What is Bio-Formats?

Bio-Formats is a software tool for reading and writing image data using standardized, open formats. Bio-Formats is a community driven project with a standardized application interface that supports open source analysis programs like ImageJ, CellProfiler and Icy, informatics solutions like OMERO, and commercial programs like MATLAB.

Bio-Formats documentation includes a complete version history, guides for using Bio-Formats as a plugin for ImageJ/Fiji, extensive information on which formats are supported and the level of that support, and also information for developers wanting to extend Bio-Formats or use it in their own software.

Read the Docs

Development and Licensing

Bio-Formats is developed by the Open Microscopy Environment consortium, including development teams at University of Dundee and Glencoe Software. Licensing and citing information is on the OME licensing page.

File Formats

Bio-Formats 5 improves support for High Content Screening, time lapse imaging, digital pathology and other complex multidimensional image formats, reading over 160 file formats and their metadata to the OME data model standard.

Our Community

Bio-Formats is a community project and we welcome your input. You can find guidance on how to report bugs or upload files for testing, and contact us via our mailing lists or forums. Further information about how the OME team works and how you can contribute to our projects is in the Contributing Developer Documentation.