Import images
-------------

The |CLI| 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 files formats and functions in much the same way. Visit
:bf_doc:`Supported Formats <supported-formats.html>` for a detailed list of
supported formats.

Import command
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

.. program:: omero import

To import a file :file:`image.tif`, use::

    $ bin/omero import image.tif

Some of the options available to the import command are:

.. option:: -h, --help

    Display the help for the import command

.. option:: --java-help

    Display the help for the Java option of the import command

    Java options can be passed after `--`, e.g.::

       bin/omero import image.tif -- --name=test --description=description

.. option:: --advanced-help

    Display the advanced help for the import command

    Some advanced import options are described in the :ref:`inplace_import`
    section.

.. option:: -f

    Display all the used files for importing then exits::

        $ bin/omero import -f image.tif
        $ bin/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.

.. option:: --depth DEPTH

    Set the number of directories to scan down for files (default: 4)::

        $ bin/omero import --depth 1 images_folder

.. option:: --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 :option:`--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 :ref:`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::

        $ bin/omero import large_image --skip all
        $ bin/omero import large_image --skip minmax

    Multiple import steps can be skipped by supplying multiple arguments::

        $ bin/omero import large_image --skip checksum --skip minmax

.. option:: --debug DEBUG

    Set the debug level for the command line import output::

        $ bin/omero import images_folder --debug WARN

.. option:: --report

    Report emails to the OME team. This flag is mandatory for the
    :option:`--upload` and :option:`--logs` arguments.

.. option:: --email EMAIL

    Set the contact email to use when reporting errors. This argument should
    be used in conjunction with the :option:`--report` and :option:`--upload`
    or :option:`--logs` arguments.

.. option:: --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::

        $ bin/omero import broken_image --report --upload --email my.email@domain.com

.. option:: --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::

        $ bin/omero import broken_image --report --logs --email my.email@domain.com


Command Line Importer
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The |CLI| import plugin calls the
``ome.formats.importer.cli.CommandLineImporter`` Java class. The Linux
OMERO.importer also includes and :file:`importer-cli` shell script allowing to
call the importer directly from Java. Using the importer using the shell script
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 look inside of 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:

.. literalinclude:: /downloads/cli/help.out

.. seealso:: :doc:`/sysadmins/import-scenarios`