Getting band names using ArcPy in ArcGIS Desktop 10.x

Question

How do I get a list of band names using ArcPy in ArcGIS Desktop 10.x?

In ArcGIS Pro, I can use Raster('myRaster').bandNames, but this is not an option in ArcGIS 10.x and I cannot seem to figure out how to access band names.

Answer 1

If you want the band names you can set arcpy.env.workspace to the raster, then use arcpy.ListRasters() to list the bands, here's an example wrapped up into a function:

import arcpy
def get_bands(path_to_raster):
    """ Get a list of band names from a multiband raster """
# Save previous workspace
oldws = arcpy.env.workspace 

#Get raster objects from band names
arcpy.env.workspace = path_to_raster
bands = arcpy.ListRasters()

#Restore previous workspace
arcpy.env.workspace = oldws

return bands

Or if you want the full path:

import os
import arcpy
def get_bands(path_to_raster):
    """ Get a list of band names from a multiband raster """
# Save previous workspace
oldws = arcpy.env.workspace 

#Get raster objects from band names
arcpy.env.workspace = path_to_raster
bands = [os.path.join(path_to_raster, b) for b in arcpy.ListRasters()]

#Restore previous workspace
arcpy.env.workspace = oldws

return bands

If you don't actually care what the band names are and want to access a raster band by index (band number), use arcpy.MakeRasterLayer_management

arcpy.MakeRasterLayer_management(input_raster, "lyr_band3", band_index="3")