GDAL_TRANSLATE(1) GDAL GDAL_TRANSLATE(1) NAME gdal_translate - Converts raster data between different formats. SYNOPSIS Usage: gdal_translate [--help] [--long-usage] [--help-general] [-ot Byte|Int8|[U]Int{16|32|64}|CInt{16|32}|[C]Float{32|64}] [-if <format>]... [-of <output_format>] [--quiet] [-b <band>]... [-mask <mask>] [-expand gray|rgb|rgba] [[-strict]|[-not_strict]] [-outsize <xsize[%]|0> <ysize[%]|0>] [-tr <xres> <yres>] [-ovr <level>|AUTO|AUTO-<n>|NONE] [-sds] [-r nearest,bilinear,cubic,cubicspline,lanczos,average,mode] [[-scale [<src_min> <src_max> [<dst_min> <dst_max>]]]...| [-scale_X [<src_min> <src_max> [<dst_min> <dst_max>]]]...| [-unscale]] [[-exponent <value>]|[-exponent_X <value>]...] [-srcwin <xoff> <yoff> <xsize> <ysize>] [-projwin <ulx> <uly> <lrx> <lry>] [-projwin_srs <srs_def>] [-epo] [-eco] [-a_srs <srs_def>] [-a_coord_epoch <epoch>] [-a_ullr <ulx> <uly> <lrx> <lry>] [-a_nodata <value>|none] [-a_gt <gt(0)> <gt(1)> <gt(2)> <gt(3)> <gt(4)> <gt(5)>] [-a_scale <value>] [-a_offset <value>] [-nogcp] [-gcp <pixel> <line> <easting> <northing> [<elevation>]]... [-colorinterp {red|green|blue|alpha|gray|undefined|pan|coastal|rededge|nir|swir|mwir|lwir|...},...] [-colorinterp_X {red|green|blue|alpha|gray|undefined|pan|coastal|rededge|nir|swir|mwir|lwir|...}]... [[-stats]|[-approx_stats]] [-norat] [-noxmp] [-co <NAME>=<VALUE>]... [-mo <NAME>=<VALUE>]... [-dmo <DOMAIN>:<KEY>=<VALUE>]... [-oo <NAME>=<VALUE>]... <input_file> <output_file> DESCRIPTION The gdal_translate utility can be used to convert raster data between dif- ferent formats, potentially performing some operations like subsetting, re- sampling, and rescaling pixels in the process. TIP: Equivalent in new "gdal" command line interface: * gdal raster convert for format translation. * gdal raster clip for spatial subsetting. * gdal raster nodata-to-alpha to add an alpha channel from nodata val- ues. * gdal raster resize for image resizing. * gdal raster scale to scale pixel values. * gdal raster set-type to change the band data type. --help Show this help message and exit --help-general Gives a brief usage message for the generic GDAL commandline options and exit. -q, --quiet Suppress progress messages and other non-error output. -ot <type> Force the output image bands to have a specific data type supported by the driver, which may be one of the following: Byte, Int8, UInt16, Int16, UInt32, Int32, UInt64, Int64, Float32, Float64, CInt16, CInt32, CFloat32 or CFloat64. -strict Enable strict mode. In this mode, GDAL will fail instead of silently performing operations that may lead to loss of information, such as data type conversions that cannot be exactly preserved. The exact behavior of this option is driver-dependent. Most raster drivers use it to enforce strict preservation of the input data type and will report an error if the requested operation cannot be per- formed without data loss. See Example 5. -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 sev- eral 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. -of <format> Select the output format. If not specified, the format is guessed from the extension. Use the short format name. -b <band> Select an input band band for output. Bands are numbered from 1. Multiple -b switches may be used to select a set of input bands to write to the output file, or to reorder bands. band can also be set to "mask,1" (or just "mask") to mean the mask band of the first band of the input dataset. -mask <band> Select an input band band to create output dataset mask band. Bands are numbered from 1. band can be set to "none" to avoid copying the global mask of the input dataset if it exists. Otherwise it is copied by default ("auto"), unless the mask is an alpha channel, or if it is explicitly used to be a regular band of the output dataset ("-b mask"). band can also be set to "mask,1" (or just "mask") to mean the mask band of the 1st band of the input dataset. -expand gray|rgb|rgba To expose a dataset with 1 band with a color table as a dataset with 3 (RGB) or 4 (RGBA) bands. Useful for output drivers such as JPEG, JPEG2000, MrSID, ECW that don't support color indexed datasets. The 'gray' value enables to expand a dataset with a color table that only contains gray levels to a gray indexed dataset. -outsize <xsize>[%]|0 <ysize>[%]|0 Set the size of the output file. Outsize is in pixels and lines un- less '%' is attached in which case it is as a fraction of the input image size. If one of the 2 values is set to 0, its value will be determined from the other one, while maintaining the aspect ratio of the source dataset. -tr <xres> <yres> Set target resolution. The values must be expressed in georeferenced units. Both must be positive values. This is mutually exclusive with -outsize, -a_ullr, and -a_gt. -ovr {<level>|AUTO|AUTO-<n>|NONE} Added in version 3.6. To specify which overview level of source file must be used. The de- fault choice, AUTO, will select the overview level whose resolution is the closest to the target resolution. Specify an integer value (0-based, i.e. 0=1st overview level) to select a particular level. Specify AUTO-n where n is an integer greater or equal to 1, to se- lect an overview level below the AUTO one. Or specify NONE to force the base resolution to be used (can be useful if overviews have been generated with a low quality resampling method, and a higher quality resampling method is specified with -r.) When -ovr is specified as an integer value, and neither -outsize nor -tr is specified, the size of the overview will be used as the out- put size. When -ovr is specified, values of -srcwin should be expressed as pixel offset and size of the full resolution source dataset. Simi- larly when using -outsize with percentage values, they refer to the size of the full resolution source dataset. -r {nearest|bilinear|cubic|cubicspline|lanczos|average|rms|mode} Select a resampling algorithm. nearest (default) applies a nearest neighbour (simple sampling) re- sampler average computes the average of all non-NODATA contributing pixels. Starting with GDAL 3.1, this is a weighted average taking into ac- count properly the weight of source pixels not contributing fully to the target pixel. rms computes the root mean squared / quadratic mean of all non-NO- DATA contributing pixels (GDAL >= 3.3) bilinear applies a bilinear convolution kernel. cubic applies a cubic convolution kernel. cubicspline applies a B-Spline convolution kernel. lanczos applies a Lanczos windowed sinc convolution kernel. mode selects the value which appears most often of all the sampled points. -scale [<src_min> <src_max> [<dst_min> <dst_max>]] Rescale the input pixels values from the range src_min to src_max to the range dst_min to dst_max. If omitted the output range is from the minimum value to the maximum value allowed for integer data types (for example from 0 to 255 for Byte output) or from 0 to 1 for floating-point data types. If omitted the input range is automati- cally computed from the source dataset, in its whole (not just the window of interest potentially specified with -srcwin or -projwin). This may be a slow operation on a large source dataset, and if using it multiple times for several gdal_translate invocation, it might be beneficial to call gdalinfo -stats {source_dataset} priorly to pre- compute statistics, for formats that support serializing statistics computations (GeoTIFF, VRT...) Note that the values specified after -scale are only used to compute a scale and offset to apply to the input raster values. In particular, src_min and src_max are not used to clip input values unless -exponent is also specified. Instead of being clipped, source values that are outside the range of src_min and src_max will be scaled to values outside the range of dst_min and dst_max. If clipping without exponential scaling is desired, -exponent 1 can be used. -scale can be repeated several times (if specified only once, it also applies to all bands of the output dataset), so as to specify per band parameters. It is also possible to use the -scale_bn syntax where bn is a band number (e.g. -scale_2 for the 2nd band of the output dataset) to specify the parameters of one or several specific bands. -exponent <exp_val> Apply non-linear scaling with a power function. exp_val is the expo- nent of the power function (must be positive). This option must be used with the -scale option. If specified only once, -exponent ap- plies to all bands of the output image. It can be repeated several times so as to specify per band parameters. It is also possible to use the -exponent_bn syntax where bn is a band number (e.g. -expo- nent_2 for the 2nd band of the output dataset) to specify the para- meters of one or several specific bands. The scaled value Dst is calculated from the source value Src with the following formula: {Dst} = \left( {Dst}_{max} - {Dst}_{min} \right) \times \operator- name{max} \left( 0, \operatorname{min} \left( 1, \left( \frac{{Src} - {Src}_{min}}{{Src}_{max}-{Src}_{min}} \right)^{exp\_val} \right) \right) + {Dst}_{min} -unscale Apply the scale/offset metadata for the bands to convert lin- early-scaled values to unscaled values. It is also often necessary to reset the output datatype with the -ot switch. The unscaled value is computed from the scaled raw value with the following for- mula: {unscaled\_value} = {scaled\_value} * {scale} + {offset} -srcwin <xoff> <yoff> <xsize> <ysize> Selects a subwindow from the source image for copying based on pixel/line location. Pixel/line offsets (xoff and yoff) are measured from the left and top of the image. If the subwindow extends beyond the bounds of the source dataset, output pixels will be written with a value of zero, unless a NoData value is defined either in the source dataset or by -a_nodata. Alternatively, gdal_translate can issue an error in this case if so directed by options -epo or -eco. -projwin <ulx> <uly> <lrx> <lry> Selects a subwindow from the source image for copying (like -srcwin) but with the corners given in georeferenced coordinates (by default expressed in the SRS of the dataset. Can be changed with -projwin_srs). If the subwindow extends beyond the bounds of the source dataset, output pixels will be written with a value of zero, unless a NoData value is defined either in the source dataset or by -a_nodata. Alternatively, gdal_translate can issue an error in this case if so directed by options -epo or -eco. NOTE: Beginning with GDAL 3.11, the extent described by -projwin will be transformed into the dataset SRS and used to select a subwin- dow. Before GDAL 3.11, only the two corner points were trans- formed into the dataset SRS, and these two transformed points were used to define an extent in the dataset SRS. Depending on the SRS involved, the subwindow selected in GDAL 3.11 may be sub- stantially larger than in previous versions. NOTE: When using nearest-neighbor resampling, the window specified by -projwin is expanded (rounded, for GDAL < 3.11) if necessary to match input pixel boundaries. For other resampling algorithms, the window is not modified. -projwin_srs <srs_def> Specifies the SRS in which to interpret the coordinates given with -projwin. The <srs_def> may be any of the usual GDAL/OGR forms, com- plete WKT, PROJ.4, EPSG:n or a file containing the WKT. WARNING: This does not cause reprojection of the dataset to the specified SRS. -epo (Error when Partially Outside) If this option is set, -srcwin or -projwin values that falls partially outside the source raster ex- tent will be considered as an error. The default behavior is to ac- cept such requests. -eco (Error when Completely Outside) Same as -epo, except that the crite- rion for erroring out is when the request falls completely outside the source raster extent. -a_srs <srs_def> Override the projection for the output file. Can be used with -a_ullr or -a_gt to specify the extent in this projection. The coordinate reference systems that can be passed are anything supported by the OGRSpatialReference::SetFromUserInput() call, which includes EPSG Projected, Geographic or Compound CRS (i.e. EPSG:4296), a well known text (WKT) CRS definition, PROJ.4 declara- tions, or the name of a .prj file containing a WKT CRS definition. NOTE: No reprojection is done. -a_coord_epoch <epoch> Added in version 3.4. Assign a coordinate epoch, linked with the output SRS. Useful when the output SRS is a dynamic CRS. -a_scale <value> Set band scaling value. No modification of pixel values is done. Note that the -unscale does not take into account -a_scale. You may for example specify -scale 0 1 <offset> <offset+scale> to apply a (offset, scale) tuple, for the equivalent of the 2 steps: gdal_translate input.tif tmp.vrt -a_scale scale -a_offset offset followed by gdal_translate tmp.vrt output.tif -unscale -a_offset <value> Set band offset value. No modification of pixel values is done. Note that the -unscale does not take into account -a_offset. You may for example specify -scale 0 1 <offset> <offset+scale> to apply a (offset, scale) tuple, for the equivalent of the 2 steps: gdal_translate input.tif tmp.vrt -a_scale scale -a_offset offset followed by gdal_translate tmp.vrt output.tif -unscale -a_ullr <ulx> <uly> <lrx> <lry> Assign/override the georeferenced bounds of the output file. This assigns georeferenced bounds to the output file, ignoring what would have been derived from the source file. So this does not cause re- projection to the specified SRS. This is mutually exclusive with -a_gt -a_gt <gt(0)> <gt(1)> <gt(2)> <gt(3)> <gt(4)> <gt(5)> Assign/override the geotransform of the output file. This assigns the geotransform to the output file, ignoring what would have been derived from the source file. So this does not cause reprojection to the specified SRS. See Geotransform Tutorial. This is mutually ex- clusive with -a_ullr Added in version 3.8. -a_nodata <value> Assign a specified nodata value to output bands. It can be set to none to avoid setting a nodata value to the output file if one ex- ists for the source file. Note that, if the input dataset has a no- data value, this does not cause pixel values that are equal to that nodata value to be changed to the value specified with this option. -colorinterp_X <red|green|blue|alpha|gray|undefined|pan|coastal|red- edge|nir|swir|mwir|lwir|...> Override the color interpretation of band X (where X is a valid band number, starting at 1) -colorinterp {red|green|blue|alpha|gray|undefined|pan|coastal|red- edge|nir|swir|mwir|lwir|...},... Override the color interpretation of all specified bands. For exam- ple -colorinterp red,green,blue,alpha for a 4 band output dataset. -mo <META-TAG>=<VALUE> Passes a metadata key and value to set on the output dataset if pos- sible. -dmo DOMAIN:META-TAG=VALUE Passes a metadata key and value in specified domain to set on the output dataset if possible. Added in version 3.9. -co <NAME>=<VALUE> Many formats have one or more optional creation options that can be used to control particulars about the file created. For instance, the GeoTIFF driver supports creation options to control compression, and whether the file should be tiled. The creation options available vary by format driver, and some sim- ple formats have no creation options at all. A list of options sup- ported for a format can be listed with the --format command line op- tion but the documentation for the format is the definitive source of information on driver creation options. See Raster drivers for- mat specific documentation for legal creation options for each for- mat. In addition to the driver-specific creation options, gdal_translate (and GDALTranslate() and GDALCreateCopy()) recognize the following options: * APPEND_SUBDATASET=[YES^a/^aNO]: Defaults to NO. Can be specified to YES to avoid prior destruction of existing dataset, for drivers that support adding several subdatasets (e.g. GTIFF, NITF) * COPY_SRC_MDD=[AUTO^a/^aYES^a/^aNO]: (GDAL >= 3.8) Defaults to AUTO. Defines if metadata domains of the source dataset should be copied to the destination dataset. In the default AUTO mode, only "safe" domains will be copied, which include the default metadata domain (some drivers may include other domains such as IMD, RPC, GEOLOCA- TION). When setting YES, all domains will be copied (but a few reserved ones like IMAGE_STRUCTURE or DERIVED_SUBDATASETS). Cur- rently only recognized by the GTiff, COG, VRT, PNG and JPEG dri- vers. When setting NO, no source metadata will be copied. * SRC_MDD=<domain_name>: (GDAL >= 3.8) Defines which source metadata domain should be copied. This op- tion restricts the list of source metadata domains to be copied (it implies COPY_SRC_MDD=YES if it is not set). This option may be specified as many times as they are source domains. The default metadata domain is the empty string "" ("_DEFAULT_") may also be used when empty string is not practical). Currently only recog- nized by the GTiff, COG, VRT, PNG and JPEG drivers. -nogcp Do not copy the GCPs in the source dataset to the output dataset. -gcp <pixel> <line> <easting> <northing> [<elevation>] Add the indicated ground control point to the output dataset. This option may be provided multiple times to provide a set of GCPs. -q Suppress progress monitor and other non-error output. -sds Copy all subdatasets of this file to individual output files. Use with formats like HDF that have subdatasets. -stats Force (re)computation of statistics. -norat Do not copy source RAT into destination dataset. -noxmp Do not copy the XMP metadata in the source dataset to the output dataset when driver is able to copy it. Added in version 3.2. -oo <NAME>=<VALUE> Dataset open option (format specific) <src_dataset> The source dataset name. It can be either file name, URL of data source or subdataset name for multi-dataset files. <dst_dataset> The destination file name. NODATA / SOURCE VALIDITY MASK HANDLING DURING RESAMPLING Masked values, either identified through a nodata value metadata set on the source band, a mask band, an alpha band will not be used during resampling (when using -outsize or -tr). orphan The details of how it is taken into account depends on the resampling ker- nel: * for nearest resampling, for each target pixel, one of the potential con- tributing source pixels is selected (in an implementation specific way). Its value is used as it, be it valid or invalid. * for bilinear, cubic, cubicspline and lanczos, for each target pixel, the weights of contributing source pixels is set to zero to ignore them when they are masked. There is an extra specificity for cubic: given that some of the weights in the kernel are negative, such strategy could lead to strong overshoot/undershoot when there is an alternance of valid and invalid pixels. Consequently, if any of the horizontal or vertical direc- tion, if the maximum number of valid source pixels in each dimension is less than the radius of the resampling kernel, the target pixel is con- sidered as nodata. * for the other resampling methods, source pixels contributing to the tar- get pixel are ignored if masked. Only the valid ones are taken into ac- count. If there are none, the target pixel is considered as nodata. RETURN STATUS CODE The program returns status code 0 in case of success, and non-zero in case of error (non-blocking errors emitted as warnings are considered as a suc- cessful execution). C API This utility is also callable from C with GDALTranslate(). EXAMPLES Example 1: Creating a tiled GeoTIFF gdal_translate -of GTiff -co "TILED=YES" utm.tif utm_tiled.tif Example 2: Creating a JPEG-compressed TIFF with internal mask from a RGBA dataset gdal_translate rgba.tif withmask.tif -b 1 -b 2 -b 3 -mask 4 -co COMPRESS=JPEG \ -co PHOTOMETRIC=YCBCR --config GDAL_TIFF_INTERNAL_MASK YES Example 3: Creating a RGBA dataset from a RGB dataset with a mask gdal_translate withmask.tif rgba.tif -b 1 -b 2 -b 3 -b mask Example 4: Subsetting using -projwin and -outsize gdal_translate -projwin -20037500 10037500 0 0 -outsize 100 100 frmt_wms_googlemaps_tms.xml junk.png Example 5: Use of strict mode with unsupported data type $ gdal_create test.tif -bands 3 -ot Int16 -outsize 1 1 $ gdal_translate -strict test.tif test.webp ERROR 6: WEBP driver doesn't support data type Int16. Only UInt8 bands supported. AUTHOR Frank Warmerdam <warmerdam@pobox.com>, Silke Reimer <silke@intevation.de> COPYRIGHT 1998-2026 Jun 05, 2026 GDAL_TRANSLATE(1)
NAME | SYNOPSIS | DESCRIPTION | NODATA / SOURCE VALIDITY MASK HANDLING DURING RESAMPLING | RETURN STATUS CODE | C API | EXAMPLES | AUTHOR | COPYRIGHT
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