Image Information and Metadata

  • This guide demonstrates how to access and print image metadata in Earth Engine, including band names, projection details, properties, and timestamps.

  • Users can retrieve specific metadata elements programmatically using methods like bandNames(), projection(), nominalScale(), propertyNames(), and get().

  • Code examples are provided in both JavaScript and Python, showcasing how to obtain metadata such as band information, projection details, scale, metadata properties, cloud cover, and ingestion timestamps.

  • Different bands within an image may have varying projections and scales, highlighting the importance of accessing band-specific metadata.

  • The guide utilizes an example Landsat 8 image to illustrate the metadata retrieval process, enabling users to adapt the techniques for their specific datasets.
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Print image objects to explore band names, projection information, properties, and other metadata. The following examples demonstrate printing the entire set of image metadata as well as requesting specific metadata elements programmatically.

Getting metadata

Code Editor (JavaScript)

// Load an image.
var image = ee.Image('LANDSAT/LC08/C02/T1/LC08_044034_20140318');

// Display all metadata.
print('All metadata:', image);

// Get information about the bands as a list.
var bandNames = image.bandNames();
print('Band names:', bandNames);  // ee.List of band names

// Get projection information from band 1.
var b1proj = image.select('B1').projection();
print('Band 1 projection:', b1proj);  // ee.Projection object

// Get scale (in meters) information from band 1.
var b1scale = image.select('B1').projection().nominalScale();
print('Band 1 scale:', b1scale);  // ee.Number

// Note that different bands can have different projections and scale.
var b8scale = image.select('B8').projection().nominalScale();
print('Band 8 scale:', b8scale);  // ee.Number

// Get a list of all metadata properties.
var properties = image.propertyNames();
print('Metadata properties:', properties);  // ee.List of metadata properties

// Get a specific metadata property.
var cloudiness = image.get('CLOUD_COVER');
print('CLOUD_COVER:', cloudiness);  // ee.Number

// Get version number (ingestion timestamp as microseconds since Unix epoch).
var version = image.get('system:version');
print('Version:', version);  // ee.Number
print('Version (as ingestion date):',
      ee.Date(ee.Number(version).divide(1000)));  // ee.Date

// Get the timestamp and convert it to a date.
var date = ee.Date(image.get('system:time_start'));
print('Timestamp:', date);  // ee.Date

Python setup

See the Python Environment page for information on the Python API and using geemap for interactive development.

import ee
import geemap.core as geemap

Colab (Python)

# Load an image.
image = ee.Image('LANDSAT/LC08/C02/T1/LC08_044034_20140318')

# All metadata.
display('All metadata:', image)

# Get information about the bands as a list.
band_names = image.bandNames()
display('Band names:', band_names)  # ee.List of band names

# Get projection information from band 1.
b1_proj = image.select('B1').projection()
display('Band 1 projection:', b1_proj)  # ee.Projection object

# Get scale (in meters) information from band 1.
b1_scale = image.select('B1').projection().nominalScale()
display('Band 1 scale:', b1_scale)  # ee.Number

# Note that different bands can have different projections and scale.
b8_scale = image.select('B8').projection().nominalScale()
display('Band 8 scale:', b8_scale)  # ee.Number

# Get a list of all metadata properties.
properties = image.propertyNames()
display('Metadata properties:', properties)  # ee.List of metadata properties

# Get a specific metadata property.
cloudiness = image.get('CLOUD_COVER')
display('CLOUD_COVER:', cloudiness)  # ee.Number

# Get version number (ingestion timestamp as microseconds since Unix epoch).
version = image.get('system:version')
display('Version:', version)  # ee.Number
display(
    'Version (as ingestion date):',
    ee.Date(ee.Number(version).divide(1000)).format(),
)  # ee.Date

# Get the timestamp.
ee_date = ee.Date(image.get('system:time_start'))
display('Timestamp:', ee_date)  # ee.Date

# Date objects transferred to the client are milliseconds since UNIX epoch;
# convert to human readable date with ee.Date.format().
display('Datetime:', ee_date.format())  # ISO standard date string