dcmrecv(1)                        OFFIS DCMTK                       dcmrecv(1)

NAME
       dcmrecv - Simple DICOM storage SCP (receiver)


SYNOPSIS
       dcmrecv [options] port

DESCRIPTION
       The  dcmrecv  application implements a Service Class Provider (SCP) for
       the Storage Service Class.  In  contrast  to  the  well-known  storescp
       utility,  dcmrecv  has  less options and might, therefore, be easier to
       use - this also explains the term  'simple'  in  the  title.  The  main
       purpose  of  this  application  is  to  receive  a whole bunch of DICOM
       datasets from a Storage Service Class User (SCU) and store  them  to  a
       configurable directory and file structure.

PARAMETERS
       port  tcp/ip port number to listen on

OPTIONS
   general options
         -h    --help
                 print this help text and exit

               --version
                 print version information and exit

               --arguments
                 print expanded command line arguments

         -q    --quiet
                 quiet mode, print no warnings and errors

         -v    --verbose
                 verbose mode, print processing details

         -d    --debug
                 debug mode, print debug information

         -ll   --log-level  [l]evel: string constant
                 (fatal, error, warn, info, debug, trace)
                 use level l for the logger

         -lc   --log-config  [f]ilename: string
                 use config file f for the logger

         +v    --verbose-pc
                 show presentation contexts in verbose mode

   network options
       IP protocol version:

         -i4   --ipv4
                 use IPv4 only (default)

         -i6   --ipv6
                 use IPv6 only

         -i0   --ip-auto
                 use IPv6/IPv4 dual stack

       association negotiation profile from configuration file:

         -xf   --config-file  [f]ilename, [p]rofile: string
                 use profile p from configuration file f

       application entity title:

         -uca  --use-called-aetitle
                 always respond with called AE title (default)

         -aet  --aetitle  [a]etitle: string
                 set my AE title and check called AE title

       other network options:

         -ta   --acse-timeout  [s]econds: integer (default: 30)
                 timeout for ACSE messages

         -td   --dimse-timeout  [s]econds: integer (default: unlimited)
                 timeout for DIMSE messages

         -pdu  --max-pdu  [n]umber of bytes: integer (4096..131072)
                 set max receive pdu to n bytes (default: 16384)

         -dhl  --disable-host-lookup  disable hostname lookup

   transport layer security (TLS) options
       transport protocol stack:

         -tls  --disable-tls
                 use normal TCP/IP connection (default)

         +tls  --enable-tls  [p]rivate key file, [c]ertificate file: string
                 use authenticated secure TLS connection

       private key password (only with --enable-tls):

         +ps   --std-passwd
                 prompt user to type password on stdin (default)

         +pw   --use-passwd  [p]assword: string
                 use specified password

         -pw   --null-passwd
                 use empty string as password

       key and certificate file format:

         -pem  --pem-keys
                 read keys and certificates as PEM file (default)

         -der  --der-keys
                 read keys and certificates as DER file

       certification authority:

         +cf   --add-cert-file  [f]ilename: string
                 add certificate file to list of certificates

         +cd   --add-cert-dir  [d]irectory: string
                 add certificates in d to list of certificates

         +crl  --add-crl-file  [f]ilename: string
                 add certificate revocation list file
                 (implies --enable-crl-vfy)

         +crv  --enable-crl-vfy
                 enable leaf CRL verification

         +cra  --enable-crl-all
                 enable full chain CRL verification

       security profile:

         +ph   --list-profiles
                 list supported TLS profiles and exit

         +pg   --profile-8996
                 BCP 195 RFC 8996 TLS Profile (default)

         +pm   --profile-8996-mod
                 Modified BCP 195 RFC 8996 TLS Profile

                 # only available if underlying TLS library supports
                 # all TLS features required for this profile

         +py   --profile-bcp195-nd
                 Non-downgrading BCP 195 TLS Profile (retired)

         +px   --profile-bcp195
                 BCP 195 TLS Profile (retired)

         +pz   --profile-bcp195-ex
                 Extended BCP 195 TLS Profile (retired)

         +pb   --profile-basic
                 Basic TLS Secure Transport Connection Profile (retired)

                 # only available if underlying TLS library supports 3DES

         +pa   --profile-aes
                 AES TLS Secure Transport Connection Profile (retired)

         +pn   --profile-null
                 Authenticated unencrypted communication
                 (retired, was used in IHE ATNA)

       ciphersuite:

         +cc   --list-ciphers
                 list supported TLS ciphersuites and exit

         +cs   --cipher  [c]iphersuite name: string
                 add ciphersuite to list of negotiated suites

         +dp   --dhparam  [f]ilename: string
                 read DH parameters for DH/DSS ciphersuites

       server name indication:

               --no-sni
                 do not use SNI (default)

               --expect-sni  [s]erver name: string
                 expect requests for server name s

       pseudo random generator:

         +rs   --seed  [f]ilename: string
                 seed random generator with contents of f

         +ws   --write-seed
                 write back modified seed (only with --seed)

         +wf   --write-seed-file  [f]ilename: string (only with --seed)
                 write modified seed to file f

       peer authentication:

         -rc   --require-peer-cert
                 verify peer certificate, fail if absent (default)

         -vc   --verify-peer-cert
                 verify peer certificate if present

         -ic   --ignore-peer-cert
                 don't verify peer certificate

   output options
       general:

         -od   --output-directory  [d]irectory: string (default: ".")
                 write received objects to existing directory d

       subdirectory generation:

         -s    --no-subdir
                 do not generate any subdirectories (default)

         +ssd  --series-date-subdir
                 generate subdirectories from series date

       filename generation:

         +fd   --default-filenames
                 generate filename from instance UID (default)

         +fu   --unique-filenames
                 generate unique filename based on new UID

         +fsu  --short-unique-names
                 generate short pseudo-random unique filename

         +fst  --system-time-names
                 generate filename from current system time

         -fe   --filename-extension  [e]xtension: string (default: none)
                 append e to all generated filenames

       storage mode:

         -B    --normal
                 allow implicit format conversions (default)

         +B    --bit-preserving
                 write dataset exactly as received

               --ignore
                 ignore dataset, receive but do not store it

NOTES
   Typical Usage
       A typical use case of dcmrecv is to receive SOP instances that are sent
       from  a storage SCU and save them as DICOM files. The following command
       does exactly this:

       dcmrecv --verbose <port> --config-file storescp.cfg default

       If  you  prefer  some  automatically  created  subdirectory  structure,
       shorter  file  names  and the extension '.dcm' for all DICOM files, use
       the following command:

       dcmrecv -v -xf storescp.cfg default <port> --series-date-subdir
                                                  --short-unique-names
                                                  --filename-extension .dcm

       In case of very large SOP instances or if the dataset should be written
       exactly as received (e.g. for debugging purposes), the 'bit  preserving
       mode' could be used:

       dcmrecv -v -xf storescp.cfg default <port> --bit-preserving

       The  received  datasets  are always stored as DICOM files with the same
       Transfer Syntax as used for the network transmission.

   DICOM Conformance
       Basically, the dcmrecv application supports all Storage SOP Classes  as
       an  SCP,  including  private  ones.  This  requires,  however,  that  a
       corresponding  association  negotiation  profile  is  loaded   from   a
       configuration file. The format and semantics of this configuration file
       are documented in asconfig.txt.

       By default, that means if no association negotiation profile is loaded,
       dcmrecv  only  supports  the  Verification  SOP  Class  as an SCP (with
       default transfer syntax, i.e. Implicit VR Little Endian).

       In the future,  there  might  be  additional  options  that  allow  for
       specifying   the   list   of   supported  Presentation  Contexts  (i.e.
       combination of SOP Class and Transfer Syntaxes) directly, i.e.  without
       loading a configuration file.

   Subdirectory Generation
       The  option  --series-date-subdir  allows for generating subdirectories
       (below the specified output directory) based on the value of  the  data
       element  Series  Date  (0008,0021)  from the received DICOM dataset. If
       this value could be retrieved from  the  dataset  and  is  valid  (i.e.
       consists of a valid DICOM date field), the subdirectory structure is as
       follows:

       <output-directory>/data/<year>/<month>/<day>/<filename>

       If  the  Series Date (0008,0021) cannot be retrieved or is invalid, the
       current system date is used for the following subdirectory structure:

       <output-directory>/undef/<year><month><day>/<filename>

       In both cases, <year> consists of 4 decimal digits and <month> as  well
       as <day> of 2 decimal digits.

   Filename Generation
       By  default,  the filenames for storing the received DICOM datasets are
       generated according to the following scheme:

       <short-modality-prefix>.<sop-instance-uid><filename-extension>

       If the same SOP instance  is  received  twice,  a  warning  message  is
       reported and the existing file is overwritten.

       The  option  --unique-filenames  makes  sure  that  each received DICOM
       dataset is stored as a separate file, i.e.  no  files  should  ever  be
       overwritten.  This  is  done by using a newly created unique identifier
       (UID) for each generated filename (and the infix '.X' in order to avoid
       conflicts with real SOP Instance UID values).  The  naming  scheme  for
       this option is as follows:

       <short-modality-prefix>.X.<unique-identifier><filename-extension>

       When  option  --short-unique-names is used, the filenames are generated
       by some pseudo-random name generator, which also makes sure that  there
       are no conflicts (i.e. existing files are not overwritten). This is the
       naming scheme:

       <short-modality-prefix>_<pseudo-random-name><filename-extension>

       With  <pseudo-random-name>  consisting  of  16  digits  in  hexadecimal
       notation.

       Finally, option --system-time-names  allows  for  generating  filenames
       based on the current system time:

       <date><time>.<short-modality-prefix><filename-extension>

       With   <date>   consisting   of   '<year><month><day>'  and  <time>  of
       '<hour><minute><second>.<micro-second>'. Please note that  this  scheme
       could  result  in naming conflicts if the resolution of the system time
       is not sufficiently high (i.e. does not support microseconds).

   Limitations
       Please note that option --bit-preserving cannot be used  together  with
       option  --series-date-subdir  since  the  received  dataset  is  stored
       directly to file and the value  of  the  Series  Date  (0008,0021)  is,
       therefore, not available before the file has been created.

LOGGING
       The  level  of  logging  output  of  the various command line tools and
       underlying libraries can be specified by the  user.  By  default,  only
       errors  and  warnings  are  written to the standard error stream. Using
       option --verbose also informational messages  like  processing  details
       are  reported.  Option  --debug  can be used to get more details on the
       internal activity, e.g. for debugging purposes.  Other  logging  levels
       can  be  selected  using option --log-level. In --quiet mode only fatal
       errors are reported. In such very severe error events, the  application
       will  usually  terminate.  For  more  details  on the different logging
       levels, see documentation of module 'oflog'.

       In case the logging output should be written to file  (optionally  with
       logfile  rotation),  to syslog (Unix) or the event log (Windows) option
       --log-config can be used.  This  configuration  file  also  allows  for
       directing  only  certain messages to a particular output stream and for
       filtering certain messages based on the  module  or  application  where
       they  are  generated.  An  example  configuration  file  is provided in
       <etcdir>/logger.cfg.

COMMAND LINE
       All command line tools  use  the  following  notation  for  parameters:
       square  brackets  enclose  optional  values  (0-1), three trailing dots
       indicate that multiple values are allowed (1-n), a combination of  both
       means 0 to n values.

       Command line options are distinguished from parameters by a leading '+'
       or  '-' sign, respectively. Usually, order and position of command line
       options are arbitrary (i.e. they  can  appear  anywhere).  However,  if
       options  are  mutually exclusive the rightmost appearance is used. This
       behavior conforms to the  standard  evaluation  rules  of  common  Unix
       shells.

       In  addition,  one  or more command files can be specified using an '@'
       sign as a prefix to the filename (e.g. @command.txt).  Such  a  command
       argument  is  replaced  by  the  content of the corresponding text file
       (multiple whitespaces are treated as a  single  separator  unless  they
       appear  between  two  quotation marks) prior to any further evaluation.
       Please note that a command file cannot contain  another  command  file.
       This  simple  but  effective  approach  allows  one to summarize common
       combinations of options/parameters and  avoids  longish  and  confusing
       command lines (an example is provided in file <datadir>/dumppat.txt).

EXIT CODES
       The  dcmrecv  utility  uses  the following exit codes when terminating.
       This enables the user to check  for  the  reason  why  the  application
       terminated.

   general
       EXITCODE_NO_ERROR                         0
       EXITCODE_COMMANDLINE_SYNTAX_ERROR         1

   input file errors
       EXITCODE_CANNOT_READ_INPUT_FILE          20 (*)

   output file errors
       EXITCODE_CANNOT_WRITE_OUTPUT_FILE        40 (*)
       EXITCODE_INVALID_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY        45

   network errors
       EXITCODE_CANNOT_INITIALIZE_NETWORK       60 (*)
       EXITCODE_CANNOT_START_SCP_AND_LISTEN     64
       EXITCODE_INVALID_ASSOCIATION_CONFIG      66
       EXITCODE_CANNOT_CREATE_TRANSPORT_LAYER   71

       (*)  Actually,  these codes are currently not used by dcmrecv but serve
       as a placeholder for the corresponding group of exit codes.

ENVIRONMENT
       The dcmrecv utility  will  attempt  to  load  DICOM  data  dictionaries
       specified  in the DCMDICTPATH environment variable. By default, i.e. if
       the  DCMDICTPATH  environment   variable   is   not   set,   the   file
       <datadir>/dicom.dic  will be loaded unless the dictionary is built into
       the application (default for Windows).

       The  default  behavior  should  be  preferred   and   the   DCMDICTPATH
       environment  variable  only used when alternative data dictionaries are
       required. The DCMDICTPATH environment variable has the same  format  as
       the  Unix  shell PATH variable in that a colon (':') separates entries.
       On Windows systems, a semicolon (';') is used as a separator. The  data
       dictionary  code  will  attempt  to  load  each  file  specified in the
       DCMDICTPATH environment variable. It is an error if no data  dictionary
       can be loaded.

FILES
       <docdir>/asconfig.txt - configuration file documentation
       <etcdir>/storescp.cfg - example association negotiation profile

SEE ALSO
       dcmsend(1), storescu(1), storescp(1)

COPYRIGHT
       Copyright  (C)  2013-2025  by OFFIS e.V., Escherweg 2, 26121 Oldenburg,
       Germany.

Version 3.7.0                   Mon Dec 15 2025                     dcmrecv(1)
