GDAL-RASTER-SELECT(1) GDAL GDAL-RASTER-SELECT(1)

gdal-raster-select - Select a subset of bands from a raster dataset

Added in version 3.11.

Usage: gdal raster select [OPTIONS] <INPUT> <OUTPUT> <BAND>
Select a subset of bands from a raster dataset.
Positional arguments:
  -i, --input <INPUT>                                  Input raster dataset [required]
  -o, --output <OUTPUT>                                Output raster dataset [required]
  -b, --band <BAND>                                    Band(s) (1-based index, 'mask' or 'mask:<band>') [1.. values] [required]
Common Options:
  -h, --help                                           Display help message and exit
  --json-usage                                         Display usage as JSON document and exit
  --config <KEY>=<VALUE>                               Configuration option [may be repeated]
  --progress                                           Display progress bar
Options:
  -f, --of, --format, --output-format <OUTPUT-FORMAT>  Output format ("GDALG" allowed)
  --co, --creation-option <KEY>=<VALUE>                Creation option [may be repeated]
  --overwrite                                          Whether overwriting existing output is allowed
  --mask <MASK>                                        Mask band (1-based index, 'mask', 'mask:<band>' or 'none')
Advanced Options:
  --if, --input-format <INPUT-FORMAT>                  Input formats [may be repeated]
  --oo, --open-option <KEY>=<VALUE>                    Open options [may be repeated]

gdal raster select can be used to select and re-order a subset of raster bands from a raster dataset.

This subcommand is also available as a potential step of gdal raster pipeline

Which output raster format to use. Allowed values may be given by gdal --formats | grep raster | grep rw | sort
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.

May be repeated.

The creation options available vary by format driver, and some simple formats have no creation options at all. A list of options supported for a format can be listed with the --formats command line option but the documentation for the format is the definitive source of information on driver creation options. See Raster drivers format specific documentation for legal creation options for each format.

Allow program to overwrite existing target file or dataset. Otherwise, by default, gdal errors out if the target file or dataset already exists.
Select one or several input bands. Bands are numbered from 1. Multiple values may be selected to select a set of input bands to write to the output file, or to reorder bands. The special value mask means the mask band of the first band of the input dataset. The mask band of any band can be specified with mask:<band>. A mask band selected with --band will become an ordinary band in the output dataset.
Select one input band to create output dataset mask band.. Bands are numbered from 1. The special value mask means the mask band of the first band of the input dataset. The mask band of any band can be specified with mask:<band>. <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, unless the mask is an alpha channel, or if it is explicitly selected to be a regular band of the output dataset (--band mask)

This program supports serializing the command line as a JSON file using the GDALG output format. The resulting file can then be opened as a raster dataset using the GDALG: GDAL Streamed Algorithm driver, and apply the specified pipeline in a on-the-fly / streamed way.

$ gdal raster select --band 3,2,1 bgr.tif rgb.tif --overwrite

$ gdal raster select --band 1,2,3 --mask 4 --co COMPRESS=JPEG,PHOTOMETRIC=YCBCR rgba.tif rgb_mask.tif

Even Rouault <even.rouault@spatialys.com>

1998-2025

May 6, 2025