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Parameters Reference

A single-page reference of every command-line flag accepted by csttool, grouped by command. For prose explanations of what each command does, see CLI Overview and the per-command pages.

Conventions:

  • type path means an absolute or relative filesystem path (pathlib.Path).
  • A flag listed without a default is required for that command.
  • Boolean flags toggle on when present; default is off unless noted.

check

Verify the Python environment and required dependencies.

Flag Type Default Description
(no arguments) Runs version and import checks.

check-dataset

Assess DWI acquisition quality.

Flag Type Default Description
--dwi path DWI NIfTI file. Required.
--bval path auto b-value sidecar. Auto-discovered if omitted.
--bvec path auto b-vector sidecar. Auto-discovered if omitted.
--json path auto BIDS JSON sidecar. Auto-discovered if omitted.
--b0-threshold float 50.0 b-value below which a volume is treated as b=0.
--verbose flag off Detailed acquisition-quality report.

fetch-data

Download FSL-licensed atlas data.

Flag Type Default Description
--accept-fsl-license flag off Acknowledge the FSL non-commercial licence and proceed.

import

Convert DICOM to NIfTI or validate an existing NIfTI dataset.

Flag Type Default Description
--dicom path DICOM input directory. Mutually exclusive with --nifti.
--nifti path Existing NIfTI input. Mutually exclusive with --dicom.
--out path Output directory. Required.
--subject-id string derived Subject label written into BIDS names.
--session-id string Optional session label.
--series int DICOM series number to convert (omit to auto-select).
--scan-only flag off Inspect input without writing anything.
--field-strength float from header Override scanner field strength (Tesla).
--echo-time float from header Override echo time.
--raw-bids flag off Emit a raw-BIDS dataset (vs. derivatives layout).
--keep-phi flag off Do not strip PHI tags from DICOM during conversion.
--verbose flag off Detailed conversion log.

preprocess

Denoise, unring, motion-correct and brain-mask DWI.

Flag Type Default Description
--nifti path DWI NIfTI input. Mutually exclusive with --dicom.
--dicom path DICOM input (converted internally).
--out path Output directory. Required.
--denoise-method patch2self | nlmeans patch2self Denoising algorithm.
--coil-count int 4 NLMeans noise estimation parameter.
--unring flag off Apply Kellner Gibbs-unringing.
--perform-motion-correction flag off Affine-register volumes to first b=0.
--target-voxel-size 3×float Reslice to given isotropic voxel size in mm.
--save-visualizations flag off Write QC plots.
--verbose flag off

track

Whole-brain deterministic tractography (CSA-ODF).

Flag Type Default Description
--nifti path Preprocessed DWI. Required.
--out path Output directory. Required.
--subject-id string derived Subject label.
--fa-thr float 0.2 FA stopping threshold.
--seed-density int 1 Seeds per voxel (3D grid).
--step-size float 0.5 Streamline integration step in mm.
--sh-order int 6 Spherical-harmonic order for CSA-ODF.
--rng-seed int 42 Random seed for deterministic tracking.
--random flag off Disable seeding (non-deterministic run).
--use-brain-mask-stop flag off Use brain mask as an additional stopping criterion.
--show-plots flag off Interactive plots during tracking.
--verbose flag off

extract

Atlas-based ROI filtering for bilateral CST.

Flag Type Default Description
--tractogram path Whole-brain .trk from track. Required.
--fa path FA map for registration target. Required.
--out path Output directory. Required.
--subject-id string subject Subject label.
--extraction-method endpoint | passthrough endpoint ROI filtering strategy.
--dilate-brainstem int 2 Brainstem ROI dilation (voxels).
--dilate-motor int 1 Motor-cortex ROI dilation (voxels).
--min-length float 20.0 Minimum streamline length (mm).
--max-length float 200.0 Maximum streamline length (mm).
--fast-registration flag off Use a faster, lower-precision ANTs registration profile.
--save-visualizations flag off Write QC images.
--skip-coordinate-validation flag off Bypass affine sanity checks (debugging only).
--verbose flag off
--quiet flag off Suppress all but errors.

metrics

Bilateral CST metrics and reports.

Flag Type Default Description
--cst-left path Left CST .trk. Required.
--cst-right path Right CST .trk. Required.
--out path Output directory. Required.
--fa path FA map (needed for profiles).
--md path MD map.
--rd path RD map.
--ad path AD map.
--subject-id string subject Subject label.
--space string Coordinate space label recorded in metadata.
--generate-pdf flag off Render the HTML report to PDF.
--verbose flag off

validate

Compare extracted bundles against reference tractograms.

Flag Type Default Description
--cand-left path Candidate left CST. Required.
--cand-right path Candidate right CST. Required.
--ref-left path Reference left CST. Required.
--ref-right path Reference right CST. Required.
--ref-space path Reference-space NIfTI used to rasterize streamlines. Required.
--output-dir path ./validation_output Output directory.
--visualize flag off Save overlay images.
--disable-hemisphere-check flag off Skip the left/right hemisphere consistency check.

run

Full single-subject pipeline. Accepts the union of import, preprocess, track, extract and metrics flags, plus orchestration controls. Notable additions:

Flag Type Default Description
--bids-out flag off Emit a BIDS-Derivatives output layout.
--generate-pdf flag off Forwarded to metrics.
--extraction-method endpoint | passthrough | roi-seeded | bidirectional endpoint run exposes two additional methods not available in standalone extract (roi-seeded, bidirectional).

See csttool run for the full list.

batch

Multi-subject orchestration.

Flag Type Default Description
--manifest path JSON manifest of subjects. Mutually exclusive with --bids-dir.
--bids-dir path BIDS dataset root; subjects auto-discovered.
--out path Output directory. Required.
--bids-out flag off BIDS-Derivatives layout.
--include list Subject IDs to include.
--exclude list Subject IDs to skip.
--force flag off Re-run subjects with existing outputs.
--dry-run flag off Print the planned actions without running.
--validate-only flag off Validate manifest / BIDS discovery only.
--keep-work flag off Keep intermediate work directories.
--timeout-minutes int Per-subject timeout.
--preprocessing / --no-preprocessing flag on Toggle the preprocess stage.
--denoise-method patch2self | nlmeans patch2self Forwarded to preprocess.
--generate-pdf flag off Forwarded to metrics.
--verbose / --quiet flag off