GDAL-RASTER-PROXIMITY(1) GDAL GDAL-RASTER-PROXIMITY(1)
gdal-raster-proximity - Produces a raster proximity map
Added in version 3.12.
Usage: gdal raster proximity [OPTIONS] <INPUT> <OUTPUT>
Produces a raster proximity map.
Positional arguments:
-i, --input <INPUT> Input raster datasets [required]
-o, --output <OUTPUT> Output raster dataset [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]
-q, --quiet Quiet mode (no 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
Mutually exclusive with --append
--append Append as a subdataset to existing output
Mutually exclusive with --overwrite
--ot, --datatype, --output-data-type <OUTPUT-DATA-TYPE> Output data type. OUTPUT-DATA-TYPE=Byte|Int8|UInt16|Int16|UInt32|Int32|UInt64|Int64|CInt16|CInt32|Float16|Float32|Float64|CFloat32|CFloat64|Byte|UInt16|Int16|UInt32|Int32|Float32|Float64 (default: Float32)
-b, --band <BAND> Input band (1-based index)
--target-values <TARGET-VALUES> Target pixel values [may be repeated]
--distance-units <DISTANCE-UNITS> Distance units. DISTANCE-UNITS=pixel|geo (default: pixel)
--max-distance <MAX-DISTANCE> Maximum distance. The nodata value will be used for pixels beyond this distance (default: 0)
--fixed-value <FIXED-VALUE> Fixed value for the pixels that are beyond the maximum distance (instead of the actual distance) (default: 0)
--nodata <NODATA> Specify a nodata value to use for pixels that are beyond the maximum distance
Advanced Options:
--if, --input-format <INPUT-FORMAT> Input formats [may be repeated]
--oo, --open-option <KEY>=<VALUE> Open options [may be repeated]
gdal raster proximity generates a raster proximity map indicating the
Cartesian distance from the center of each pixel to the center of the
nearest pixel identified as a target pixel. Target pixels are those
in the source raster for which the raster pixel value is in the set
of target pixel values.
This subcommand is also available as a potential step of gdal raster
pipeline
-f, --of, --format, --output-format <OUTPUT-FORMAT>
Which output raster format to use. Allowed values may be given
by gdal --formats | grep raster | grep rw | sort
--co, --creation-option <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.
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.
--overwrite
Allow program to overwrite existing target file or dataset.
Otherwise, by default, gdal errors out if the target file or
dataset already exists.
--ot, --datatype, --output-data-type <OUTPUT-DATA-TYPE>
Output data type among Byte, Int8, UInt16, Int16, UInt32,
Int32, UInt64, Int64, CInt16, CInt32, Float32, Float64,
CFloat32, CFloat64.
-b, --band <BAND>
Input band (1-based index)
--target-values <TARGET-VALUES>
A single value or a comma separated list of target pixel
values in the source image to be considered target pixels. If
not specified, all non-zero pixels will be considered target
pixels.
--max-distance <MAX-DISTANCE>
Maximum distance to search for a target pixel. The NoData
value will be output if no target pixel is found within this
distance. Distance is interpreted in pixels unless
--distance-units geo is specified.
--distance-units <pixel|geo>
Units for the distance. If geo is specified, the distance will
be calculated in georeferenced units (meters or degrees) using
the pixel size of the input raster. Otherwise, the distance
is interpreted in pixels.
--fixed-value <FIXED-VALUE>
Define a fixed value to be written to output pixels that are
within --max-distance from the target pixels, instead of the
actual distance.
--nodata <NODATA>
Nodata value for the output raster. If not specified, the
NoData value of the input band will be used. If the output
band does not have a NoData value, then the value 65535 will
be used for floating point output types and the maximum value
that can be stored will be used for the integer output types.
--oo, --open-option <NAME>=<VALUE>
Dataset open option (format specific).
May be repeated.
--if, --input-format <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.
May be repeated.
Added in version 3.12.
GDALG OUTPUT (ON-THE-FLY / STREAMED DATASET)
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.
NOTE:
However this algorithm is not natively streaming compatible.
Consequently a temporary dataset will be generated, which may
cause significant processing time at opening.
Example 1
title Proximity map of a raster with max distance of 3 pixels
$ gdal raster proximity --max-distance 3 input.tif output.tif
Alessandro Pasotti <elpaso@itopen.it>
1998-2026
March 20, 2026 GDAL-RASTER-PROXIMITY(1)
NAME
gdal-raster-proximity - Produces a raster proximity map
Added in version 3.12.
SYNOPSIS
Usage: gdal raster proximity [OPTIONS] <INPUT> <OUTPUT>
Produces a raster proximity map.
Positional arguments:
-i, --input <INPUT> Input raster datasets [required]
-o, --output <OUTPUT> Output raster dataset [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]
-q, --quiet Quiet mode (no 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
Mutually exclusive with --append
--append Append as a subdataset to existing output
Mutually exclusive with --overwrite
--ot, --datatype, --output-data-type <OUTPUT-DATA-TYPE> Output data type. OUTPUT-DATA-TYPE=Byte|Int8|UInt16|Int16|UInt32|Int32|UInt64|Int64|CInt16|CInt32|Float16|Float32|Float64|CFloat32|CFloat64|Byte|UInt16|Int16|UInt32|Int32|Float32|Float64 (default: Float32)
-b, --band <BAND> Input band (1-based index)
--target-values <TARGET-VALUES> Target pixel values [may be repeated]
--distance-units <DISTANCE-UNITS> Distance units. DISTANCE-UNITS=pixel|geo (default: pixel)
--max-distance <MAX-DISTANCE> Maximum distance. The nodata value will be used for pixels beyond this distance (default: 0)
--fixed-value <FIXED-VALUE> Fixed value for the pixels that are beyond the maximum distance (instead of the actual distance) (default: 0)
--nodata <NODATA> Specify a nodata value to use for pixels that are beyond the maximum distance
Advanced Options:
--if, --input-format <INPUT-FORMAT> Input formats [may be repeated]
--oo, --open-option <KEY>=<VALUE> Open options [may be repeated]
DESCRIPTION
gdal raster proximity generates a raster proximity map indicating the
Cartesian distance from the center of each pixel to the center of the
nearest pixel identified as a target pixel. Target pixels are those
in the source raster for which the raster pixel value is in the set
of target pixel values.
This subcommand is also available as a potential step of gdal raster
pipeline
Standard options
-f, --of, --format, --output-format <OUTPUT-FORMAT>
Which output raster format to use. Allowed values may be given
by gdal --formats | grep raster | grep rw | sort
--co, --creation-option <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.
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.
--overwrite
Allow program to overwrite existing target file or dataset.
Otherwise, by default, gdal errors out if the target file or
dataset already exists.
--ot, --datatype, --output-data-type <OUTPUT-DATA-TYPE>
Output data type among Byte, Int8, UInt16, Int16, UInt32,
Int32, UInt64, Int64, CInt16, CInt32, Float32, Float64,
CFloat32, CFloat64.
-b, --band <BAND>
Input band (1-based index)
--target-values <TARGET-VALUES>
A single value or a comma separated list of target pixel
values in the source image to be considered target pixels. If
not specified, all non-zero pixels will be considered target
pixels.
--max-distance <MAX-DISTANCE>
Maximum distance to search for a target pixel. The NoData
value will be output if no target pixel is found within this
distance. Distance is interpreted in pixels unless
--distance-units geo is specified.
--distance-units <pixel|geo>
Units for the distance. If geo is specified, the distance will
be calculated in georeferenced units (meters or degrees) using
the pixel size of the input raster. Otherwise, the distance
is interpreted in pixels.
--fixed-value <FIXED-VALUE>
Define a fixed value to be written to output pixels that are
within --max-distance from the target pixels, instead of the
actual distance.
--nodata <NODATA>
Nodata value for the output raster. If not specified, the
NoData value of the input band will be used. If the output
band does not have a NoData value, then the value 65535 will
be used for floating point output types and the maximum value
that can be stored will be used for the integer output types.
Advanced options
--oo, --open-option <NAME>=<VALUE>
Dataset open option (format specific).
May be repeated.
--if, --input-format <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.
May be repeated.
Added in version 3.12.
GDALG OUTPUT (ON-THE-FLY / STREAMED DATASET)
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.
NOTE:
However this algorithm is not natively streaming compatible.
Consequently a temporary dataset will be generated, which may
cause significant processing time at opening.
EXAMPLES
Example 1
title Proximity map of a raster with max distance of 3 pixels
$ gdal raster proximity --max-distance 3 input.tif output.tif
AUTHOR
Alessandro Pasotti <elpaso@itopen.it>
COPYRIGHT
1998-2026
March 20, 2026 GDAL-RASTER-PROXIMITY(1)