The command line

The command line

Everything the app does, and a few things it does not: whole folders at once, scripted exports, and feature positions as data.

From a checkout:

python3 lunaratlas/lunaratlas.py COMMAND …

The packaged app ships the same thing as lunaratlas-cli beside the app binary.

Command	What it does
locate IMAGE	Work out where every pixel lies on the Moon; saves IMAGE.atlas.json.
export IMAGE	A labelled 16-bit TIFF, 16-bit PNG or JPEG, at 1:1 or smaller.
info IMAGE	The geometry and quality of a photo already located.
find IMAGE NAME …	Where named features are in the image.
batch FOLDER	Locate and export every photo in a folder, then a table of what happened.
view IMAGE	The browser viewer and editor.
app	The launcher: pick a photo, locate it, view and export it.

A typical session:

A=lunaratlas/lunaratlas.py
python3 $A locate mosaic_finished.tif                       # 10–20 s; close-ups 30–100 s
python3 $A info   mosaic_finished.tif
python3 $A view   mosaic_finished.tif                       # look around, draw, hide names
python3 $A export mosaic_finished.tif --max-size 2400 -o overview.jpg
python3 $A export mosaic_finished.tif --around Copernicus --size 3600x2400

locate

locate IMAGE [--force] [--time UTC] [--setup ID] [--any-scale]

--force	Locate even if the quality check refuses the photo.
--time YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM	The capture time in UTC, for a file whose name has none.
--setup ID	For a close-up: the equipment it was taken with (an id from your equipment).
--any-scale	For a close-up: search every scale instead of the known optics.

The result is saved beside the photo as IMAGE.atlas.json, and every later command reuses it.

export

export IMAGE [-o FILE] [--format tiff|png|jpg] [options]

How much, and how big

--scale S	Output scale, at most 1 (never upscaled).
--max-size N	Longest output side in px (never upscaled).
--region x,y,w,h	A rectangle in source pixels.
--around NAME	Centre on a named feature.
--size WxH	The view size for --around (default 3000x2000).
--fit	With --around: size the view from the feature's own diameter — 2.2 × it, at least 600 px. --size then gives only the shape.
--north-up	Turn so lunar north is up and east right, never mirrored. Not with --region.

What goes on it

--min-size PX	Smallest crater that gets a name, in output px (default 24).
--layers LIST	area,crater,lettered,relief,landing, or none.
--no-rims / --no-lettered / --no-landing	Drop crater outlines, satellite craters, landing sites.
--no-grid / --no-drawings / --no-info	Drop the grid, your viewer drawings, the info block.
--night hide|dim|show	Names on the unlit side (default dim).
--font FAMILY	IBM Plex Sans, Source Sans 3, Roboto (bundled) or any Google Fonts family (downloaded once).
--font-scale F	Label size factor.
--quality Q	JPEG quality (default 92).
--force	Export despite the quality check.
--overwrite	With -o: replace a file that is already there. The default name is always replaced.

Every on/off option has both forms, for example --rims / --no-rims, so you can override a .env default from the command line.

Your viewer edits — hidden names, moved names, colours, drawings, measurements — are used automatically.

batch

batch FOLDER [-r] [--skip-existing] [--locate-only] [any export option]

Locates (when needed) and exports every TIFF, PNG and JPEG in the folder, in name order. -r includes sub-folders. Hidden files and earlier exports (IMAGE_atlas….ext) are skipped.

One photo that cannot be done — damaged, refused, no limb and no time — is reported and the rest carry on. A table at the end lists every photo's result, and the exit status is 1 if any failed.

--skip-existing leaves alone photos whose export is already there and not older than the source.

python3 $A batch ~/Pictures/session --max-size 2400 --format jpg --skip-existing

find

find IMAGE NAME [NAME …] [--json|--csv] [--time UTC]

Answers, for each name, where it is in your picture. An exact name wins; otherwise names that start with what you typed (Copernicus also lists Copernicus A, B, …); a misspelling gets suggestions.

--json and --csv print the answers as data, with progress messages going to stderr so you can pipe cleanly. The exit status is 1 if any name was not found. find ignores the quality check.

python3 $A find mosaic.tif "Rupes Recta" Tycho --csv

info

Prints the geometry, the quality of the fit (matches, RMS), and the quality-check verdict. With a capture time it also prints the sky: the phase (first quarter, 51 % of the disk lit), the phase angle, where the Sun was overhead, the colongitude and the Earth–Moon distance.

view

view IMAGE [--port PORT] [--no-open] [--force] [--time UTC]

Starts a local server on 127.0.0.1 and opens the page. --no-open prints the address instead.

app

app [--port PORT] [--no-open] [--folder FOLDER] [--no-window] [--idle-exit SECONDS]

The launcher — what the packaged app runs. --folder changes the work folder (default ~/Pictures/LunarAtlas). With pywebview installed it gets a window of its own; --no-window forces the browser, and --idle-exit SECONDS then stops it that long after the last page was closed.

Starting it twice brings the running one forward instead of starting a second.

Settings and precedence

Options can be given defaults in a .env file; see Settings reference.

command-line option  >  environment variable  >  .env  >  built-in default

--help on any command shows the value actually in effect.