GDAL_FILLNODATA(1)

💅 NAME

okay so bestie, gdal_fillnodata — it fills raster regions by interpolation from the edges. that's the whole vibe ✨

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🌸 SYNOPSIS

gdal_fillnodata [--help] [--help-general] [-q] [-md <max_distance>]
           [-si <smoothing_iterations>] [-o <name>=<value> [<name>=<value> ...]]
           [-mask <filename>] [-interp {inv_dist,nearest}] [-b <band>]
           [-of <gdal_format>] [-co <name>=<value>]
           <src_file> <dst_file>

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🦋 DESCRIPTION

so gdal_fillnodata fills selection regions (usually your lil nodata areas, the empty spots 👀) by interpolating from valid pixels all along the edges of the area. like it looks at the good pixels around the hole and goes "okay bet, here's what probably goes here" 💖

if you want the Actual Algorithm lore, the details live in the GDALFillNodata() docs.

TIP: there's an equivalent in the new "gdal" command line interface: see gdal raster fill-nodata. ✨

NOTE: gdal_fillnodata is a Python utility — it's only available if GDAL Python bindings are available. no bindings, no fill, no cap 😭

• --help — shows this help message and exits, bye 👋
• --help-general — gives you a brief usage message for the generic GDAL commandline options, then exits. the general-vibes cheat sheet 💅
• -q — quiet mode babes 🤫 the progress monitor is suppressed and routine messages are not displayed. just silence and results.
• -md <max_distance> — the maximum distance (in pixels) that the algorithm will search out for values to interpolate. the default is 100 pixels. so like, how far it's willing to look for a good pixel 🔍
• -si <smooth_iterations> — the number of 3x3 average filter smoothing iterations to run after the interpolation to dampen artifacts. the default is zero smoothing iterations. (zero = no smoothing, raw and unfiltered, main character behaviour 🎀)
• -o <name>=<value> — specify a special argument to the algorithm. currently none are supported 🙈 that's it. that's the option. empty menu, iconic honestly.
• -b <band> — the band to operate on. by default the first band is the one that gets operated on.
• -mask <filename> — use the first band of the specified file as a validity mask — zero is invalid, non-zero is valid. valid pixels are the yes-girls, zero pixels are the no-girls 💀
• -of <format> — select the output format. the default is GTiff — GeoTIFF File Format. use the short format name, bestie, not the long one ✨
• -interp {inv_dist,nearest} — added in version 3.9 🎉 by default, pixels are interpolated using an inverse distance weighting (inv_dist). it is also possible to choose a nearest neighbour (nearest) strategy. pick your fighter 🫶
• <srcfile> — the source raster file used to identify target pixels. only one band is used, just so you know 👑
• <dstfile> — the new file to create with the interpolated result. your brand new baby file 🌈

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⭐ 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 a successful execution — so they don't break the streak 💅)

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👑 AUTHOR

Frank Warmerdam <warmerdam@pobox.com> — the legend themselves 🫡

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💜 COPYRIGHT

1998-2026

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and that's the whole page bestie, mwah 💖 this was the GDAL GDAL_FILLNODATA(1) manual, dated Aug 18, 2026 — go fill some holes, slay, periodt ✨🎀