# Common options for vector programs

All GDAL OGR command line programs support the following common options.

--version

  Report the version of GDAL and exit.

--build

  Report detailed information about GDAL in use.

--formats

  List all vector formats supported by this GDAL build (read-only and read-write) and exit. The format support is indicated as follows: `ro` is read-only driver; `rw` is read or write (i.e. supports `CreateCopy()`); `rw+` is read, write and update (i.e. supports Create). A `v` is appended for formats supporting virtual IO (`/vsimem`, `/vsigzip`, `/vsizip`, etc). A `s` is appended for formats supporting subdatasets.

--format <format>

  List detailed information about a single format driver. The format should be the short name reported in the `--formats` list, such as GML.

--optfile <filename>

  Read the named file and substitute the contents into the command line options list. Lines beginning with `#` will be ignored. Multi-word arguments may be kept together with double quotes.

--config <key> <value>

  Sets the named configuration keyword to the given value, as opposed to setting them as environment variables. Some common configuration keywords are SHAPE_ENCODING (force shapefile driver to read DBF files with the given character encoding) and CPL_TEMPDIR (define the location of temporary files). Individual drivers may be influenced by other configuration options.

--debug <value>

  Control what debugging messages are emitted. A value of ON will enable all debug messages. A value of OFF will disable all debug messages. Otherwise, a debug message will be emitted if its category appears somewhere in the value string.

--help-general

  Gives a brief usage message for the generic GDAL OGR command line options and exit.