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# Command Line Interface
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Command-line tool for extracting and displaying EXIF metadata from image files. The `EXIF.py` script provides comprehensive metadata extraction with various processing options and output formats.
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## Capabilities
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### Main Command Line Function
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Entry point for the command-line interface with argument parsing and file processing.
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```python { .api }
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def main():
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    """
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    Parse command line options/arguments and execute EXIF extraction.
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    Processes each file specified on command line, extracts EXIF metadata,
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    and displays results with timing information and error handling.
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    """
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def get_args():
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    """
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    Parse and return command line arguments.
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    Returns:
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    argparse.Namespace: Parsed command line arguments with the following attributes:
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        - files: List[str], image files to process
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        - detailed: bool, process MakerNotes (inverse of --quick)
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        - stop_tag: str, tag name to stop processing at
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        - strict: bool, strict processing mode
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        - debug: bool, enable debug output
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        - color: bool, enable colored output
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    """
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```
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## Command Line Usage
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### Basic Usage
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Extract and display EXIF data from image files:
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```bash
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# Single file
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EXIF.py photo.jpg
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# Multiple files
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EXIF.py photo1.jpg photo2.tiff photo3.png
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# Process all JPEG files in directory
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find ~/Pictures -name "*.jpg" | xargs EXIF.py
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```
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### Command Line Options
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The EXIF.py script supports the following options:
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```bash
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# Display version information
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EXIF.py --version
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EXIF.py -v
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# Quick processing (skip MakerNotes for faster processing)
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EXIF.py --quick photo.jpg
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EXIF.py -q photo.jpg
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# Stop processing at specific tag
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EXIF.py --tag DateTimeOriginal photo.jpg
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EXIF.py -t DateTimeOriginal photo.jpg
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# Strict mode (stop on errors instead of continuing)
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EXIF.py --strict photo.jpg
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EXIF.py -s photo.jpg
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# Debug mode (verbose output with processing details)
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EXIF.py --debug photo.jpg
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EXIF.py -d photo.jpg
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# Colored output (works with debug on POSIX systems)
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EXIF.py --debug --color photo.jpg
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EXIF.py -d -c photo.jpg
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# Combine options
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EXIF.py -qsc photo.jpg  # Quick, strict, colored processing
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```
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### Help Information
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```bash
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# Display help message
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EXIF.py --help
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EXIF.py -h
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```
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## Usage Examples
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### Basic EXIF Extraction
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```bash
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# Extract EXIF from a single photo
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$ EXIF.py DSC001.jpg
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Opening: DSC001.jpg
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Image Make (ASCII): Canon
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Image Model (ASCII): Canon EOS 5D Mark IV
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Image DateTime (ASCII): 2023:08:15 14:30:22
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EXIF DateTimeOriginal (ASCII): 2023:08:15 14:30:22
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EXIF ExposureTime (Ratio): 1/125
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EXIF FNumber (Ratio): 8/1
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EXIF ISOSpeedRatings (Short): 200
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EXIF FocalLength (Ratio): 85/1
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GPS GPSLatitude (Ratio): [40, 45, 32401/1000]
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GPS GPSLongitude (Ratio): [73, 59, 8599/1000]
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File has JPEG thumbnail
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```
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### Quick Processing Mode
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```bash
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# Skip MakerNotes for faster processing of many files
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$ EXIF.py -q *.jpg
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Opening: photo1.jpg
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Image Make (ASCII): Sony
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Image Model (ASCII): ILCE-7R III
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EXIF DateTimeOriginal (ASCII): 2023:07:20 09:15:33
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Opening: photo2.jpg  
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Image Make (ASCII): Nikon
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Image Model (ASCII): D850
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EXIF DateTimeOriginal (ASCII): 2023:07:20 10:22:18
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```
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### Stop at Specific Tag
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```bash
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# Stop processing after finding the date taken
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$ EXIF.py -t DateTimeOriginal vacation/*.jpg
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Opening: IMG001.jpg
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Image Make (ASCII): Apple
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Image Model (ASCII): iPhone 13 Pro
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EXIF DateTimeOriginal (ASCII): 2023:06:10 16:45:12
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Opening: IMG002.jpg
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Image Make (ASCII): Apple  
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Image Model (ASCII): iPhone 13 Pro
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EXIF DateTimeOriginal (ASCII): 2023:06:10 17:23:08
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```
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### Debug Mode Output
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```bash
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# Enable verbose debug output
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$ EXIF.py -d photo.jpg
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Opening: photo.jpg
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DEBUG  JPEG format recognized data[0:2]=0xFFD8
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DEBUG  APP1 at base 0x14
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DEBUG  Length: 0x22 0x5E
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DEBUG  Code: Exif
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DEBUG  Endian format is I (Intel)
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DEBUG  IFD 0 (Image) at offset 18:
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DEBUG   Make: (0x010F) ASCII=Canon @ 150
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DEBUG   Model: (0x0110) ASCII=Canon EOS 5D Mark IV @ 156
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DEBUG  Exif SubIFD at offset 180:
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DEBUG   DateTimeOriginal: (0x9003) ASCII=2023:08:15 14:30:22 @ 344
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INFO   Tags processed in 0.003 seconds
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INFO   File processed in 0.008 seconds
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```
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### Strict Mode Processing
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```bash
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# Stop on errors instead of continuing
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$ EXIF.py -s corrupted_photo.jpg
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Opening: corrupted_photo.jpg
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ERROR  Unknown type 255 in tag 0x0001
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```
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### Batch Processing with Error Handling
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```bash
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# Process all images in a directory with error handling
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$ find ~/Photos -name "*.jpg" -o -name "*.tiff" | xargs EXIF.py -q
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Opening: /home/user/Photos/IMG001.jpg
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Image Make (ASCII): Canon
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...
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Opening: /home/user/Photos/corrupted.jpg  
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WARNING No EXIF information found
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Opening: /home/user/Photos/IMG003.jpg
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Image Make (ASCII): Sony
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...
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```
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### Using with Shell Scripts
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```bash
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#!/bin/bash
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# Extract creation dates from photos
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for photo in "$@"; do
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    echo "Processing: $photo"
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    EXIF.py -t DateTimeOriginal "$photo" 2>/dev/null | grep "DateTimeOriginal" | cut -d: -f2-
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done
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```
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### Performance Timing
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The command line tool automatically reports processing times:
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```bash
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$ EXIF.py -d large_photo.jpg
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# ... EXIF output ...
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DEBUG  Tags processed in 0.015 seconds
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DEBUG  File processed in 0.032 seconds
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```
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### Integration with Other Tools
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```bash
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# Count photos by camera make
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$ find ~/Photos -name "*.jpg" | xargs EXIF.py -q | grep "Image Make" | sort | uniq -c
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     42 Image Make (ASCII): Canon
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     28 Image Make (ASCII): Nikon  
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     15 Image Make (ASCII): Sony
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# Extract GPS coordinates to CSV
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$ EXIF.py photo.jpg | grep "GPS GPS" | sed 's/.*: //' > gps_data.txt
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```