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ISIS Documentation

isisimport

Convert from an external format, non-ISIS format using template files to an ISIS Cube.

Imports an input label file and image file to an ISIS cube, using a template file (optionally specified by the TEMPLATE parameter). The primary ISIS ingestion app for PDS4 products.

isisimport will auto-select a template based on product type (PDS3, PDS4, qube), Spacecraft ID, and Instrument ID. The auto-selection logic can be found in the $ISISROOT/appdata/import/fileTemplate.tpl file.

If auto-selection fails, use the TEMPLATE parameter to specify a template.

isisimport should be used for any PDS4 product. Supported PDS4 missions (as of early 2026) include Chandrayaan 2, TGO Cassis, and Clipper EIS. If a PDS4-format product can't be ingested with isisimport, make an issue on the ISIS repo.

NOTE: Most PDS3 template files are incomplete. There is no planned work to migrate PDS3 ingestion into isisimport. Most PDS3 products have dedicated 2isis applications. See the relevant mission section of the ISIS docs for details.

This application uses the Inja templating engine to render the template file. The input data from the input label is converted to JSON and then it is accessed via the Inja templating syntax. See the Inja documentation for the full template syntax.

Categories

History

Kristin Berry and Amy Stamile2021-05-17 Original version
Jacob Cain2026-02-05 Listed missions where isisimport is the main method of import.

Parameters

Files

This is the label to be ingested to an ISIS Cube. It's assumed that the image is located in the same directory.
Type cube
File Mode input
Filter *.xml

The Inja-compatible template used to generate the ISIS Cube label. By default, isisimport automatically selects the appropriate template based on the input file type. Specify this parameter only if you wish to override the default with a custom template file. To modify an existing template, refer to the files located in $ISISROOT/appdata/import/PDS3 or $ISISROOT/appdata/import/PDS4.
Type filename
File Mode input
Internal Default auto-selected

The ingested ISIS Cube.
Type cube
File Mode output

Overides

This parameter may be necessary as some input files may not contain a target name or it may be incorrect. Some Dawn EDRs have this issue.

Type string
Internal Default Label Value

Debug

This output file is used to dump the contents of the JSON structure used by the template engine as its source of data.
Type filename
Internal Default Optional JSON output

Example 1

Default usage of isisimport

This example is for a PDS4 image that uses .xml labels. For isisimport to work, it is expected to have the associated .img file within the same directory.

Command Line

isisimport from=input.xml to=output.cub

Example 2

Usage of isisimport using custom templates

Command Line

isisimport from=input.xml to=custom.cub template=my_custom_template.tpl