How to Create a Shapefile in QGIS

How to Create Shapefile in QGIS

Updated on:

June 8, 2026

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Use this interactive demo to learn how to generate a shapefile layer from scratch in QGIS.

Quick summary

This demo walks you through creating a shapefile in QGIS by first building a GeoPackage layer and then exporting it as an ESRI Shapefile — a standard workflow for producing compatible vector data files in any GIS project.

Steps

Go to the Layer menu at the top, select Create Layer, and choose New GeoPackage Layer.
Enter your File name and Table name in the dialog.
Choose a geometry type: Point, Line, or Polygon.
Click OK to save and create the new layer.
Once the layer appears in the Layers Panel, right-click it, select Export, and choose Save Feature As.
Set the save format to ESRI Shapefile.
Enter the File name and Layer name for your shapefile output.
Click OK to confirm and export.
The new shapefile layer will appear in the Layers Panel, ready to use.

📌 Why this matters

QGIS is the leading open-source GIS platform, and knowing how to create a shapefile is a foundational skill for any GIS professional or spatial data analyst. Shapefiles (ESRI format) remain one of the most widely accepted vector data formats for sharing and analyzing geographic data across tools and organizations. This workflow — creating a GeoPackage layer and exporting it as a shapefile — gives users full control over geometry type, naming, and file structure without requiring any paid software. Mastering this process in QGIS reduces dependency on proprietary GIS tools and accelerates spatial data production.

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