# Raster Mosaic and Time Series Support

Earthscale provides native support for tiled, multi-file raster datasets. Some examples of these dataset types:

* Each file has a different projection (e.g., UTM zone)
* Each file represents a separate band
* Each file has a datetime encoded in the filename

By "native support", we mean that we can take a collection of these files and *represent them as a single dataset* with multiple bands, projections, and time steps. In our web app, you can then configure multi-band visualizations or toggle through time. And you can use our export functionality to download slices of this data in a single projection.

## ImageDataset Configuration

For multi-file GeoTIFF datasets (using wildcard patterns like `gs://bucket/path/*.tif`), the following configuration options are available:

### Filename Date Pattern

Extract timestamps from your filenames to enable temporal queries on your dataset. Use [Python strptime format codes](https://docs.python.org/3/library/datetime.html#strftime-and-strptime-format-codes).

**Examples:**

| Filename Example                   | Pattern             |
| ---------------------------------- | ------------------- |
| `data_2024-01-15.tif`              | `%Y-%m-%d`          |
| `tile_20240115_v2.tif`             | `%Y%m%d`            |
| `2024/01/15/image.tif`             | `%Y/%m/%d/`         |
| `sentinel_2024-01-15T10:30:00.tif` | `%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S` |

**Common format codes:**

| Code | Meaning        | Example |
| ---- | -------------- | ------- |
| `%Y` | 4-digit year   | 2024    |
| `%m` | 2-digit month  | 01-12   |
| `%d` | 2-digit day    | 01-31   |
| `%H` | Hour (24-hour) | 00-23   |
| `%M` | Minute         | 00-59   |
| `%S` | Second         | 00-59   |
| `%j` | Day of year    | 001-366 |

### Filename Band Patterns

Map filename patterns to band names when your bands are stored in separate files.

This is useful when you have files like:

* `tile_B02.tif`, `tile_B03.tif`, `tile_B04.tif`
* `scene_red.tif`, `scene_green.tif`, `scene_blue.tif`

**Configuration format:**

For each pattern, specify:

1. **Pattern**: A wildcard pattern including the substring that appears in filenames for that band
2. **Band Name**: The name to assign to that band

**Examples:**

| Filename Pattern | Band Name |
| ---------------- | --------- |
| `*_B02*`         | `blue`    |
| `*_B03*`         | `green`   |
| `*_B04*`         | `red`     |
| `*_B08*`         | `nir`     |

Or for descriptive filenames:

| Filename Pattern | Band Name |
| ---------------- | --------- |
| `*_red*`         | `red`     |
| `*_green*`       | `green`   |
| `*_blue*`        | `blue`    |

This can optionally be combined with the filename date pattern argument.


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