Image Formats

Preferred Extensions and Mime Types

Images can generally be read regardless of their name. By default, when opening an image with large_image.open(), each tile source reader is tried in turn until one source can open the file. Each source lists preferred file extensions and mime types with a priority level. If the file ends with one of these extensions or has one of these mimetypes, the order that the source readers are tried is adjusted based on the specified priority.

The file extensions and mime types that are listed by the core sources that can affect source processing order are listed below. See large_image.listSources() for details about priority of the different sources and the large_image.constants.SourcePriority for the priority meaning.

The following table describes the some of the formats supported by large-image and the common extensions for each format. This table also describes the large-image-source-* modules that can be used to read each format.

For a list of known mime types, see Mime Types (43). For a list of known extensions, see Extensions (435). To view extensions and mime types for each tilesource, see Extensions & Mimetypes by Tilesource.

Common Formats

Format	Extension(s)	Tile Source	Multiframe	Geospatial	Writeable	Associated Images	Example File
TIFF 🔗	tiff, tif, ptif, ptiff, qptiff	tiff, tifffile	True	False	False	True	Download
TIFF 🔗	tiff, tif, ptif, ptiff, qptiff	openslide	False	False	False	True	Download
TIFF 🔗	tiff, tif, ptif, ptiff, qptiff	vips	True	False	True	False	Download
TIFF 🔗	tiff, tif, ptif, ptiff, qptiff	pil	True	False	False	False	Download
TIFF 🔗	tiff, tif, ptif, ptiff, qptiff	gdal, rasterio, mapnik	False	True	False	False	Download
SVS 🔗	svs, svslide	openslide	False	False	False	True	Download
SVS 🔗	svs, svslide	tiff, tifffile, bioformats	Unknown	False	False	True	Download
SVS 🔗	svs, svslide	gdal, rasterio, mapnik	Unknown	True	False	False	Download
OME-TIFF 🔗	ome.tiff, ome.tif, ome	ometiff	True	False	False	True	Download
OME-TIFF 🔗	ome.tiff, ome.tif, ome	vips	True	False	True	False	Download
OME-TIFF 🔗	ome.tiff, ome.tif, ome	pil	True	False	False	False	Download
OME-TIFF 🔗	ome.tiff, ome.tif, ome	gdal, rasterio, mapnik	False	True	False	False	Download
Zarr 🔗	zarr, zarray, zattrs, zgroup, zip, db, sqlite	zarr	True	False	True	True	Download
Zarr 🔗	zarr, zarray, zattrs, zgroup, zip, db, sqlite	zarr	True	False	True	True	Download
ND2 🔗	nd2	nd2	True	False	False	False	Download
CZI 🔗	czi	bioformats	True	False	False	True	Download
DICOM 🔗	dcm, dic, dicom	bioformats	True	False	False	True	Download
LIF 🔗	lif, liff	bioformats	True	False	False	True	Download
PNG 🔗	png	pil	True	False	False	False	Download
JPEG 🔗	jpeg, jpe, jpg	pil	Unknown	False	False	False	Download
JPEG 🔗	jpeg, jpe, jpg	vips	Unknown	False	True	False	Download
JPEG 🔗	jpeg, jpe, jpg	gdal, rasterio, mapnik	Unknown	True	False	False	Download
JPEG 2000 🔗	j2c, j2k, jp2, jpf, jpx	gdal, rasterio, mapnik	Unknown	True	False	False	Download
JPEG 2000 🔗	j2c, j2k, jp2, jpf, jpx	openjpeg	False	False	False	True	Download
JPEG 2000 🔗	j2c, j2k, jp2, jpf, jpx	vips	Unknown	False	True	False	Download
JPEG 2000 🔗	j2c, j2k, jp2, jpf, jpx	pil	Unknown	False	False	False	Download
JPEG 2000 🔗	j2c, j2k, jp2, jpf, jpx	bioformats	Unknown	False	False	True	Download
GIF 🔗	gif	vips	True	False	True	False	Download
GIF 🔗	gif	pil	True	False	False	False	Download
GIF 🔗	gif	bioformats	True	False	False	True	Download
GIF 🔗	gif	gdal, rasterio, mapnik	False	True	False	False	Download
Bitmap 🔗	bmp	pil	Unknown	False	False	False	Download
Bitmap 🔗	bmp	bioformats	Unknown	False	False	True	Download
Bitmap 🔗	bmp	gdal, rasterio, mapnik	Unknown	True	False	False	Download

Mime Types (43)

application/dicom, application/json, application/pdf, application/postscript, application/vnd+zarr, application/x-zarr, application/yaml, application/zip+zarr, image/avif, image/bmp, image/czi, image/geotiff, image/gif, image/heic, image/heif, image/icns, image/j2c, image/jls, image/jp2, image/jpeg, image/jpx, image/jxl, image/mirax, image/mpo, image/nd2, image/palm, image/png, image/scn, image/sgi, image/tiff, image/vnd.adobe.photoshop, image/vsi, image/webp, image/x-icon, image/x-pcx, image/x-portable-anymap, image/x-ptif, image/x-tga, image/x-tiff, image/xbm, image/xpm, text/yaml, video/mpeg

Extensions (435)

000, 1sc, 2fl, ace2, acff, adf, afi, afm, aim, al3d, ali, am, amiramesh, apl, apng, arc, arf, asc, aux, avi, avif, avs, b, bag, bif, bil, bin, bip, blp, blx, bmp, bt, btf, bufr, bw, byn, c01, cal, cfg, ch5, cif, columbusidx, cr2, crw, csv, ct1, cub, cur, cxd, czi, dat, db, dbf, dcimg, dcm, dcx, dds, dem, demtif, df3, dgn, dib, dic, dicom, dim, dm2, dm3, dm4, doq, dt0, dt1, dt2, dti, dv, dv_vol, dwg, dxf, dz, dzc, dzi, e00, eer, emf, eps, epsi, err, ers, ets, exp, exr, fdf, fff, ffr, fgb, fid, fit, fits, flc, flex, fli, flt, frm, fst, ftc, ftu, gbr, gdb, gdbtable, gel, gen, geojson, geojsonl, geojsons, geotiff, gff, gif, gml, gmt, gpkg, gpkg.zip, gpx, grb, grb2, grc, grd, grey, grib, grib2, gsb, gsc, gta, gti, gti.fgb, gti.gpkg, gtx, gvb, gxf, h3, h5, hdf, hdf5, hdr, hdr.gz, hed, heic, heics, heif, heifs, hf2, hgt, hif, his, htd, html, hx, i2i, icb, icns, ico, ics, idf, ids, igc, iim, ili, im, im3, img, img.gz, ims, inf, ini, inr, ipl, ipm, ipw, isg, itf, j2c, j2k, jfif, jls, jml, jp2, jpc, jpe, jpeg, jpf, jpg, jpk, jpls, jpt, jpx, json, jxl, kap, kea, klb, kml, kmz, kro, l2d, labels, lan, lbl, lcp, lei, lif, lifext, liff, lim, lms, lof, los, lrc, lsm, map, mapml, mat, mbtiles, mdb, mea, mem, mid, mif, mint.bin, mnc, mng, mod, mov, mpeg, mpg, mpl, mpo, mpr, mps, mrc, mrcs, mrf, mrw, mrxs, msp, msr, mtb, mtw, mvd2, mvt, mvt.gz, n1, naf, nat, nc, nd, nd2, ndpi, ndpis, nef, nhdr, nia, nia.gz, nii, nii.gz, nitf, nrrd, nsf, ntf, nws, obf, obsep, ods, oib, oif, oir, ome, ome.btf, ome.tf2, ome.tf8, ome.tif, ome.tiff, ome.xml, omp2info, on2, on9, osm, osm.pbf, palm, par, pbf, pbm, pcd, pcoraw, pcx, pdf, pds, pfm, pgm, pic, pict, pix, pjg, pmtiles, png, png.ovr, pnl, pnm, pnt, pol, ppg, ppi, ppm, pr3, prf, prj, ps, psd, psv, ptf, ptif, ptiff, pxr, qoi, qpi, qptiff, r3d, ras, rasterlite, raw, rcpnl, rda, rdb, rec, res, rgb, rgba, rik, rl2, rst, rsw, scn, sdat, sdt, seq, sg-grd-z, sgi, shp, shp.zip, shx, shz, sid, sif, sigdem, sld, sldy, sm2, sm3, sos, spc, spe, spi, sql, sqlite, st, stk, stp, svs, svslide, sxf, sxm, szi, tab, tc, tcx, ter, tf2, tf8, tfr, tga, thf, tif, tif.grd, tiff, til, tnb, toc, top, topojson, tpkx, tsv, txt, v, vct, vda, vff, vfk, vic, vips, vms, vmu, vrt, vsi, vst, vws, wat, webp, wlz, wmf, wpi, x10, xbm, xdce, xlb, xlef, xls, xlsm, xlsx, xml, xodr, xpm, xqd, xqf, xtf, xv, xys, xyz, yaml, yml, zarr, zarray, zattrs, zfp, zfr, zgroup, zif, zip, zvi

Extensions & Mimetypes by Tilesource

File Extensions & Mimetypes

Tile Source	Extension(s)	Mime Type(s)
tiff	tif, tiff, ptif, ptiff, qptiff, svs	image/tiff, image/x-tiff, image/x-ptif
pil	jpg, jpeg, jpe, nef, blp, bmp, dib, bufr, cur, pcx, dcx, dds, ps, eps, fit, fits, fli, flc, ftc, ftu, gbr, gif, grib, h5, hdf, png, apng, jp2, j2k, jpc, jpf, jpx, j2c, icns, ico, im, iim, jfif, mpg, mpeg, tif, tiff, mpo, msp, palm, pcd, pdf, pxr, pbm, pgm, ppm, pnm, pfm, psd, qoi, bw, rgb, rgba, sgi, ras, tga, icb, vda, vst, webp, wmf, emf, xbm, xpm, heic, heics, heif, heifs, hif, avif, jxl, jls, jpls, ppg	image/jpeg, image/bmp, image/x-pcx, application/postscript, image/gif, image/png, image/jp2, image/icns, image/x-icon, video/mpeg, image/tiff, image/mpo, image/palm, application/pdf, image/x-portable-anymap, image/vnd.adobe.photoshop, image/sgi, image/x-tga, image/webp, image/xbm, image/xpm, image/heif, image/avif, image/jxl, image/jls
openslide	bif, dcm, ini, mrxs, ndpi, scn, svs, svslide, tif, tiff, vms, vmu	image/mirax, image/tiff, image/x-tiff
openjpeg	jp2, jpf, j2c, j2k, jpx	image/j2c, image/jp2, image/jpx
gdal	geotiff, ntf, nitf, tif, tiff, vrt, gti.gpkg, gti.fgb, gti, toc, xml, img, gff, json, tpkx, asc, isg, dt0, dt1, dt2, png, gta, jpg, jpeg, mem, gif, n1, fits, kap, bmp, pix, map, mpr, mpl, hgt, ter, nc, hdf, lbl, cub, ers, jp2, j2k, grb, grb2, grib2, sid, rsw, nat, rst, grd, hdr, kml, kmz, webp, pdf, mbtiles, cal, ct1, mrf, pgm, ppm, pnm, lcp, gtx, gsb, gvb, ace2, kro, byn, err, b, bin, rik, dem, gxf, kea, bag, h5, hdf5, grc, gen, sdat, sg-grd-z, xyz, hf2, dat, ppi, prf, sigdem, exr, heic, tga, jxl, shp, dbf, shz, shp.zip, tab, mif, mid, 000, dgn, csv, tsv, psv, gml, gpx, geojson, geojsonl, geojsons, topojson, itf, ili, xtf, gmt, gpkg, gpkg.zip, sqlite, db, gdb, dxf, dwg, fgb, vfk, sql, osm, pbf, mps, tcx, igc, thf, vct, xls, ods, xlsx, xlsm, sxf, jml, txt, x10, mvt, mvt.gz, zip, pmtiles, pol, arc, pnt, xodr, e00, bil, zarr, tif.grd, shx, til, prj, osm.pbf, idf, mint.bin, rl2, nws, dim, pjg, ptf, h3, lan, flt, vic, mtw, on9, fst, rdb, gsc, rasterlite, gdbtable, los, on2, nsf, xlb, sos, lrc, aux, adf, demtif, doq, mapml	image/geotiff, image/tiff, image/x-tiff, image/png, image/jpeg, image/gif, image/jp2, image/webp, image/x-portable-anymap, image/heic, image/x-tga, image/jxl
deepzoom	dzi, dzc
vips	csv, mat, raw, v, vips, pbm, pgm, ppm, pfm, pnm, hdr, jxl, j2k, jp2, jpt, j2c, jpc, dz, szi, png, jpg, jpeg, jpe, jfif, webp, tif, tiff, nii, nii.gz, hdr.gz, img, img.gz, nia, nia.gz, heic, heif, avif, bmp, gif
rasterio	geotiff, ntf, nitf, tif, tiff, vrt, img, asc, dt0, dt1, dt2, png, jpg, jpeg, gif, xpm, bmp, pix, map, mpr, mpl, rgb, hgt, ter, nc, lbl, cub, xml, ers, jp2, j2k, grb, grb2, grib2, rsw, rst, grd, rda, kml, kmz, webp, pdf, sqlite, mbtiles, cal, ct1, mrf, pgm, ppm, pnm, hdr, bt, lcp, gtx, gsb, gvb, kro, byn, err, dem, bag, gen, blx, sdat, sg-grd-z, xyz, hf2, dat, sigdem, gpkg, gpkg.zip, bil, tif.grd, til, prj, mint.bin, nws, dim, pjg, ptf, h3, lan, flt, vic, mtw, on9, fst, rdb, gsc, rasterlite, los, nsf, xlb, lrc, aux, adf, demtif, png.ovr, doq	image/geotiff, image/tiff, image/x-tiff
ometiff	tif, tiff, ome	image/tiff, image/x-tiff
mapnik	nc, ntf, nitf, tif, tiff, vrt	image/geotiff, image/tiff, image/x-tiff
zarr	zarr, zgroup, zattrs, zarray, db, zip	application/zip+zarr, application/vnd+zarr, application/x-zarr
multi	json, yaml, yml	application/json, application/yaml, text/yaml
dicom	dcm, dic, dicom	application/dicom
tifffile	scn, tif, tiff, ome, ome.tif, lsm, stk, qpi, pcoraw, qptiff, ptiff, ptif, gel, seq, svs, avs, zif, ndpi, bif, tf8, tf2, btf, eer	image/scn, image/tiff, image/x-tiff
bioformats	czi, ets, lif, vsi, 1sc, 2fl, acff, afi, afm, aim, al3d, ali, am, amiramesh, apl, arf, avi, bif, bin, bip, bmp, btf, c01, cfg, ch5, cif, cr2, crw, cxd, dat, dcm, dib, dicom, dm2, dm3, dm4, dti, dv, eps, epsi, exp, fdf, fff, ffr, fits, flex, fli, frm, gel, gif, grey, h5, hdf, hdr, hed, his, htd, html, hx, i2i, ics, ids, im3, img, ims, inr, ipl, ipm, ipw, j2k, jp2, jpeg, jpf, jpg, jpk, jpx, klb, l2d, labels, lei, liff, lim, lms, lsm, map, mdb, mea, mnc, mng, mod, mov, mrc, mrcs, mrw, msr, mtb, mvd2, naf, nd, nd2, ndpi, ndpis, nef, nhdr, nii, nii.gz, nrrd, obf, obsep, oib, oif, oir, ome, ome.btf, ome.tf2, ome.tf8, ome.tif, ome.tiff, ome.xml, par, pbm, pcoraw, pcx, pds, pgm, pic, pict, png, pnl, ppm, pr3, ps, psd, qptiff, r3d, raw, rcpnl, rec, res, scn, sdt, seq, sif, sld, sm2, sm3, spc, spe, spi, st, stk, stp, svs, sxm, tc, tf2, tf8, tfr, tga, tif, tiff, tnb, top, txt, v, vff, vms, vws, wat, wlz, wpi, xdce, xml, xqd, xqf, xv, xys, zfp, zfr, zvi, sldy, df3, lof, xlef, omp2info, dcimg, inf, fid, lifext, columbusidx, dv_vol	image/czi, image/vsi
nd2	nd2	image/nd2