Getting Started

This page shows the typical first workflow with SeisCat: create a config file, initialize a local database, and keep it updated.

If SeisCat is not installed yet, start with Installation.

Quick start

  1. Create and enter a dedicated working directory:

mkdir -p /path/to/your_project
cd /path/to/your_project

Using a dedicated directory keeps your seiscat.conf, database file, and downloaded event data in one place.

  1. Show command help:

seiscat -h

  1. Generate a sample configuration file:

seiscat sampleconfig

This creates a seiscat.conf file with default settings. For a complete description of all available configuration options, see Configuration File.

  1. Edit the configuration file and initialize the database:

seiscat initdb

You can also initialize the database from local event files (CSV, QuakeML, SC3ML, NLLOC, etc.):

seiscat initdb -f /path/to/your/catalog.csv
seiscat initdb -f /path/to/your/events.xml
seiscat initdb -f /path/to/your/catalog.csv -C

Use -C/--crop to apply the geographic/depth/magnitude/event-type selection criteria from your configuration file when importing from local files.

Typical SeisCat working directory

A typical project directory after initialization looks like this:

your_project/
├── seiscat.conf
├── seiscat_db.sqlite           # created by seiscat initdb
└── events/                     # created/used by seiscat fetchdata
    └── <event_id>/
        ├── waveforms/
        └── stations/

Where:

  • seiscat.conf is your configuration file (created with seiscat sampleconfig). See Configuration File for all available options.

  • seiscat_db.sqlite is your local SQLite catalog database, created by seiscat initdb.

  • events/ contains per-event subdirectories when using seiscat fetchdata.

All these names are configurable:

  • Config file path/name: use -c/--configfile (default: seiscat.conf).

  • Database file name: set db_file in the config file.

  • Event directory name: set event_dir in the config file.

  • Waveform and station subdirectories: set waveform_dir and station_dir in the config file.

Update an existing database

To update an existing database from an FDSN event webservice, run:

seiscat updatedb

You can also crop an existing local database to the configured selection criteria (a backup is created first):

seiscat cropdb

If end_time is None, SeisCat uses recheck_period to recheck the last n days/hours/minutes/seconds.

Tab completion

Enable shell tab completion with:

seiscat self completion install

Next

See the full command reference in Commands and configuration options in Configuration File.