GDAL_EDIT(1)

NAME
gdal_edit - Edit in place various information of an existing GDAL dataset.

SYNOPSIS

    gdal_edit [--help] [--help-general] [-ro] [-a_srs <srs_def>]
            [-a_ullr <ulx> <uly> <lrx> <lry>] [-a_ulurll <ulx> <uly> <urx> <ury> <llx> <lly>]
            [-tr <xres> <yres>] [-unsetgt] [-unsetrpc] [-a_nodata <value>] [-unsetnodata]
            [-a_coord_epoch <epoch>] [-unsetepoch]
            [-unsetstats] [-stats] [-approx_stats]
            [-setstats <min> <max> <mean> <stddev>]
            [-scale <value>] [-offset <value>] [-units <value>]
            [-colorinterp_<X> {red|green|blue|alpha|gray|undefined|pan|coastal|rededge|nir|swir|mwir|lwir|...}]...
            [-gcp <pixel> <line> <easting> <northing> [<elevation>]]...
            [-unsetmd] [-oo <NAME>=<VALUE>]... [-mo <META-TAG>=<VALUE>]...
            <datasetname>

DESCRIPTION

gdal_edit can be used to edit in place various information of an existing GDAL dataset (projection, geotransform, nodata, metadata).

It works only with raster formats that support update access to existing datasets.

CAUTION: Depending on the format, older values of the updated information might still be found in the file in a "ghost" state, even if no longer accessible through the GDAL API. This is for example the case of the GTiff -- GeoTIFF File Format format (this is not a exhaustive list).

NOTE: gdal_edit is a Python utility, and is only available if GDAL Python bindings are available.

TIP: Equivalent in new "gdal" command line interface:

See gdal raster edit.

--help
    Show this help message and exit

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

-ro Open the dataset in read-only. Might be useful for drivers refusing to use the dataset in update-mode. In which case, updated information will go into PAM .aux.xml files.

-a_srs <srs_def>
    Defines the target coordinate system. This coordinate system will be written to the dataset. If the empty string or None is specified, then the existing coordinate system will be removed (for TIFF/GeoTIFF, might not be well supported besides that).

-a_coord_epoch <epoch>
    Assign/override the coordinate epoch of the dataset, as a decimal year (e.g., 2021.3).

    Added in version 3.9.

-unsetepoch
    Remove the coordinate epoch of the dataset.

    Added in version 3.9.

-a_ullr <ulx> <uly> <lrx> <lry>
    Assign/override the georeferenced bounds of the dataset.

-a_ulurll <ulx> <uly> <urx> <ury> <llx> <lly>
    Assign/override the georeferenced bounds of the dataset from three points: upper-left, upper-right and lower-left. Unlike -a_ullr, this also supports rotated datasets (edges not parallel to coordinate system axes).

    Added in version 3.1.

-tr <xres> <yres>
    Set target resolution. The values must be expressed in georeferenced units. Both must be positive values.

-unsetgt
    Remove the georeference information.

-unsetrpc
    Remove RPC information.

-unsetstats
    Remove band statistics information.

-stats
    Calculate and store band statistics.

-setstats <min> <max> <mean> <stddev>
    Store user-defined values for band statistics (minimum, maximum, mean and standard deviation). If any of the values is set to None, the real statistics are calculated from the file and the ones set to None are used from the real statistics.

-approx_stats
    Calculate and store approximate band statistics.

-a_nodata <value>
    Assign a specified nodata value to output bands.

-unsetnodata
    Remove existing nodata values.

-scale <value>
    Assign a specified scale value to output bands. If a single scale value is provided it will be set for all bands. Alternatively one scale value per band can be provided, in which case the number of scale values must match the number of bands. If no scale is needed, it it recommended to set the value to 1. Scale and Offset are generally used together. For example, scale and offset might be used to store elevations in a unsigned 16bit integer file with a precision of 0.1, and starting from -100. True values would be calculated as: true_value = (pixel_value * scale) + offset

    NOTE: These values can be applied using -unscale during a gdal_translate run.

-offset <value>
    Assign a specified offset value to output bands. If a single offset value is provided it will be set for all bands. Alternatively one offset value per band can be provided, in which case the number of offset values must match the number of bands. If no offset is needed, it recommended to set the value to 0. For more see scale.

-units <value>
    Assign a unit to output band(s).

    Added in version 3.1.

-colorinterp_<X> {red|green|blue|alpha|gray|undefined|pan|coastal|rededge|nir|swir|mwir|lwir|...}
    Change the color interpretation of band X (where X is a valid band number, starting at 1).

-gcp pixel <line> <easting> <northing> [<elevation>]
    Add the indicated ground control point to the dataset. This option may be provided multiple times to provide a set of GCPs.

-unsetmd
    Remove existing metadata (in the default metadata domain). Can be combined with -mo.

-mo <META-TAG>=<VALUE>
    Passes a metadata key and value to set on the output dataset if possible. This metadata is added to the existing metadata items, unless -unsetmd is also specified.

-oo <NAME>=<VALUE>
    Open option (format specific).

    The -a_ullr, -a_ulurll, -tr and -unsetgt options are exclusive.

    The -unsetstats and either -stats or -approx_stats options are exclusive.

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 successful execution).

EXAMPLE

  Example 1: Override the spatial bounds of a dataset and assign metadata values

    gdal_edit -mo DATUM=WGS84 -mo PROJ=GEODETIC -a_ullr 7 47 8 46 test.ecw

  Example 2: Assign scale and offset values to dataset

    gdal_edit -scale 1e3 1e4 -offset 0 10 twoBand.tif

The values in the GeoTIFF are not changed.

AUTHOR
Even Rouault <even.rouault@spatialys.com>

COPYRIGHT
1998-2026