# How to create a GeoTIFF with PyGMT? **URL:** \ **Category:** PyGMT Q&A\ **Created:** [July 11, 2023, 1:44am UTC](https://forum.generic-mapping-tools.org/t/how-to-create-a-geotiff-with-pygmt/4113 "2023-07-11T01:44:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![OliverEvans96](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex047/user_avatar/forum.generic-mapping-tools.org/oliverevans96/32/3228_2.png) [@OliverEvans96](https://forum.generic-mapping-tools.org/u/OliverEvans96)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2023, 1:44am UTC](https://forum.generic-mapping-tools.org/t/how-to-create-a-geotiff-with-pygmt/4113/1 "2023-07-11T01:44:54Z")
Hello! I’m new to GMT and PyGMT, and I’m trying to create a GeoTIFF export of a bathymetry dataset. I can plot the data just fine as follows: ```python fig = pygmt.Figure() fig.coast(region=region, projection="M20c", land="#666666") fig.grdimage( grid=grid.bathymetry, cmap="viridis", nan_transparent=True, # img_out="out.tif", ) fig.basemap(frame=True) fig.colorbar(frame='af+l"bathymetric depth [m]"') fig.show() ``` ![image](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex047/uploads/gmt/original/2X/f/ff33e2146e6cc105dfe3580623b618ea7de6b1da.png) But when I try to use the `out_image` parameter to write a GeoTIFF file with ```python fig = pygmt.Figure() fig.grdimage( grid=grid.bathymetry, cmap="viridis", nan_transparent=True, img_out="out.tif", ) ``` I get the following error: ```python grdimage [ERROR]: Option -A: No output argument allowed grdimage [ERROR]: Option -A: Must provide an output filename for image --------------------------------------------------------------------------- GMTCLibError Traceback (most recent call last) Cell In[194], line 3 1 fig = pygmt.Figure() 2 # fig.coast(region=region, projection="M20c", land="#666666") ----> 3 fig.grdimage( 4 grid=grid.bathymetry, 5 cmap="viridis", 6 nan_transparent=True, 7 img_out="out.tif", 8 ) 9 # fig.basemap(frame=True) 10 # fig.colorbar(frame='af+l"bathymetric depth [m]"') 11 # fig.show() 12 # fig.savefig('out.tif') File /opt/conda/envs/pygeo/lib/python3.11/site-packages/pygmt/helpers/decorators.py:598, in use_alias..alias_decorator..new_module(*args, **kwargs) 591 msg = ( 592 "Parameters 'Y' and 'yshift' are deprecated since v0.8.0. " 593 "and will be removed in v0.12.0. " 594 "Use Figure.shift_origin(yshift=...) instead." 595 ) 596 warnings.warn(msg, category=SyntaxWarning, stacklevel=2) --> 598 return module_func(*args, **kwargs) File /opt/conda/envs/pygeo/lib/python3.11/site-packages/pygmt/helpers/decorators.py:738, in kwargs_to_strings..converter..new_module(*args, **kwargs) 736 kwargs[arg] = separators[fmt].join(f"{item}" for item in value) 737 # Execute the original function and return its output --> 738 return module_func(*args, **kwargs) File /opt/conda/envs/pygeo/lib/python3.11/site-packages/pygmt/src/grdimage.py:193, in grdimage(self, grid, **kwargs) 190 kwargs["I"] = stack.enter_context(shading_context) 192 fname = stack.enter_context(file_context) --> 193 lib.call_module( 194 module="grdimage", args=build_arg_string(kwargs, infile=fname) 195 ) File /opt/conda/envs/pygeo/lib/python3.11/site-packages/pygmt/clib/session.py:530, in Session.call_module(self, module, args) 526 status = c_call_module( 527 self.session_pointer, module.encode(), mode, args.encode() 528 ) 529 if status != 0: --> 530 raise GMTCLibError( 531 f"Module '{module}' failed with status code {status}:\n{self._error_message}" 532 ) GMTCLibError: Module 'grdimage' failed with status code 72: grdimage [ERROR]: Option -A: No output argument allowed grdimage [ERROR]: Option -A: Must provide an output filename for image ``` These two errors seem to contradict each other, which is confusing. Does anyone have ideas about how to debug the issue further? Or can anyone suggest a workaround? I don’t mind using other software if it’s not currently possible with pygmt. Thanks! Oliver ---
**Author:** ![yvonnefroehlich](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex047/user_avatar/forum.generic-mapping-tools.org/yvonnefroehlich/32/5064_2.png) [@yvonnefroehlich](https://forum.generic-mapping-tools.org/u/yvonnefroehlich)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2023, 6:51am UTC](https://forum.generic-mapping-tools.org/t/how-to-create-a-geotiff-with-pygmt/4113/2 "2023-07-11T06:51:27Z")
Hello @OliverEvans96, Welcome to the GMT forum 🙂! I can reproduce this issue. As the related GMT code works, I opened an issue in the PyGMT repository on GitHub, please see: [https://github.com/GenericMappingTools/pygmt/issues/2599](https://github.com/GenericMappingTools/pygmt/issues/2599) I have only little experience with the `img_out` parameter of `Figure.grdimage`. Maybe you can use `Figure.savefig` ([https://www.pygmt.org/latest/api/generated/pygmt.Figure.savefig.html](https://www.pygmt.org/latest/api/generated/pygmt.Figure.savefig.html)) to save the grid as a `tif` file as a workaround? But I am not sure whether the results are identical and this works for your needs. ```python import pygmt fig = pygmt.Figure() fig.grdimage(grid="@earth_age_01d_g") fig.savefig(fname="test_pygmt_savefig.tif") ``` ---
**Author:** ![EJFielding](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex047/user_avatar/forum.generic-mapping-tools.org/ejfielding/32/82_2.png) [@EJFielding](https://forum.generic-mapping-tools.org/u/EJFielding)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2023, 5:01am UTC](https://forum.generic-mapping-tools.org/t/how-to-create-a-geotiff-with-pygmt/4113/3 "2023-09-03T05:01:38Z")
Hello, I found this discussion when I was looking for information on making a GeoTIFF from PyGMT. In classic GMT, I have long used this command to generate a GeoTIFF file from a EPS file: gmt psconvert -A -P -Tt -W+g $out I see there is a `pygmt.Figure.psconvert` call that wraps the GMT psconvert, but it does not seem to have the `-W+g` option to make a GeoTIFF. I tried the `fig.savefig(fname=“out.tif”) call but it made a regular TIFF image without the geolocation information of a GeoTIFF. I tried with the new PyGMT 0.10.0 release that just dropped, but it seems to be the same. Am I missing something, or is the GeoTIFF option not yet supported? ---
**Author:** ![seisman](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex047/user_avatar/forum.generic-mapping-tools.org/seisman/32/4_2.png) [@seisman](https://forum.generic-mapping-tools.org/u/seisman)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2023, 7:01am UTC](https://forum.generic-mapping-tools.org/t/how-to-create-a-geotiff-with-pygmt/4113/4 "2023-09-03T07:01:58Z")
I think it’s not supported yet, most likely because the PyGMT developers don’t use GeoTIFF, but it should be easy to support, so please open an issue report to the PyGMT repository. ---
**Author:** ![seisman](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex047/user_avatar/forum.generic-mapping-tools.org/seisman/32/4_2.png) [@seisman](https://forum.generic-mapping-tools.org/u/seisman)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2023, 3:01pm UTC](https://forum.generic-mapping-tools.org/t/how-to-create-a-geotiff-with-pygmt/4113/5 "2023-10-24T15:01:11Z")
FYI, the GeoTIFF support has been implemented in PR [https://github.com/GenericMappingTools/pygmt/pull/2698](https://github.com/GenericMappingTools/pygmt/pull/2698) and was merged into the main branch.