Command Line Tools

Introduction

In addition to GUI tools like Texture Editor and SAMDL, SA Tools include several command line tools useful for scripting and other purposes.

These tools are located in SA Tools\bin. They are meant to be used with Windows Terminal or the command prompt (cmd.exe).

List of Tools

Tool	Purpose
AnimJSONConverter	Converts .saanim files to .json and vice versa.
ArchiveTool	Extracts and builds PVM/GVM/PRS/DAT and other archives, extracts PB archives.
buildEvent	Builds SA2 event files.
buildMDL	Builds SA2 MDL files.
buildMiniEvent	Builds SA2 in-level cutscenes.
buildMTN	Builds SA2 MTN files.
BuildShapeMotion	Creates Ninja Shape animations.
ModelConverter	Converts .sa1mdl files to .sa2mdl and vice versa.
ModelRelabeler	Copies labels from one model file to another.
PAKTool	Extracts and builds .PAK archives. This tool is superseded by ArchiveTool and is only provided for testing purposes.
SETCodeGenerator	Creates object loading code from a SET file and an object list.
split	Extracts data from binary files.
splitEvent	Extracts data from SA2 event files.
splitMiniEvent	Extracts data from SA2 in-level cutscenes.
splitMTN	Extracts data from SA2 MTN files.
splitShapeMotion	Extracts data from Ninja Shape animations.
TextureRemap	Remaps texture IDs in a model file.
TextureTool	Encodes and decodes texture files in all formats supported by SA Tools.
WeldConverter	Converts a model's vertex welds to a custom weight format.

Adding the PATH Environment Variable

To make using command line tools easier, add the bin folder to your system PATH environment variable.

Go to System Properties, Advanced and Click "Environment Variables...". You will see the following window:

Environment Variables window

Select Path in in User Variables and click "Edit...". Then click New and type the location of your SA Tools' bin folder. Example:

Adding an environment variable

You can now run the tools from any folder in the command prompt.

Examples and Usage

One way to launch the command prompt in the folder you need is opening the folder in Explorer and typing cmd in the address bar:

Hit Enter and you can now use the command line tools in this folder:

To learn how to use a specific tool, run it without command line arguments.

Example: Scanning SA1 STG01.PRS for levels and models using the Object Scanner. Type the following in the command prompt and press Enter:

objscan SA1 STG01.PRS C900000 all

Note: the file STG01.PRS must exist in the folder you're running the command in (D:\test in this example).