gdalinfo - Man Page

Lists various information about a GDAL supported raster dataset

Examples (TL;DR)

tldr.sh

Synopsis

Usage: gdalinfo [--help] [--long-usage] [--help-general]
                [-json] [-mm]
                [[-stats]|[-approx_stats]]
                [-hist]
                [-nogcp] [-nomd] [-norat] [-noct] [-nofl] [-nonodata] [-nomask]
                [-checksum] [-listmdd] [-proj4]
                [-wkt_format <WKT1|WKT2|WKT2_2015|WKT2_2018|WKT2_2019>]
                [-sd <n>] [-oo <NAME>=<VALUE>]... [-if <format>]...
                [-mdd <domain>|all]
                <dataset_name>

Description

gdalinfo program lists various information about a GDAL supported raster dataset.

The following command line parameters can appear in any order

--help

Show this help message and exit

--help-general

Gives a brief usage message for the generic GDAL commandline options and exit.

-json

Display the output in json format. Since GDAL 3.6, this includes key-value pairs useful for building a STAC item , including statistics and histograms if -stats or -hist flags are passed, respectively.

-mm

Force computation of the actual min/max values for each band in the dataset.

-stats

Read and display image statistics. Force computation if no statistics are stored in an image.

-approx_stats

Read and display image statistics. Force computation if no statistics are stored in an image. However, they may be computed based on overviews or a subset of all tiles. Useful if you are in a hurry and don't need precise stats.

-hist

Report histogram information for all bands.

-nogcp

Suppress ground control points list printing. It may be useful for datasets with huge amount of GCPs, such as L1B AVHRR or HDF4 MODIS which contain thousands of them.

-nomd

Suppress metadata printing. Some datasets may contain a lot of metadata strings.

-norat

Suppress printing of raster attribute table.

-noct

Suppress printing of color table.

-nonodata

Added in version 3.10.

Suppress nodata printing. Implies -nomask.

Can be useful for example when querying a remove GRIB2 dataset that has an index .idx side-car file, together with -nomd

-nomask

Added in version 3.10.

Suppress band mask printing. Is implied if -nonodata is specified.

-checksum

Force computation of the checksum for each band in the dataset.

-listmdd

List all metadata domains available for the dataset.

-mdd <domain>|all

adds metadata using:

domain Report metadata for the specified domain.

all Report metadata for all domains.

-nofl

Only display the first file of the file list.

-wkt_format WKT1|WKT2|WKT2_2015|WKT2_2018|WKT2_2019

WKT format used to display the SRS. Currently the supported values are:

WKT1

WKT2 (latest WKT version, currently WKT2_2019)

WKT2_2015

WKT2_2018 (deprecated)

WKT2_2019

Added in version 3.0.0.

-sd <n>

If the input dataset contains several subdatasets read and display a subdataset with specified n number (starting from 1). This is an alternative of giving the full subdataset name.

-proj4

Report a PROJ.4 string corresponding to the file's coordinate system.

-oo <NAME>=<VALUE>

Dataset open option (format specific).

-if <format>

Format/driver name to be attempted to open the input file(s). It is generally not necessary to specify it, but it can be used to skip automatic driver detection, when it fails to select the appropriate driver. This option can be repeated several times to specify several candidate drivers. Note that it does not force those drivers to open the dataset. In particular, some drivers have requirements on file extensions.

Added in version 3.2.

The gdalinfo will report all of the following (if known):

C API

This utility is also callable from C with GDALInfo().

Added in version 2.1.

Examples

Example 1: Default output format

$ gdalinfo utmsmall.tif
Driver: GTiff/GeoTIFF
Files: utmsmall.tif
Size is 100, 100
Coordinate System is:
PROJCRS["NAD27 / UTM zone 11N",
    BASEGEOGCRS["NAD27",
        DATUM["North American Datum 1927",
            ELLIPSOID["Clarke 1866",6378206.4,294.978698213898,
                LENGTHUNIT["metre",1]]],
        PRIMEM["Greenwich",0,
            ANGLEUNIT["degree",0.0174532925199433]],
        ID["EPSG",4267]],
    CONVERSION["Transverse Mercator",
        METHOD["Transverse Mercator",
            ID["EPSG",9807]],
        PARAMETER["Latitude of natural origin",0,
            ANGLEUNIT["degree",0.0174532925199433],
            ID["EPSG",8801]],
        PARAMETER["Longitude of natural origin",-117,
            ANGLEUNIT["degree",0.0174532925199433],
            ID["EPSG",8802]],
        PARAMETER["Scale factor at natural origin",0.9996,
            SCALEUNIT["unity",1],
            ID["EPSG",8805]],
        PARAMETER["False easting",500000,
            LENGTHUNIT["metre",1],
            ID["EPSG",8806]],
        PARAMETER["False northing",0,
            LENGTHUNIT["metre",1],
            ID["EPSG",8807]]],
    CS[Cartesian,2],
        AXIS["easting",east,
            ORDER[1],
            LENGTHUNIT["metre",1]],
        AXIS["northing",north,
            ORDER[2],
            LENGTHUNIT["metre",1]],
    ID["EPSG",26711]]
Data axis to CRS axis mapping: 1,2
Origin = (440720.000000000000000,3751320.000000000000000)
Pixel Size = (60.000000000000000,-60.000000000000000)
Metadata:
  AREA_OR_POINT=Area
Image Structure Metadata:
  INTERLEAVE=BAND
Corner Coordinates:
Upper Left  (  440720.000, 3751320.000) (117d38'28.21"W, 33d54' 8.47"N)
Lower Left  (  440720.000, 3745320.000) (117d38'26.75"W, 33d50'53.66"N)
Upper Right (  446720.000, 3751320.000) (117d34'34.59"W, 33d54' 9.62"N)
Lower Right (  446720.000, 3745320.000) (117d34'33.28"W, 33d50'54.82"N)
Center      (  443720.000, 3748320.000) (117d36'30.71"W, 33d52'31.66"N)
Band 1 Block=100x81 Type=Byte, ColorInterp=Gray

Example 2: JSON output

For corner coordinates formatted as decimal degree instead of the above degree, minute, second, inspect the wgs84Extent member of gdalinfo -json:

Example of JSON output with gdalinfo -json utmsmall.tif:

{
  "description":"utmsmall.tif",
  "driverShortName":"GTiff",
  "driverLongName":"GeoTIFF",
  "files":[
    "utmsmall.tif"
  ],
  "size":[
    100,
    100
  ],
  "coordinateSystem":{
    "wkt":"PROJCRS[\"NAD27 / UTM zone 11N\",\n    BASEGEOGCRS[\"NAD27\",\n        DATUM[\"North American Datum 1927\",\n            ELLIPSOID[\"Clarke 1866\",6378206.4,294.978698213898,\n                LENGTHUNIT[\"metre\",1]]],\n        PRIMEM[\"Greenwich\",0,\n            ANGLEUNIT[\"degree\",0.0174532925199433]],\n        ID[\"EPSG\",4267]],\n    CONVERSION[\"Transverse Mercator\",\n        METHOD[\"Transverse Mercator\",\n            ID[\"EPSG\",9807]],\n        PARAMETER[\"Latitude of natural origin\",0,\n            ANGLEUNIT[\"degree\",0.0174532925199433],\n            ID[\"EPSG\",8801]],\n        PARAMETER[\"Longitude of natural origin\",-117,\n            ANGLEUNIT[\"degree\",0.0174532925199433],\n            ID[\"EPSG\",8802]],\n        PARAMETER[\"Scale factor at natural origin\",0.9996,\n            SCALEUNIT[\"unity\",1],\n            ID[\"EPSG\",8805]],\n        PARAMETER[\"False easting\",500000,\n            LENGTHUNIT[\"metre\",1],\n            ID[\"EPSG\",8806]],\n        PARAMETER[\"False northing\",0,\n            LENGTHUNIT[\"metre\",1],\n            ID[\"EPSG\",8807]]],\n    CS[Cartesian,2],\n        AXIS[\"easting\",east,\n            ORDER[1],\n            LENGTHUNIT[\"metre\",1]],\n        AXIS[\"northing\",north,\n            ORDER[2],\n            LENGTHUNIT[\"metre\",1]],\n    ID[\"EPSG\",26711]]",
    "dataAxisToSRSAxisMapping":[
      1,
      2
    ]
  },
  "geoTransform":[
    440720.0,
    60.0,
    0.0,
    3751320.0,
    0.0,
    -60.0
  ],
  "metadata":{
    "":{
      "AREA_OR_POINT":"Area"
    },
    "IMAGE_STRUCTURE":{
      "INTERLEAVE":"BAND"
    }
  },
  "cornerCoordinates":{
    "upperLeft":[
      440720.0,
      3751320.0
    ],
    "lowerLeft":[
      440720.0,
      3745320.0
    ],
    "lowerRight":[
      446720.0,
      3745320.0
    ],
    "upperRight":[
      446720.0,
      3751320.0
    ],
    "center":[
      443720.0,
      3748320.0
    ]
  },
  "wgs84Extent":{
    "type":"Polygon",
    "coordinates":[
      [
        [
          -117.6420428,
          33.9023684
        ],
        [
          -117.6416377,
          33.848257
        ],
        [
          -117.5767844,
          33.8485775
        ],
        [
          -117.5771485,
          33.9026895
        ],
        [
          -117.6420428,
          33.9023684
        ]
      ]
    ]
  },
  "bands":[
    {
      "band":1,
      "block":[
        100,
        81
      ],
      "type":"Byte",
      "colorInterpretation":"Gray",
      "metadata":{
      }
    }
  ],
  "stac":{
    "proj:shape":[
      100,
      100
    ],
    "proj:wkt2":"PROJCRS[\"NAD27 / UTM zone 11N\",\n    BASEGEOGCRS[\"NAD27\",\n        DATUM[\"North American Datum 1927\",\n            ELLIPSOID[\"Clarke 1866\",6378206.4,294.978698213898,\n                LENGTHUNIT[\"metre\",1]]],\n        PRIMEM[\"Greenwich\",0,\n            ANGLEUNIT[\"degree\",0.0174532925199433]],\n        ID[\"EPSG\",4267]],\n    CONVERSION[\"Transverse Mercator\",\n        METHOD[\"Transverse Mercator\",\n            ID[\"EPSG\",9807]],\n        PARAMETER[\"Latitude of natural origin\",0,\n            ANGLEUNIT[\"degree\",0.0174532925199433],\n            ID[\"EPSG\",8801]],\n        PARAMETER[\"Longitude of natural origin\",-117,\n            ANGLEUNIT[\"degree\",0.0174532925199433],\n            ID[\"EPSG\",8802]],\n        PARAMETER[\"Scale factor at natural origin\",0.9996,\n            SCALEUNIT[\"unity\",1],\n            ID[\"EPSG\",8805]],\n        PARAMETER[\"False easting\",500000,\n            LENGTHUNIT[\"metre\",1],\n            ID[\"EPSG\",8806]],\n        PARAMETER[\"False northing\",0,\n            LENGTHUNIT[\"metre\",1],\n            ID[\"EPSG\",8807]]],\n    CS[Cartesian,2],\n        AXIS[\"easting\",east,\n            ORDER[1],\n            LENGTHUNIT[\"metre\",1]],\n        AXIS[\"northing\",north,\n            ORDER[2],\n            LENGTHUNIT[\"metre\",1]],\n    ID[\"EPSG\",26711]]",
    "proj:epsg":26711,
    "proj:projjson":{
      "$schema":"https://proj.org/schemas/v0.7/projjson.schema.json",
      "type":"ProjectedCRS",
      "name":"NAD27 / UTM zone 11N",
      "base_crs":{
        "type":"GeographicCRS",
        "name":"NAD27",
        "datum":{
          "type":"GeodeticReferenceFrame",
          "name":"North American Datum 1927",
          "ellipsoid":{
            "name":"Clarke 1866",
            "semi_major_axis":6378206.4,
            "inverse_flattening":294.978698213898
          }
        },
        "coordinate_system":{
          "subtype":"ellipsoidal",
          "axis":[
            {
              "name":"Geodetic latitude",
              "abbreviation":"Lat",
              "direction":"north",
              "unit":"degree"
            },
            {
              "name":"Geodetic longitude",
              "abbreviation":"Lon",
              "direction":"east",
              "unit":"degree"
            }
          ]
        },
        "id":{
          "authority":"EPSG",
          "code":4267
        }
      },
      "conversion":{
        "name":"Transverse Mercator",
        "method":{
          "name":"Transverse Mercator",
          "id":{
            "authority":"EPSG",
            "code":9807
          }
        },
        "parameters":[
          {
            "name":"Latitude of natural origin",
            "value":0,
            "unit":"degree",
            "id":{
              "authority":"EPSG",
              "code":8801
            }
          },
          {
            "name":"Longitude of natural origin",
            "value":-117,
            "unit":"degree",
            "id":{
              "authority":"EPSG",
              "code":8802
            }
          },
          {
            "name":"Scale factor at natural origin",
            "value":0.9996,
            "unit":"unity",
            "id":{
              "authority":"EPSG",
              "code":8805
            }
          },
          {
            "name":"False easting",
            "value":500000,
            "unit":"metre",
            "id":{
              "authority":"EPSG",
              "code":8806
            }
          },
          {
            "name":"False northing",
            "value":0,
            "unit":"metre",
            "id":{
              "authority":"EPSG",
              "code":8807
            }
          }
        ]
      },
      "coordinate_system":{
        "subtype":"Cartesian",
        "axis":[
          {
            "name":"Easting",
            "abbreviation":"",
            "direction":"east",
            "unit":"metre"
          },
          {
            "name":"Northing",
            "abbreviation":"",
            "direction":"north",
            "unit":"metre"
          }
        ]
      },
      "id":{
        "authority":"EPSG",
        "code":26711
      }
    },
    "proj:transform":[
      440720.0,
      60.0,
      0.0,
      3751320.0,
      0.0,
      -60.0
    ],
    "raster:bands":[
      {
        "data_type":"uint8"
      }
    ],
    "eo:bands":[
      {
        "name":"b1",
        "description":"Gray"
      }
    ]
  }
}

Author

Frank Warmerdam <warmerdam@pobox.com>

Info

Jul 12, 2025 GDAL