v.net.bridge(1)

📦
version 8.4.2 · 8 versions
, in fedora 44

💖 v.net.bridge — the GRASS GIS manual, bestie edition 💖

okay so. this is v.net.bridge(1) from the GRASS GIS User's Manual, and it's genuinely one of the most underrated little tools in the whole vector toolbox. we're finding bridges and articulation points in a network. that's it. that's the whole vibe. let's get into it 🦋

✨ NAME ✨

v.net.bridge — computes bridges and articulation points in the network. periodt. 💅

🎀 KEYWORDS 🎀

vector, network, articulation points

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

v.net.bridge
v.net.bridge --help
v.net.bridge input=name output=name  [arc_layer=string]
[arc_layer=string]   [arc_column=name]   [arc_backward_column=name]
[node_column=string]  method=string  [--overwrite]  [--help]
[--verbose]  [--quiet]  [--ui]

so yeah, input and output and method are the non-negotiables — everything else is you customizing the fit ✨

🚩 Flags

  • --overwrite — lets your output files just. bulldoze whatever's already sitting there with the same name. use with intention, bestie 💀
  • --help — prints the usage summary, aka the lil cheat sheet
  • --verbose — verbose module output, if you want the module to actually talk to you
  • --quiet — quiet module output, if you want it to shut up and just work 🙈
  • --ui — forces the GUI dialog to launch

🌈 Parameters

  • input=name [required] — name of the input vector map. or, plot twist, it can be a data source for direct OGR access 👑
  • output=name [required] — name for the output vector map
  • arc_layer=string — arc layer. here's the tea: vector features can have category values in different layers, and this number decides which layer gets used. when you're doing direct OGR access, this is the layer name instead. Default: 1
  • node_layer=string — node layer. same situation as above — layers and categories and which one you're pointing at. with direct OGR access this is the layer name. Default: 2
  • arc_column=name — arc forward/both direction(s) cost column (number)
  • arc_backward_column=name — arc backward direction cost column (number)
  • node_column=string — node cost column (number)
  • method=string [required] — feature type. your options are:
    • bridge — finds bridges
    • articulation — finds articulation points

💜 DESCRIPTION 💜

v.net.bridge finds bridges and articulation points in a network. short, sweet, slay. 💖

🔥 NOTES 🔥

okay so definitions time, because these words sound scarier than they are:

a bridge in a network is an edge/line whose removal would disconnect the (sub-)network. and a node is an articulation point if its removal would disconnect the (sub-)network. if you want the full formal definitions, the original points you at the wikipedia entries for bridge and articulation point — go read those, they're free. 📚

the output of the module contains the selected features. so for method=bridge, the lines corresponding to bridges get copied from the input map straight to the output map. but for method=articulation, points are created on the positions of the articulation points. two different outputs entirely, depending on your method. iykyk ✨

now here's the GRASS-specific plot twist, and it's important:

in GRASS GIS, a line is not always a single line segment. it might be — and often is — a sequence of line segments between two intersections. also, "articulation point" is standard graph theoretic terminology which is slightly misleading in GRASS. an articulation point in graph theory is an articulation node in GRASS terminology. 🌸

so like, when you say "point" you might mean "node." keep that in your notes bestie, it'll save you. 🫶

👀 SEE ALSO 👀

  • v.net
  • v.category

💅 AUTHORS 💅

  • Daniel Bundala, Google Summer of Code 2009, Student
  • Wolf Bergenheim, Mentor

📦 SOURCE CODE 📦

available at: v.net.bridge source code (history)

accessed: Saturday Jan 17 05:41:25 2026

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© 2003-2025 GRASS Development Team, GRASS GIS 8.4.2 Reference Manual

and that's the whole page, bestie!! 🎀 this was GRASS 8.4.2, the v.net.bridge(1) manual, accessed Saturday Jan 17 05:41:25 2026 — © 2003-2025 GRASS Development Team. go disconnect some networks (metaphorically) (or literally, honestly, that's the point of the module) 💖✨🦋

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