The import command allows you to import images to an OMERO.server from the command line, and is ideally suited for anyone wanting to use a shell-scripted or web-based front-end interface for importing. Based upon the same set of libraries as the standard importer, the command line version supports the same file formats and functions in much the same way. Visit :bf_v_doc:Supported Formats <supported-formats.html> for a detailed list of supported formats.
Visit overview
to get a basic overview of the .
Visit installation
to install the .
To import a file image.tif
, use:
$ omero import image.tif
Some of the options available to the import command are:
omero import
-h, --help
-s SERVER, -p PORT, -U USERNAME, -g GROUPNAME
To avoid prompts for servername, port, username and group, use:
$ omero import -s SERVER -p PORT -u USER -g GROUP image.tif
-d DATASET_ID, -r SCREEN_ID, -T TARGET, --target TARGET
To import images into a Dataset:
$ omero import image.tif -d 2
$ omero import image.tif -T Dataset:id:2
$ omero import image.tif -T Dataset:name:Sample01
See import-target
for more information on import targets.
-n NAME, --name NAME
-x DESCRIPTION, --description DESCRIPTION
To change the name of an image and add a description:
$ omero import image.tif -n "control image1" -x "PBS control"
$ omero import image.tif --name image2 --description second_batch
--file FILE
File for storing the standard output from the Java process
--errs FILE
File for storing the standard error from the Java process
--logprefix DIR
Directory or file prefix for --file and --errs
--output TYPE
Set an alternative output style, for example:
$ omero import --output=yaml ...
omero import
-f
Display all the files that would be imported, then exit:
$ omero import -f image.tif
$ omero import -f images_folder
This will output a list of all the files which would be imported in groups separated by "#" comments. Note that this usage does not require a running server to be available.
--depth DEPTH
Set the number of directories to scan down for files (default: 4):
$ omero import --depth 7 images_folder
The above example changes the depth to 7 folders.
omero import
--bulk YAML_FILE
To import a number of images with a similar configuration:
$ omero import --bulk bulk.yml
See import-bulk
for more information on bulk imports.
omero import
--skip SKIP
Specify optional step to skip during import.
The import of very large datasets like High-Content Screening data or SPIM data can be time and resource consuming both at the client and at the server level. This option allows the disabling of some non-critical steps and thus faster import of such datasets. The caveat associated with its usage is that some elements are no longer generated at import time. Some of these elements, like thumbnails, will be generated at runtime during client access. Available options that can be skipped are currently:
- all
Skip all optional steps described below
- checksum
Skip checksum calculation on image files before and after transfer
This option effectively sets the
--checksum_algorithm
to use a fast algorithm,File-Size-64
, that considers only file size, not the actual file contents.- minmax
Skip calculation of the minima and maxima pixel values
This option will also skip the calculation of the pixels checksum. Recalculating minima and maxima pixel values post-import is currently not supported. See
minmax_limitation
for more information.- thumbnails
Skip generation of thumbnails
Thumbnails will usually be generated when accessing the images post-import via the OMERO clients.
- upgrade
Skip upgrade check for Bio-Formats
Example of usage:
$ omero import large_image --skip all
$ omero import large_image --skip minmax
Multiple import steps can be skipped by supplying multiple arguments:
$ omero import large_image --skip checksum --skip minmax
--parallel-fileset COUNT
Number of fileset candidates to import at the same time.
OMERO groups image files into filesets
. By default each fileset is imported one after another. This option attempts import of COUNT filesets at once. Even for single-file filesets it typically makes sense to use this option in conjunction with --parallel-upload
so that upload of different filesets' files may proceed in parallel. For importing a single fileset containing many files this option will not help.
This is an experimental option. Too high a setting for COUNT may crash the import client or make the OMERO server unresponsive. Carefully read parallel_import
before use.
--parallel-upload COUNT
Number of file upload threads to run at the same time.
By default files are uploaded one after another. Once a fileset's files are all on the server then it may commence subsequent import steps. It typically makes sense to set this to a value of at least the value for --parallel-fileset
. Even if filesets are not imported in parallel this option can greatly speed the import of a fileset that consists of many small files.
This is an experimental option. Too high a setting for COUNT may crash the import client or make the OMERO server unresponsive. Carefully read parallel_import
before use.
omero fs importtime
finds out how long it took to import an existing fileset. Once the import is complete this command can estimate the wall-clock time taken for separate phases of the import process. Output is limited to what could be queried from the server easily. Specify the ID of a fileset to have its import time reported in a human-readable format.
omero fs importtime
--cache
Once import time has been determined for the specified fileset, also cache that information by annotating the fileset using a map
annotation </developers/Model/KeyValuePairs>
in the openmicroscopy.org/omero/import/metrics
namespace. The cache will be used for future reports of that fileset's import time.
--summary
This report covers multiple filesets so do not provide a fileset ID. All data previously cached by the --cache
option is queried then summarized in machine-readable CSV format.
omero import
--debug DEBUG
Set the debug level for the command line import output:
$ omero import images_folder --debug WARN
--report
Report emails to the OME team. This flag is mandatory for the --upload
and --logs
arguments.
--email EMAIL
Set the contact email to use when reporting errors. This argument should be used in conjunction with the omero import --report
and omero import --upload
or omero import --logs
arguments.
--upload
Upload broken files and log file (if any) with report
The following command would import a broken image and upload it together with the import log if available in case of failure:
$ omero import broken_image --report --upload --email my.email@domain.com
--logs
Upload log file (if any) with report
The following command would import a broken image and upload only the import log if available in case of failure:
$ omero import broken_image --report --logs --email my.email@domain.com
omero import
--java-help
Display the help for the Java options of the import command
Java options can be passed after --
:
$ omero import image.tif -- --name=test --description=TestDescription
The above command will import the image "image.tif" with the name "test" into OMERO and with the OMERO description property set to "TestDescription". Visit containers-annotations
to get a basic overview of how annotations can be created and linked to OMERO objects (object being an image, in this case).
--advanced-help
Display the advanced help for the import command, e.g.
$ omero import -- --advanced-help
Examples of usage,
To upload and remove the raw file from the local file-system after a successful import into OMERO, use:
$ omero import -- --transfer=upload_rm my_file.dv
As an OMERO administrator, to import images for other users, use:
$ omero login --sudo root -s servername -u username -g groupname
$ omero import image.tif
As an OMERO group owner, to import images for others, use:
$ omero login --sudo owner -s servername -u username -g groupname
$ omero import image.tif
Some advanced import options are described in the /sysadmins/in-place-import
section. Visit sessions
to get a basic overview of how user sessions are managed.
The import plugin calls the ome.formats.importer.cli.CommandLineImporter
Java class. The Linux OMERO.importer also includes an importer-cli
shell script allowing calls to the importer directly from Java. Using importer-cli
might look like this:
./importer-cli -s localhost -u user -w pass image.tif
To use the ome.formats.importer.cli.CommandLineImporter
class from java on the command line you will also need to include a classpath to the required support jars. Please inspect the importer-cli
script for an example of how to do this.
The Command Line Importer tool takes a number of mandatory and optional arguments to run. These options will also be displayed on the command line by passing no arguments to the importer:
/downloads/cli/help.out
/sysadmins/import-scenarios
/sysadmins/in-place-import
/sysadmins/dropbox
index