hooks.

2D raster — BUILD_HILLSHADE_DSM, BUILD_COLORED_DSM, BUILD_COLORED_HILLSHADE_DSM Generate 2D raster products directly from point clouds. Output is a GeoTIFF rather than a point cloud format. BUILD_HILLSHADE_DSM produces a shaded-relief intensity raster; BUILD_COLORED_DSM produces a color-relief RGBA raster using a .cpt palette; BUILD_COLORED_HILLSHADE_DSM blends both into a single colored shaded-relief RGB raster.

Vector tiles — BUILD_CONTOURS Generate vector contour lines from point clouds and package them as web-ready tile archives. Output is an MBTiles + PMTiles v3 pair containing a contours layer with elev and type (major/minor) attributes.

Web tiles — BUILD_XYZ_TILES Convert a GeoTIFF raster into a slippy-map XYZ tile tree (zoom levels 1–19) and upload it to MinIO. Typically chained after a 2D raster executor to make the output directly servable by web mapping clients.

Common pipeline patterns

# Basic delivery
LAS → BUILD_COPC → streamable LAZ

# Scalable web visualization
LAS → BUILD_EPT → Cesium / Entwine viewers

# Potree viewer
LAS → BUILD_POTREE → browser-based 3D viewer

# With reprojection
LAS → REPROJECT_LAS → BUILD_EPT

# Terrain-colored visualization
LAS → COLORIZE_AS_DEM → BUILD_POTREE

# Bathymetry pipeline
LAS → REPROJECT_LAS → REGRID_LAS → COLORIZE_AS_DEM → BUILD_EPT

# 2D hillshade raster
LAS → BUILD_HILLSHADE_DSM → hillshade GeoTIFF

# 2D color-relief raster
LAS → BUILD_COLORED_DSM → colored GeoTIFF

# 2D colored shaded-relief raster
LAS → BUILD_COLORED_HILLSHADE_DSM → colored hillshade GeoTIFF

# Contour lines (web tiles)
LAS → BUILD_CONTOURS → MBTiles + PMTiles

# Raster tile layer
LAS → BUILD_COLORED_DSM → BUILD_XYZ_TILES → slippy-map XYZ tiles