diff --git a/appveyor.yml b/appveyor.yml
index 7813d866ed..c22c2502bb 100644
--- a/appveyor.yml
+++ b/appveyor.yml
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ install:
   - python -c "import sys; print(sys.executable)"
   - python -c "import sys; print(sys.prefix)"
   - call "%CONDA_ROOT%\Scripts\activate.bat" base
-  - conda install geotiff laszip nitro curl gdal pcl cmake eigen ninja libgdal geos zstd numpy xz libxml2 laz-perf qhull sqlite hdf5 oracle-instantclient numpy-base
+  - conda install geotiff laszip nitro curl gdal=2.2.4 pcl cmake eigen ninja libgdal geos zstd numpy=1.15.3 xz libxml2 laz-perf qhull sqlite hdf5 oracle-instantclient numpy-base=1.15.3
   - call "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0\VC\vcvarsall.bat" amd64
   - call scripts\\appveyor\\config.cmd
 
diff --git a/cmake/examples/hobu-conda-win64.bat b/cmake/examples/hobu-conda-win64.bat
index 52ea2f7724..f46d2b900c 100644
--- a/cmake/examples/hobu-conda-win64.bat
+++ b/cmake/examples/hobu-conda-win64.bat
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ cd build-project
 
 set GENERATOR="Visual Studio 14 2015 Win64"
 REM set GENERATOR="NMake Makefiles"
-REM set GENERATOR="Ninja"
+set GENERATOR="Ninja"
 
 set CONDA_ROOT=c:\miniconda3-x64
 set ORACLE_HOME=%CONDA_ROOT%
@@ -21,7 +21,6 @@ cmake -G %GENERATOR% ^
       -DBUILD_PLUGIN_I3S=ON ^
       -DBUILD_PLUGIN_SQLITE=ON ^
       -DBUILD_PLUGIN_ICEBRIDGE=ON ^
-      -DBUILD_PLUGIN_HEXBIN=ON ^
       -DBUILD_PLUGIN_NITF=ON ^
       -DENABLE_CTEST=OFF ^
       -DWITH_TESTS=ON ^
diff --git a/cmake/examples/hobu-windows.bat b/cmake/examples/hobu-windows.bat
index 08f6aec82c..734c2eeec5 100644
--- a/cmake/examples/hobu-windows.bat
+++ b/cmake/examples/hobu-windows.bat
@@ -67,7 +67,6 @@ if EXIST CMakeCache.txt del CMakeCache.txt
 cmake -G %GENERATOR% ^
     -DBUILD_PLUGIN_CPD=OFF ^
     -DBUILD_PLUGIN_GREYHOUND=ON ^
-    -DBUILD_PLUGIN_HEXBIN=ON ^
     -DBUILD_PLUGIN_ICEBRIDGE=OFF ^
     -DBUILD_PLUGIN_MRSID=OFF ^
     -DBUILD_PLUGIN_NITF=ON ^
diff --git a/cmake/options.cmake b/cmake/options.cmake
index 14d86a2d59..25bce18fcb 100644
--- a/cmake/options.cmake
+++ b/cmake/options.cmake
@@ -32,11 +32,6 @@ option(BUILD_PLUGIN_GREYHOUND
 add_feature_info("Greyhound plugin" BUILD_PLUGIN_GREYHOUND
     "read points from a Greyhound server")
 
-option(BUILD_PLUGIN_HEXBIN
-    "Choose if the HexBin filter is built" FALSE)
-add_feature_info("Hexbin plugin" BUILD_PLUGIN_HEXBIN
-    "determine boundary and density of a point cloud")
-
 option(BUILD_PLUGIN_ICEBRIDGE
     "Choose if Icebridge support should be built" FALSE)
 add_feature_info("Icebridge plugin" BUILD_PLUGIN_ICEBRIDGE
diff --git a/doc/apps/density.rst b/doc/apps/density.rst
index 7194846670..64462b52e0 100644
--- a/doc/apps/density.rst
+++ b/doc/apps/density.rst
@@ -9,11 +9,6 @@ output of :ref:`filters.hexbin`.
 
 .. _`OGR layer`: http://www.gdal.org/ogr_utilities.html
 
-.. note::
-
-    The ``density`` command is only available when PDAL is linked with Hexer
-    (BUILD_PLUGIN_HEXBIN=ON).
-
 ::
 
     $ pdal density <input> <output>
diff --git a/plugins/python/plang/Environment.cpp b/plugins/python/plang/Environment.cpp
index 0bbcf2d704..ccc541b610 100644
--- a/plugins/python/plang/Environment.cpp
+++ b/plugins/python/plang/Environment.cpp
@@ -233,9 +233,10 @@ PyObject *fromMetadata(MetadataNode m)
     std::string description = m.description();
 
     MetadataNodeList children = m.children();
-    PyObject *submeta = PyList_New(0);
+	PyObject *submeta(0);
     if (children.size())
     {
+		submeta = PyList_New(0);
         for (MetadataNode& child : children)
             PyList_Append(submeta, fromMetadata(child));
     }
@@ -244,8 +245,10 @@ PyObject *fromMetadata(MetadataNode m)
     PyDict_SetItemString(data, "value", PyUnicode_FromString(value.data()));
     PyDict_SetItemString(data, "type", PyUnicode_FromString(type.data()));
     PyDict_SetItemString(data, "description", PyUnicode_FromString(description.data()));
-    PyDict_SetItemString(data, "children", submeta);
-
+	if (children.size())
+	{
+		PyDict_SetItemString(data, "children", submeta);
+	}
     return data;
 }
 
diff --git a/scripts/appveyor/config.cmd b/scripts/appveyor/config.cmd
index e9439aa1c2..4b09ee09e0 100644
--- a/scripts/appveyor/config.cmd
+++ b/scripts/appveyor/config.cmd
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ cmake -G "Ninja" ^
     -DBUILD_PLUGIN_CPD=OFF ^
     -DBUILD_PLUGIN_GREYHOUND=ON ^
     -DBUILD_PLUGIN_ICEBRIDGE=ON ^
+
     -DBUILD_PLUGIN_MRSID=OFF ^
     -DBUILD_PLUGIN_NITF=ON ^
     -DBUILD_PLUGIN_PCL=ON ^
diff --git a/scripts/appveyor/test.cmd b/scripts/appveyor/test.cmd
index 81d642d57b..c7468f4701 100644
--- a/scripts/appveyor/test.cmd
+++ b/scripts/appveyor/test.cmd
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@ pushd build
 REM set CONDA_ROOT=C:\\Miniconda3-x64
 SET PDAL_DRIVER_PATH="C:\projects\pdal\build\bin"
 SET GEOTIFF_CSV=c:\\Minicoda3-x64\\Library\\share\\epsg_csv
+set PYTHONHOME=C:\\Miniconda3-x64\
+set PYTHONPATH=C:\\Miniconda3-x64\\Lib
 cd "c:\projects\pdal\build"
 ctest -V --output-on-failure
 echo %CD%
diff --git a/scripts/ci/script.sh b/scripts/ci/script.sh
index 3c8c684095..2be2dd3714 100755
--- a/scripts/ci/script.sh
+++ b/scripts/ci/script.sh
@@ -19,7 +19,6 @@ cmake .. \
     -DBUILD_PLUGIN_CPD=ON \
     -DBUILD_PLUGIN_GREYHOUND=ON \
     -DBUILD_PLUGIN_I3S=ON \
-    -DBUILD_PLUGIN_HEXBIN=ON \
     -DBUILD_PLUGIN_NITF=ON \
     -DBUILD_PLUGIN_ICEBRIDGE=ON \
     -DBUILD_PLUGIN_PGPOINTCLOUD=ON \
diff --git a/scripts/docker/Dockerfile b/scripts/docker/Dockerfile
index 2b95ae015c..37422e8852 100644
--- a/scripts/docker/Dockerfile
+++ b/scripts/docker/Dockerfile
@@ -12,7 +12,6 @@ RUN \
         alpine-sdk \
         unzip \
         cmake \
-        hexer-dev \
         nitro-dev \
         gdal-dev \
         geos-dev \
@@ -43,7 +42,6 @@ RUN \
         eigen-dev@edgecommunity \
         libressl2.7-libcrypto@edgecommunity \
         libressl-dev \
-        hexer \
         nitro \
         gdal \
         geos \
@@ -116,7 +114,6 @@ RUN \
         -DBUILD_PLUGIN_PYTHON=ON \
         -DBUILD_PLUGIN_CPD=ON \
         -DBUILD_PLUGIN_GREYHOUND=ON \
-        -DBUILD_PLUGIN_HEXBIN=ON \
         -DBUILD_PLUGIN_NITF=ON \
         -DBUILD_PLUGIN_ICEBRIDGE=ON \
         -DBUILD_PLUGIN_PGPOINTCLOUD=ON \
diff --git a/scripts/docker/master/alpine/Dockerfile b/scripts/docker/master/alpine/Dockerfile
index 5e0b26d189..54c008ffe6 100644
--- a/scripts/docker/master/alpine/Dockerfile
+++ b/scripts/docker/master/alpine/Dockerfile
@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@ RUN \
         unzip \
         cmake \
         eigen-dev \
-        hexer-dev \
         nitro-dev \
         gdal-dev \
         geos-dev \
@@ -35,7 +34,6 @@ RUN \
         zstd-dev \
     ; \
     apk add --no-cache \
-        hexer \
         nitro \
         gdal \
         geos \
@@ -88,7 +86,6 @@ RUN \
         -DBUILD_PLUGIN_PYTHON=ON \
         -DBUILD_PLUGIN_CPD=ON \
         -DBUILD_PLUGIN_GREYHOUND=ON \
-        -DBUILD_PLUGIN_HEXBIN=ON \
         -DBUILD_PLUGIN_NITF=ON \
         -DBUILD_PLUGIN_ICEBRIDGE=ON \
         -DBUILD_PLUGIN_PGPOINTCLOUD=ON \
diff --git a/scripts/docker/master/ubuntu/Dockerfile b/scripts/docker/master/ubuntu/Dockerfile
index 2bdc37e041..0b863a35e4 100644
--- a/scripts/docker/master/ubuntu/Dockerfile
+++ b/scripts/docker/master/ubuntu/Dockerfile
@@ -115,18 +115,6 @@ RUN \
     make install; \
     cd /; \
     rm -rf /laszip; \
-    git clone https://github.com/hobu/hexer.git; \
-    cd hexer; \
-    mkdir build; \
-    cd build; \
-    cmake .. \
-        -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/usr \
-        -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE="Release" \
-    ; \
-    make; \
-    make install; \
-    cd /; \
-    rm -rf /hexer; \
     git clone  https://github.com/hobu/laz-perf.git; \
     cd laz-perf; \
     mkdir build; \
@@ -206,7 +194,6 @@ RUN \
         -DBUILD_PLUGIN_CPD=OFF \
         -DBUILD_PLUGIN_MBIO=ON \
         -DBUILD_PLUGIN_GREYHOUND=ON \
-        -DBUILD_PLUGIN_HEXBIN=ON \
         -DBUILD_PLUGIN_ICEBRIDGE=ON \
         -DBUILD_PLUGIN_MRSID=ON \
         -DBUILD_PLUGIN_NITF=ON \
diff --git a/scripts/docker/rivlib/Dockerfile b/scripts/docker/rivlib/Dockerfile
index 097720e35e..ccf5be657a 100644
--- a/scripts/docker/rivlib/Dockerfile
+++ b/scripts/docker/rivlib/Dockerfile
@@ -12,7 +12,6 @@ RUN CC="gcc" CXX="g++" git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/PDAL/PDAL \
 	&& cmake \
 		-DBUILD_PLUGIN_CPD=ON \
 		-DBUILD_PLUGIN_GREYHOUND=ON \
-		-DBUILD_PLUGIN_HEXBIN=ON \
 		-DBUILD_PLUGIN_ICEBRIDGE=ON \
 		-DBUILD_PLUGIN_MRSID=ON \
 		-DBUILD_PLUGIN_NITF=ON \
diff --git a/scripts/docker/ubuntu/Dockerfile b/scripts/docker/ubuntu/Dockerfile
index 29c85cd9c9..ab634268e7 100644
--- a/scripts/docker/ubuntu/Dockerfile
+++ b/scripts/docker/ubuntu/Dockerfile
@@ -13,7 +13,6 @@ RUN     git clone https://github.com/PDAL/PDAL.git /pdal; \
         -DBUILD_PLUGIN_PYTHON=ON \
         -DBUILD_PLUGIN_CPD=ON \
         -DBUILD_PLUGIN_GREYHOUND=ON \
-        -DBUILD_PLUGIN_HEXBIN=ON \
         -DBUILD_PLUGIN_NITF=ON \
         -DBUILD_PLUGIN_ICEBRIDGE=ON \
         -DBUILD_PLUGIN_PGPOINTCLOUD=ON \
diff --git a/scripts/linux-install-scripts/pdal.sh b/scripts/linux-install-scripts/pdal.sh
index ad134b3163..45e236ceb2 100644
--- a/scripts/linux-install-scripts/pdal.sh
+++ b/scripts/linux-install-scripts/pdal.sh
@@ -20,7 +20,6 @@ cmake   -G "Unix Makefiles"  \
         -DWITH_LAZPERF=ON \
         -DWITH_LIBXML2=ON \
         -DBUILD_PLUGIN_PYTHON=ON \
-        -DBUILD_PLUGIN_HEXBIN=ON \
         -DBUILD_PLUGIN_ICEBRIDGE=ON \
         -DBUILD_PLUGIN_NITF=ON \
         -DBUILD_PLUGIN_PGPOINTCLOUD=ON \
diff --git a/scripts/osgeo4w/config.cmd b/scripts/osgeo4w/config.cmd
index a132caee82..f1f8225fbf 100644
--- a/scripts/osgeo4w/config.cmd
+++ b/scripts/osgeo4w/config.cmd
@@ -28,7 +28,6 @@ del /s /q install
 cmake -G %GENERATOR% ^
     -DBUILD_PLUGIN_CPD=OFF ^
     -DBUILD_PLUGIN_GREYHOUND=ON ^
-    -DBUILD_PLUGIN_HEXBIN=ON ^
     -DBUILD_PLUGIN_ICEBRIDGE=OFF ^
     -DBUILD_PLUGIN_MRSID=OFF ^
     -DBUILD_PLUGIN_NITF=ON ^