..
  This file is generated by setup.py

Read and write TIFF files
=========================

Tifffile is a comprehensive Python library to

(1) store NumPy arrays in TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) files, and
(2) read image and metadata from TIFF-like files used in bioimaging.

Image and metadata can be read from TIFF, BigTIFF, OME-TIFF, GeoTIFF,
Adobe DNG, ZIF (Zoomable Image File Format), MetaMorph STK, Zeiss LSM,
ImageJ hyperstack, Micro-Manager MMStack and NDTiff, SGI, NIHImage,
Olympus FluoView and SIS, ScanImage, Molecular Dynamics GEL,
Aperio SVS, Leica SCN, Roche BIF, PerkinElmer QPTIFF (QPI, PKI),
Hamamatsu NDPI, Argos AVS, Philips DP, and ThermoFisher EER formatted files.

Image data can be read as NumPy arrays or Zarr arrays/groups from strips,
tiles, pages (IFDs), SubIFDs, higher-order series, and pyramidal levels.

Image data can be written to TIFF, BigTIFF, OME-TIFF, and ImageJ hyperstack
compatible files in multi-page, volumetric, pyramidal, memory-mappable,
tiled, predicted, or compressed form.

Many compression schemes, predictors, and data types are supported via the
imagecodecs library, including LZW, PackBits, Deflate, CCITT, PIXTIFF,
LZMA, LERC, Zstd, JPEG (8 and 12-bit, lossless), JPEG 2000, JPEG XR,
JPEG XL, WebP, PNG, EER, Jetraw, 24-bit floating-point, packed integers,
and horizontal differencing.

Tifffile can also be used to inspect TIFF structures, read image data from
multi-dimensional file sequences, write fsspec ReferenceFileSystem for
TIFF files and image file sequences, patch TIFF tag values, and parse
many proprietary metadata formats.

:Author: `Christoph Gohlke <https://www.cgohlke.com>`_
:License: BSD-3-Clause
:Version: 2026.5.2
:DOI: `10.5281/zenodo.6795860 <https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6795860>`_

Quickstart
----------

Install the tifffile package and all dependencies from the
`Python Package Index <https://pypi.org/project/tifffile/>`_::

    python -m pip install -U tifffile[all]

Tifffile is also available in other package repositories such as Anaconda,
Debian, and MSYS2.

The tifffile library is type annotated and documented via docstrings::

    python -c "import tifffile; help(tifffile)"

Tifffile can be used as a console script to inspect and preview TIFF files::

    python -m tifffile --help

See `Examples`_ for using the programming interface.

Source code and support are available on
`GitHub <https://github.com/cgohlke/tifffile>`_.

Support is also provided on the
`image.sc <https://forum.image.sc/tag/tifffile>`_ forum.

Requirements
------------

This revision was tested with the following requirements and dependencies
(other versions may work):

- `CPython <https://www.python.org>`_ 3.12.10, 3.13.13, 3.14.4 64-bit
- `NumPy <https://pypi.org/project/numpy>`_ 2.4.4
- `Imagecodecs <https://pypi.org/project/imagecodecs/>`_ 2026.3.6
  (required for encoding or decoding LZW, JPEG, etc. compressed segments)
- `Xarray <https://pypi.org/project/xarray>`_ 2026.4.0
  (required only for reading xarray DataArrays)
- `Matplotlib <https://pypi.org/project/matplotlib/>`_ 3.10.9
  (required for plotting)
- `Lxml <https://pypi.org/project/lxml/>`_ 6.1.0
  (required only for validating and printing XML)
- `Zarr <https://pypi.org/project/zarr/>`_ 3.2.0
  (required only for using Zarr stores)
- `Kerchunk <https://pypi.org/project/kerchunk/>`_ 0.2.10
  (required only for opening ReferenceFileSystem files)

Revisions
---------

2026.5.2

- Change TiffFile.series from list to callable TiffSeries sequence (breaking).
- Remove TiffPageSeries squeeze dual-state (breaking).
- Remove TiffPageSeries.get_shape, get_axes, and get_coords (breaking).
- Remove ZarrTiffStore squeeze parameter (breaking).
- Update ZarrTiffStore to zarr format 3 and multiscales to NGFF 0.5 (breaking).
- Update multiscales zarr format 2 fsspec files to NGFF 0.4 (breaking).
- Remove generic TiffPage coords (breaking).
- Change dims and sizes to use single-char axis codes (breaking).
- Add zarr format 3 compatible Tiff codec.
- Add asxarray methods to TiffFile, TiffPage, TiffPageSeries (requires xarray).
- Add geotiff kind of TiffPageSeries.
- Add mpp and coord_offsets/scales/units properties to TiffPageSeries.
- Add attrs property to TiffPage and TiffPageSeries.
- Add kind and squeeze parameters to memmap.
- Add kind parameter to imwrite and TiffFile; deprecate ome, imagej, shaped.
- Add return_as parameter to imread; deprecate aszarr.
- Fix writing TIFF trees (#326).
- Fix wrong TiffTagRegistry entries (#323).
- Implement TiffPageSeries.coords property.
- Deprecate kwargs to FileSequence.asarray; use imreadargs.
- Require zarr>=3.2.0 for zarr support.
- Drop support for numpy 2.0 (SPEC0, #324).

2026.4.11

- Add option to write zarr format 3 fsspec reference file system.
- Support reading TIFF with embedded C2PA manifest.
- Sync API of imagecodecs fallback implementations (#320).
- Do not use defusedxml.
- Drop support for Python 3.11.

2026.3.3

- Do not convert TVIPS pixel sizes to m (#319).
- Support writing packed integers with imagecodecs > 2026.1.14.
- Support reading ccitt compressed images with imagecodecs > 2026.1.14.

2026.2.24

- Remove deprecated TiffPages.pages and FileSequence.files (breaking).
- Remove stripnull, stripascii, and bytestr functions (breaking).
- Rewrite command line interfaces (breaking).
- Support Experimenter and Project elements in OmeXml.
- Refactor TiffPages.
- Fix code review issues.

2026.2.20

- Fix rounding of high resolutions (#318).
- Fix code review issues.

2026.2.16

- Optimize reading multi-file pyramidal OME TIFF files.

2026.2.15

- Support reading multi-file pyramidal OME TIFF files (image.sc/t/119259).

2026.1.28

- Deprecate colormaped parameter in imagej_description (use colormapped).
- Fix code review issues.

2026.1.14

- …

Refer to the CHANGES file for older revisions.

Notes
-----

TIFF, the Tagged Image File Format, was created by the Aldus Corporation and
Adobe Systems Incorporated.

Tifffile supports a large subset of the TIFF6 specification, mainly 1-32,
and 64-bit integer, 16, 32, and 64-bit float, grayscale and multi-sample
images.
Specifically, OJPEG compression, chroma subsampling without JPEG compression,
color space transformations, samples with differing types, or IPTC, ICC,
and XMP metadata are not implemented.

Besides classic TIFF, tifffile supports several TIFF-like formats that do not
strictly adhere to the TIFF6 specification. Some formats extend TIFF
capabilities in various ways, including exceeding the 4 GB limit,
handling multi-dimensional data, or working around format constraints:

- **BigTIFF** is identified by version number 43 and uses different file
  header, IFD, and tag structures with 64-bit offsets. The format also adds
  64-bit data types. Tifffile can read and write BigTIFF files.
- **ImageJ hyperstacks** store all image data, which may exceed 4 GB,
  contiguously after the first IFD. Files > 4 GB contain one IFD only.
  The size and shape of the up to 6-dimensional image data can be determined
  from the ImageDescription tag of the first IFD, which is Latin-1 encoded.
  Tifffile can read and write ImageJ hyperstacks.
- **OME-TIFF** files store up to 8-dimensional image data in one or multiple
  TIFF or BigTIFF files. The UTF-8 encoded OME-XML metadata found in the
  ImageDescription tag of the first IFD defines the position of TIFF IFDs in
  the high-dimensional image data. Tifffile can read OME-TIFF files
  and write NumPy arrays to single-file OME-TIFF.
- **Micro-Manager NDTiff** stores multi-dimensional image data in one
  or more classic TIFF files. Metadata contained in a separate NDTiff.index
  binary file defines the position of the TIFF IFDs in the image array.
  Each TIFF file also contains metadata in a non-TIFF binary structure at
  offset 8. Downsampled image data of pyramidal datasets are stored in
  separate folders. Tifffile can read NDTiff files. Version 0 and 1 series,
  tiling, stitching, and multi-resolution pyramids are not supported.
- **Micro-Manager MMStack** stores 6-dimensional image data in one or more
  classic TIFF files. Metadata contained in non-TIFF binary structures and
  JSON strings define the image stack dimensions and the position of the image
  frame data in the file and the image stack. The TIFF structures and metadata
  are often corrupted or wrong. Tifffile can read MMStack files.
- **Carl Zeiss LSM** files store all IFDs below 4 GB and wrap around 32-bit
  StripOffsets pointing to image data above 4 GB. The StripOffsets of each
  series and position require separate unwrapping. The StripByteCounts tag
  contains the number of bytes for the uncompressed data. Tifffile can read
  LSM files of any size.
- **MetaMorph STK** files contain additional image planes stored
  contiguously after the image data of the first page. The total number of
  planes is equal to the count of the UIC2 tag. Tifffile can read STK files.
- **ZIF**, the Zoomable Image File format, is a subspecification of BigTIFF
  with SGI's ImageDepth extension and additional compression schemes.
  Only little-endian, tiled, interleaved, 8-bit per sample images with
  JPEG, PNG, JPEG XR, and JPEG 2000 compression are allowed. Tifffile can
  read and write ZIF files.
- **Hamamatsu NDPI** files use some 64-bit offsets in the file header, IFD,
  and tag structures. Single, LONG typed tag values can exceed 32-bit.
  The high bytes of 64-bit tag values and offsets are stored after IFD
  structures. Tifffile can read NDPI files > 4 GB.
  JPEG compressed segments with dimensions >65530 or missing restart markers
  cannot be decoded with common JPEG libraries. Tifffile works around this
  limitation by separately decoding the MCUs between restart markers, which
  performs poorly. BitsPerSample, SamplesPerPixel, and
  PhotometricInterpretation tags may contain wrong values, which can be
  corrected using the value of tag 65441.
- **Philips TIFF** slides store padded ImageWidth and ImageLength tag values
  for tiled pages. The values can be corrected using the DICOM_PIXEL_SPACING
  attributes of the XML formatted description of the first page. Tile offsets
  and byte counts may be 0. Tifffile can read Philips slides.
- **Ventana/Roche BIF** slides store tiles and metadata in a BigTIFF container.
  Tiles may overlap and require stitching based on the TileJointInfo elements
  in the XMP tag. Volumetric scans are stored using the ImageDepth extension.
  Tifffile can read BIF and decode individual tiles but does not perform
  stitching.
- **ScanImage** optionally allows corrupted non-BigTIFF files > 2 GB.
  The values of StripOffsets and StripByteCounts can be recovered using the
  constant differences of the offsets of IFD and tag values throughout the
  file. Tifffile can read such files if the image data are stored contiguously
  in each page.
- **GeoTIFF sparse** files allow strip or tile offsets and byte counts to be 0.
  Such segments are implicitly set to 0 or the NODATA value on reading.
  Tifffile can read GeoTIFF sparse files.
- **Tifffile shaped** files store the array shape and user-provided metadata
  of multi-dimensional image series in JSON format in the ImageDescription tag
  of the first page of the series. The format allows multiple series,
  SubIFDs, sparse segments with zero offset and byte count, and truncated
  series, where only the first page of a series is present, and the image data
  are stored contiguously. No other software besides Tifffile supports the
  truncated format.

Other libraries for reading, writing, inspecting, or manipulating scientific
TIFF files from Python are
`bioio <https://github.com/bioio-devs/bioio>`_,
`aicsimageio <https://github.com/AllenCellModeling/aicsimageio>`_,
`apeer-ometiff-library
<https://github.com/apeer-micro/apeer-ometiff-library>`_,
`bigtiff <https://pypi.org/project/bigtiff>`_,
`fabio.TiffIO <https://github.com/silx-kit/fabio>`_,
`GDAL <https://github.com/OSGeo/gdal/>`_,
`imread <https://github.com/luispedro/imread>`_,
`large_image <https://github.com/girder/large_image>`_,
`openslide-python <https://github.com/openslide/openslide-python>`_,
`opentile <https://github.com/imi-bigpicture/opentile>`_,
`pylibtiff <https://github.com/pearu/pylibtiff>`_,
`pylsm <https://launchpad.net/pylsm>`_,
`pymimage <https://github.com/ardoi/pymimage>`_,
`python-bioformats <https://github.com/CellProfiler/python-bioformats>`_,
`pytiff <https://github.com/FZJ-INM1-BDA/pytiff>`_,
`scanimagetiffreader-python
<https://gitlab.com/vidriotech/scanimagetiffreader-python>`_,
`SimpleITK <https://github.com/SimpleITK/SimpleITK>`_,
`slideio <https://gitlab.com/bioslide/slideio>`_,
`tiffslide <https://github.com/bayer-science-for-a-better-life/tiffslide>`_,
`tifftools <https://github.com/DigitalSlideArchive/tifftools>`_,
`tyf <https://github.com/Moustikitos/tyf>`_,
`xtiff <https://github.com/BodenmillerGroup/xtiff>`_, and
`ndtiff <https://github.com/micro-manager/NDTiffStorage>`_.

References
----------

- TIFF 6.0 Specification and Supplements. Adobe Systems Incorporated.
  https://www.adobe.io/open/standards/TIFF.html
  https://download.osgeo.org/libtiff/doc/
- TIFF File Format FAQ. https://www.awaresystems.be/imaging/tiff/faq.html
- The BigTIFF File Format.
  https://www.awaresystems.be/imaging/tiff/bigtiff.html
- MetaMorph Stack (STK) Image File Format.
  http://mdc.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/18862
- Image File Format Description LSM 5/7 Release 6.0 (ZEN 2010).
  Carl Zeiss MicroImaging GmbH. BioSciences. May 10, 2011
- The OME-TIFF format.
  https://docs.openmicroscopy.org/ome-model/latest/
- UltraQuant(r) Version 6.0 for Windows Start-Up Guide.
  http://www.ultralum.com/images%20ultralum/pdf/UQStart%20Up%20Guide.pdf
- Micro-Manager File Formats.
  https://micro-manager.org/wiki/Micro-Manager_File_Formats
- ScanImage BigTiff Specification.
  https://docs.scanimage.org/Appendix/ScanImage+BigTiff+Specification.html
- ZIF, the Zoomable Image File format. https://zif.photo/
- GeoTIFF File Format. https://gdal.org/drivers/raster/gtiff.html
- Cloud optimized GeoTIFF.
  https://github.com/cogeotiff/cog-spec/blob/master/spec.md
- Tags for TIFF and Related Specifications. Digital Preservation.
  https://www.loc.gov/preservation/digital/formats/content/tiff_tags.shtml
- CIPA DC-008-2016: Exchangeable image file format for digital still cameras:
  Exif Version 2.31.
  http://www.cipa.jp/std/documents/e/DC-008-Translation-2016-E.pdf
- The EER (Electron Event Representation) file format.
  https://github.com/fei-company/EerReaderLib
- Digital Negative (DNG) Specification. Version 1.7.1.0, September 2023.
  https://helpx.adobe.com/content/dam/help/en/photoshop/pdf/DNG_Spec_1_7_1_0.pdf
- Roche Digital Pathology. BIF image file format for digital pathology.
  https://diagnostics.roche.com/content/dam/diagnostics/Blueprint/en/pdf/rmd/Roche-Digital-Pathology-BIF-Whitepaper.pdf
- Astro-TIFF specification. https://astro-tiff.sourceforge.io/
- Aperio Technologies, Inc. Digital Slides and Third-Party Data Interchange.
  Aperio_Digital_Slides_and_Third-party_data_interchange.pdf
- PerkinElmer image format.
  https://downloads.openmicroscopy.org/images/Vectra-QPTIFF/perkinelmer/PKI_Image%20Format.docx
- NDTiffStorage. https://github.com/micro-manager/NDTiffStorage
- Argos AVS File Format.
  https://github.com/user-attachments/files/15580286/ARGOS.AVS.File.Format.pdf

Examples
--------

Write a NumPy array to a single-page RGB TIFF file:

.. code-block:: python

    >>> import numpy
    >>> data = numpy.random.randint(0, 255, (256, 256, 3), 'uint8')
    >>> imwrite('temp.tif', data, photometric='rgb')

Read the image from the TIFF file as NumPy array:

.. code-block:: python

    >>> image = imread('temp.tif')
    >>> image.shape
    (256, 256, 3)

Use the ``photometric`` and ``planarconfig`` arguments to write a 3x3x3 NumPy
array to an interleaved RGB, a planar RGB, or a 3-page grayscale TIFF:

.. code-block:: python

    >>> data = numpy.random.randint(0, 255, (3, 3, 3), 'uint8')
    >>> imwrite('temp.tif', data, photometric='rgb')
    >>> imwrite('temp.tif', data, photometric='rgb', planarconfig='separate')
    >>> imwrite('temp.tif', data, photometric='minisblack')

Use the ``extrasamples`` argument to specify how extra components are
interpreted, for example, for an RGBA image with unassociated alpha channel:

.. code-block:: python

    >>> data = numpy.random.randint(0, 255, (256, 256, 4), 'uint8')
    >>> imwrite('temp.tif', data, photometric='rgb', extrasamples=['unassalpha'])

Write a 3-dimensional NumPy array to a multi-page, 16-bit grayscale TIFF file:

.. code-block:: python

    >>> data = numpy.random.randint(0, 2**12, (64, 301, 219), 'uint16')
    >>> imwrite('temp.tif', data, photometric='minisblack')

Read the whole image stack from the multi-page TIFF file as NumPy array:

.. code-block:: python

    >>> image_stack = imread('temp.tif')
    >>> image_stack.shape
    (64, 301, 219)
    >>> image_stack.dtype
    dtype('uint16')

Read the image from the first page in the TIFF file as NumPy array:

.. code-block:: python

    >>> image = imread('temp.tif', key=0)
    >>> image.shape
    (301, 219)

Read images from a selected range of pages:

.. code-block:: python

    >>> images = imread('temp.tif', key=range(4, 40, 2))
    >>> images.shape
    (18, 301, 219)

Iterate over all pages in the TIFF file and successively read images:

.. code-block:: python

    >>> with TiffFile('temp.tif') as tif:
    ...     for page in tif.pages:
    ...         image = page.asarray()
    ...

Get information about the image stack in the TIFF file without reading
any image data:

.. code-block:: python

    >>> tif = TiffFile('temp.tif')
    >>> len(tif.pages)  # number of pages in the file
    64
    >>> page = tif.pages[0]  # get shape and dtype of image in first page
    >>> page.shape
    (301, 219)
    >>> page.dtype
    dtype('uint16')
    >>> page.axes
    'YX'
    >>> series = tif.series[0]  # get shape and dtype of first image series
    >>> series.shape
    (64, 301, 219)
    >>> series.dtype
    dtype('uint16')
    >>> series.axes
    'QYX'
    >>> tif.close()

Inspect the "XResolution" tag from the first page in the TIFF file:

.. code-block:: python

    >>> with TiffFile('temp.tif') as tif:
    ...     tag = tif.pages[0].tags['XResolution']
    ...
    >>> tag.value
    (1, 1)
    >>> tag.name
    'XResolution'
    >>> tag.code
    282
    >>> tag.count
    1
    >>> tag.dtype
    <DATATYPE.RATIONAL: 5>

Iterate over all tags in the TIFF file:

.. code-block:: python

    >>> with TiffFile('temp.tif') as tif:
    ...     for page in tif.pages:
    ...         for tag in page.tags:
    ...             tag_name, tag_value = tag.name, tag.value
    ...

Overwrite the value of an existing tag, for example, XResolution:

.. code-block:: python

    >>> with TiffFile('temp.tif', mode='r+') as tif:
    ...     _ = tif.pages[0].tags['XResolution'].overwrite((96000, 1000))
    ...

Write a 5-dimensional floating-point array using BigTIFF format, separate
color components, tiling, Zlib compression level 8, horizontal differencing
predictor, and additional metadata:

.. code-block:: python

    >>> data = numpy.random.rand(2, 5, 3, 301, 219).astype('float32')
    >>> imwrite(
    ...     'temp.tif',
    ...     data,
    ...     bigtiff=True,
    ...     photometric='rgb',
    ...     planarconfig='separate',
    ...     tile=(32, 32),
    ...     compression='zlib',
    ...     compressionargs={'level': 8},
    ...     predictor=True,
    ...     metadata={'axes': 'TZCYX'},
    ... )

Write a 10 fps time series of volumes with xyz voxel size 2.6755x2.6755x3.9474
micron^3 to an ImageJ hyperstack formatted TIFF file:

.. code-block:: python

    >>> volume = numpy.random.randn(6, 57, 256, 256).astype('float32')
    >>> image_labels = [f'{i}' for i in range(volume.shape[0] * volume.shape[1])]
    >>> imwrite(
    ...     'temp.tif',
    ...     volume,
    ...     kind='imagej',
    ...     resolution=(1.0 / 2.6755, 1.0 / 2.6755),
    ...     metadata={
    ...         'spacing': 3.947368,
    ...         'unit': 'um',
    ...         'finterval': 1 / 10,
    ...         'fps': 10.0,
    ...         'axes': 'TZYX',
    ...         'Labels': image_labels,
    ...     },
    ... )

Read the volume and metadata from the ImageJ hyperstack file
as xarray DataArray:

.. code-block:: python

    >>> with TiffFile('temp.tif') as tif:
    ...     volume = tif.asxarray()
    ...     imagej_metadata = tif.imagej_metadata
    ...
    >>> volume
    <xarray.DataArray '' (T: 6, Z: 57, Y: 256, X: 256)> Size: 90MB
    array([[[[...]]]],
            shape=(6, 57, 256, 256), dtype=float32)
    Coordinates:
        * T        (T) float64 48B 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
        * Z        (Z) float64 456B 0.0 3.947 ... 221.1
        * Y        (Y) float32 1kB 0.0 2.675 ... 682.3
        * X        (X) float32 1kB 0.0 2.675 ... 682.3
    Attributes:
        photometric:    minisblack
        mode:           grayscale
    ...
    >>> imagej_metadata['slices']
    57
    >>> imagej_metadata['frames']
    6

Memory-map the contiguous image data in the ImageJ hyperstack file:

.. code-block:: python

    >>> memmap_volume = memmap('temp.tif')
    >>> memmap_volume.shape
    (6, 57, 256, 256)
    >>> del memmap_volume

Create a TIFF file containing an empty image and write to the memory-mapped
NumPy array (note: this does not work with compression or tiling):

.. code-block:: python

    >>> memmap_image = memmap(
    ...     'temp.tif', shape=(256, 256, 3), dtype='float32', photometric='rgb'
    ... )
    >>> type(memmap_image)
    <class 'numpy.memmap'>
    >>> memmap_image[255, 255, 1] = 1.0
    >>> memmap_image.flush()
    >>> del memmap_image

Write two NumPy arrays to a multi-series TIFF file (note: other TIFF readers
will not recognize the two series; use the OME-TIFF format for better
interoperability):

.. code-block:: python

    >>> series0 = numpy.random.randint(0, 255, (32, 32, 3), 'uint8')
    >>> series1 = numpy.random.randint(0, 255, (4, 256, 256), 'uint16')
    >>> with TiffWriter('temp.tif') as tif:
    ...     tif.write(series0, photometric='rgb')
    ...     tif.write(series1, photometric='minisblack')
    ...

Read the second image series from the TIFF file:

.. code-block:: python

    >>> series1 = imread('temp.tif', series=1)
    >>> series1.shape
    (4, 256, 256)

Successively write the frames of one contiguous series to a TIFF file:

.. code-block:: python

    >>> data = numpy.random.randint(0, 255, (30, 301, 219), 'uint8')
    >>> with TiffWriter('temp.tif') as tif:
    ...     for frame in data:
    ...         tif.write(frame, contiguous=True)
    ...

Append an image series to the existing TIFF file (note: this does not work
with ImageJ hyperstack or OME-TIFF files):

.. code-block:: python

    >>> data = numpy.random.randint(0, 255, (301, 219, 3), 'uint8')
    >>> imwrite('temp.tif', data, photometric='rgb', append=True)

Create a TIFF file from a generator of tiles:

.. code-block:: python

    >>> data = numpy.random.randint(0, 2**12, (31, 33, 3), 'uint16')
    >>> def tiles(data, tileshape):
    ...     for y in range(0, data.shape[0], tileshape[0]):
    ...         for x in range(0, data.shape[1], tileshape[1]):
    ...             yield data[y : y + tileshape[0], x : x + tileshape[1]]
    ...
    >>> imwrite(
    ...     'temp.tif',
    ...     tiles(data, (16, 16)),
    ...     tile=(16, 16),
    ...     shape=data.shape,
    ...     dtype=data.dtype,
    ...     photometric='rgb',
    ... )

Write a multi-dimensional, multi-resolution (pyramidal), multi-series OME-TIFF
file with optional metadata. Sub-resolution images are written to SubIFDs.
Limit parallel encoding to 2 threads. Write a thumbnail image as a separate
image series:

.. code-block:: python

    >>> data = numpy.random.randint(0, 255, (8, 2, 512, 512, 3), 'uint8')
    >>> subresolutions = 2
    >>> pixelsize = 0.29  # micrometer
    >>> with TiffWriter('temp.ome.tif', bigtiff=True) as tif:
    ...     metadata = {
    ...         'axes': 'TCYXS',
    ...         'SignificantBits': 8,
    ...         'TimeIncrement': 0.1,
    ...         'TimeIncrementUnit': 's',
    ...         'PhysicalSizeX': pixelsize,
    ...         'PhysicalSizeXUnit': 'µm',
    ...         'PhysicalSizeY': pixelsize,
    ...         'PhysicalSizeYUnit': 'µm',
    ...         'Channel': {'Name': ['Channel 1', 'Channel 2']},
    ...         'Plane': {'PositionX': [0.0] * 16, 'PositionXUnit': ['µm'] * 16},
    ...         'Description': 'A multi-dimensional, multi-resolution image',
    ...         'MapAnnotation': {  # for OMERO
    ...             'Namespace': 'openmicroscopy.org/PyramidResolution',
    ...             '1': '256 256',
    ...             '2': '128 128',
    ...         },
    ...     }
    ...     options = dict(
    ...         photometric='rgb',
    ...         tile=(128, 128),
    ...         compression='jpeg',
    ...         resolutionunit='CENTIMETER',
    ...         maxworkers=2,
    ...     )
    ...     tif.write(
    ...         data,
    ...         subifds=subresolutions,
    ...         resolution=(1e4 / pixelsize, 1e4 / pixelsize),
    ...         metadata=metadata,
    ...         **options,
    ...     )
    ...     # write pyramid levels to the two subifds
    ...     # in production use resampling to generate sub-resolution images
    ...     for level in range(subresolutions):
    ...         mag = 2 ** (level + 1)
    ...         tif.write(
    ...             data[..., ::mag, ::mag, :],
    ...             subfiletype=1,  # FILETYPE.REDUCEDIMAGE
    ...             resolution=(1e4 / mag / pixelsize, 1e4 / mag / pixelsize),
    ...             **options,
    ...         )
    ...     # add a thumbnail image as a separate series
    ...     # it is recognized by QuPath as an associated image
    ...     thumbnail = (data[0, 0, ::8, ::8] >> 2).astype('uint8')
    ...     tif.write(thumbnail, metadata={'Name': 'thumbnail'})
    ...

Access image levels in the pyramidal OME-TIFF file:

.. code-block:: python

    >>> baseimage = imread('temp.ome.tif')
    >>> second_level = imread('temp.ome.tif', series=0, level=1)
    >>> with TiffFile('temp.ome.tif') as tif:
    ...     series = tif.series[0]
    ...     assert series.kind == 'ome'
    ...     assert series.sizes == {'T': 8, 'C': 2, 'Y': 512, 'X': 512, 'S': 3}
    ...     baseimage = series.asarray()
    ...     second_level = series.levels[1].asarray()
    ...     number_levels = len(series.levels)  # includes base level
    ...

Read image data from a generic kind of series, ignoring OME metadata:

.. code-block:: python

    >>> with TiffFile('temp.ome.tif') as tif:
    ...     series = tif.series(kind='generic')[0]
    ...     assert series.kind == 'generic'
    ...     assert series.sizes == {'I': 16, 'Y': 512, 'X': 512, 'S': 3}
    ...     image = series.asarray()
    ...

Iterate over and decode single JPEG compressed tiles in the TIFF file:

.. code-block:: python

    >>> with TiffFile('temp.ome.tif') as tif:
    ...     fh = tif.filehandle
    ...     for page in tif.pages:
    ...         for index, (offset, bytecount) in enumerate(
    ...             zip(page.dataoffsets, page.databytecounts)
    ...         ):
    ...             _ = fh.seek(offset)
    ...             data = fh.read(bytecount)
    ...             tile, indices, shape = page.decode(
    ...                 data, index, jpegtables=page.jpegtables
    ...             )
    ...

Use Zarr to read parts of the tiled, pyramidal images in the TIFF file:

.. code-block:: python

    >>> import zarr
    >>> store = imread('temp.ome.tif', return_as='zarr')
    >>> z = zarr.open(store, mode='r')
    >>> z
    <Group ZarrTiffStore>
    >>> z['0']  # base layer
     <Array ZarrTiffStore/0 shape=(8, 2, 512, 512, 3) dtype=uint8>
    >>> z['0'][2, 0, 128:384, 256:].shape  # read a tile from the base layer
    (256, 256, 3)
    >>> store.close()

Load the base layer from the Zarr store as a dask array:

.. code-block:: python

    >>> import dask.array
    >>> store = imread('temp.ome.tif', return_as='zarr')
    >>> dask.array.from_zarr(store, '0')
    dask.array<...shape=(8, 2, 512, 512, 3)...chunksize=(1, 1, 128, 128, 3)...
    >>> store.close()

Write the Zarr store to a fsspec ReferenceFileSystem in JSON format:

.. code-block:: python

    >>> store = imread('temp.ome.tif', return_as='zarr')
    >>> store.write_fsspec('temp.ome.tif.json', url='file://', zarr_format=2)
    >>> store.close()

Open the fsspec ReferenceFileSystem as a Zarr group and read the first layer:

.. code-block:: python

    >>> from kerchunk.utils import refs_as_store
    >>> import imagecodecs.numcodecs
    >>> imagecodecs.numcodecs.register_codecs(verbose=False)
    >>> z = zarr.open(refs_as_store('temp.ome.tif.json'), mode='r')
    >>> z['1']  # first layer
    <Array <FsspecStore(ReferenceFileSystem, /)>/1 shape=(8, 2, 256, 256, 3) ...>

Create an OME-TIFF file containing an empty, tiled image series and write
to it via the Zarr interface (note: this does not work with compression):

.. code-block:: python

    >>> imwrite(
    ...     'temp2.ome.tif',
    ...     shape=(8, 800, 600),
    ...     dtype='uint16',
    ...     photometric='minisblack',
    ...     tile=(128, 128),
    ...     metadata={'axes': 'CYX'},
    ... )
    >>> store = imread('temp2.ome.tif', mode='r+', return_as='zarr')
    >>> z = zarr.open(store, mode='r+')
    >>> z
    <Array ZarrTiffStore shape=(8, 800, 600) dtype=uint16>
    >>> z[3, 100:200, 200:300:2] = 1024
    >>> store.close()

Read images from a sequence of TIFF files as NumPy array using two I/O worker
threads:

.. code-block:: python

    >>> imwrite('temp_C001T001.tif', numpy.random.rand(64, 64))
    >>> imwrite('temp_C001T002.tif', numpy.random.rand(64, 64))
    >>> image_sequence = imread(
    ...     ['temp_C001T001.tif', 'temp_C001T002.tif'], ioworkers=2, maxworkers=1
    ... )
    >>> image_sequence.shape
    (2, 64, 64)
    >>> image_sequence.dtype
    dtype('float64')

Read an image stack from a series of TIFF files with a file name pattern
as NumPy or Zarr arrays:

.. code-block:: python

    >>> image_sequence = TiffSequence('temp_C0*.tif', pattern=r'_(C)(\d+)(T)(\d+)')
    >>> image_sequence.shape
    (1, 2)
    >>> image_sequence.axes
    'CT'
    >>> data = image_sequence.asarray()
    >>> data.shape
    (1, 2, 64, 64)
    >>> store = image_sequence.aszarr()
    >>> zarr.open(store, mode='r', ioworkers=2, maxworkers=1)
    <Array ZarrFileSequenceStore shape=(1, 2, 64, 64) dtype=float64>
    >>> image_sequence.close()

Write the Zarr store to a fsspec ReferenceFileSystem in JSON format:

.. code-block:: python

    >>> store = image_sequence.aszarr()
    >>> store.write_fsspec('temp.json', url='file://')

Open the fsspec ReferenceFileSystem as a Zarr array:

.. code-block:: python

    >>> from kerchunk.utils import refs_as_store
    >>> import tifffile.numcodecs
    >>> tifffile.numcodecs.register_codec()
    >>> zarr.open(refs_as_store('temp.json'), mode='r')
    <Array <FsspecStore(ReferenceFileSystem, /)> shape=(1, 2, 64, 64) ...>

Inspect the TIFF file from the command line::

    $ python -m tifffile temp.ome.tif
