GDAL(1)

NAME
gdal - Main gdal entry point

Added in version 3.11.

SYNOPSIS

    Usage: gdal <COMMAND> [OPTIONS]
    where <COMMAND> is one of:
      - convert:  Convert a dataset (shortcut for 'gdal raster convert' or 'gdal vector convert').
      - dataset:  Commands to manage datasets.
      - driver:   Command for driver specific operations.
      - info:     Return information on a dataset (shortcut for 'gdal raster info' or 'gdal vector info').
      - mdim:     Multidimensional commands.
      - pipeline: Process a dataset applying several steps.
      - raster:   Raster commands.
      - vector:   Vector commands.
      - vsi:      GDAL Virtual System Interface (VSI) commands.
    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]
    Options:
      --version               Display GDAL version and exit
      --drivers               Display driver list as JSON document
    'gdal <FILENAME>' can also be used as a shortcut for 'gdal info <FILENAME>'.
    And 'gdal read <FILENAME> ! ...' as a shortcut for 'gdal pipeline <FILENAME> ! ...'.

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).

EXAMPLES

  Example 1: Display the GDAL version

    $ gdal --version
    GDAL 3.13.2 "Iowa City", released 2026/07/20 (debug build)

  Example 2: Getting information on the file utm.tif (with JSON output)

    $ gdal info utm.tif

  Example 3: Converting file utm.tif to GeoPackage raster

    $ gdal convert utm.tif utm.gpkg

  Example 4: Getting information on all available commands and subcommands as a JSON document.

    $ gdal --json-usage

  Example 5: Getting list of all formats supported by the current GDAL build, as text

    $ gdal --formats

  Example 6: Search for Parquet in the list of all formats using jq
Bash

    $ gdal --drivers | jq '.[] | select(.short_name == "Parquet")'
PowerShell

    gdal --drivers | jq '.[] | select(.short_name == \"Parquet\")'

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

COPYRIGHT
1998-2026