CLI Reference

Complete command-line reference for pivtools-cli. All commands read from config.yaml in the current directory.

Quick Reference

# Init and Process
pivtools-cli init
pivtools-cli instantaneous
pivtools-cli ensemble
# Calibration Detection
pivtools-cli detect-planar
pivtools-cli detect-charuco
pivtools-cli detect-stereo-planar
pivtools-cli detect-stereo-charuco
# Post-Processing
pivtools-cli apply-calibration
pivtools-cli apply-stereo
pivtools-cli self-calibrate
pivtools-cli align-coordinates
pivtools-cli transform
pivtools-cli merge
pivtools-cli statistics
# Visualisation
pivtools-cli video

Common Workflows

2D PIV (Single or Multi-Camera)

pivtools-cli init                          # Create config.yaml
# Edit config.yaml with your settings
pivtools-cli detect-planar                  # Generate camera model
pivtools-cli instantaneous                  # Run PIV
pivtools-cli apply-calibration              # Pixels to m/s
pivtools-cli transform -o flip_ud           # Geometric transform (optional)
pivtools-cli merge                          # Merge cameras (if multi-camera)
pivtools-cli statistics                     # Mean, TKE, vorticity, etc.
pivtools-cli video -v mag                   # Create video

Stereo PIV

pivtools-cli detect-stereo-charuco           # Stereo camera model
pivtools-cli instantaneous                   # PIV for both cameras
pivtools-cli self-calibrate --camera-pair 1,2 # Correct laser-sheet misalignment (optional)
pivtools-cli apply-stereo --camera-pair 1,2  # 3D reconstruction (ux, uy, uz)
pivtools-cli statistics --source-endpoint stereo
pivtools-cli video --data-source stereo -v uz

Batch Processing

# Process specific path indices
pivtools-cli instantaneous -p 0,1,2
pivtools-cli apply-calibration -p 0,1,2
pivtools-cli statistics -p 0,1,2

All Commands

Click any command to expand options and examples. All processing commands support --active-paths / -p for batch path selection.

Transform Operations

Available for pivtools-cli transform -o. Comma-separate multiple operations.

OperationDescription
flip_udFlip vertically (up-down)
flip_lrFlip horizontally (left-right)
rotate_90_cwRotate 90 degrees clockwise
rotate_90_ccwRotate 90 degrees counter-clockwise
rotate_180Rotate 180 degrees
swap_ux_uySwap velocity components
invert_uxNegate ux only (also negates UV stress)
invert_uyNegate uy only (also negates UV stress)
invert_ux_uyNegate ux and uy
scale_velocity:NScale velocities by factor N
scale_coords:NScale coordinates by factor N

Environment Variables

VariableDescription
PIV_ACTIVE_PATHSOverride active paths (comma-separated indices)
MALLOC_TRIM_THRESHOLD_Set to "0" for better memory management on Linux
OMP_NUM_THREADSControl OpenMP thread count for C extensions
Example
PIV_ACTIVE_PATHS=0,1 pivtools-cli instantaneous
OMP_NUM_THREADS=4 pivtools-cli instantaneous

Getting Help

pivtools-cli --help                    # All commands
pivtools-cli instantaneous --help      # Command-specific help
pivtools-cli video --help

Need More Detail?

Each command has detailed documentation in its respective manual section.