pynrrd
Pure python module for reading and writing NRRD files.
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes. pynrrd is a stable, low-friction library with no security issues and minimal dependencies. Install it if you work with NRRD files in scientific or medical imaging contexts. The dormant maintenance status is not a concern for a format-conversion tool; the last commit is recent and the repository is not archived. Suitable for production use in stable workflows.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires Python 3.7 or above; v1.0+ does not support older versions.
- Low friction: pure-Python wheel with only numpy and typing_extensions as runtime dependencies.
- Dormant maintenance (568 days since last release) but repository is not archived and last commit is recent; suitable for stable, read-write workflows where active development is not expected.
License · maintenance · safety
permissive license (permissive) — MIT license (permissive): you may use, modify, and distribute pynrrd freely in commercial and private projects, provided you retain the copyright notice and license text.
last release 2025-01-23 (568 days) · last repo commit 2025-01-23 · 123 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 142,619 downloads/mo, #11,204 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install pynrrd
import pynrrd
import numpy
data = numpy.zeros((5, 4, 3, 2))
pynrrd.write('testdata.nrrd', data)
readdata, header = pynrrd.read('testdata.nrrd')- Performance characteristics and memory efficiency for large volumetric datasets.
- Completeness of NRRD format specification coverage (which NRRD versions and encodings are fully supported).
- Compatibility with non-standard or vendor-specific NRRD variants.
What it is and what it does
pynrrd is a pure-Python library that serializes numpy arrays to and from NRRD files, a format commonly used in medical imaging and scientific visualization. It depends only on numpy and typing_extensions, making it lightweight and portable. The library handles both reading NRRD headers and data into memory and writing numpy arrays back to disk with full header metadata preservation.
The package is stable and dormant: the last release was 568 days ago, but the repository remains active (last commit 2025-01-23) and carries no known security vulnerabilities. It supports Python 3.7 through 3.13 and is classified as a scientific engineering tool. Use it when you need to exchange volumetric or medical imaging data with tools that speak NRRD, or when your pipeline requires programmatic control over NRRD serialization.
Use it for
- Load volumetric medical imaging data stored in NRRD format into numpy for analysis or processing.
- Export numpy arrays as NRRD files for interchange with medical imaging software or research pipelines.
- Preserve and read NRRD headers (metadata, encoding, axis information) alongside raw volumetric data.
- Integrate NRRD support into scientific computing workflows that already use numpy.
- Convert between NRRD and other formats via numpy as an intermediate representation.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes.
pynrrd is a stable, low-friction library with no security issues and minimal dependencies. Install it if you work with NRRD files in scientific or medical imaging contexts. The dormant maintenance status is not a concern for a format-conversion tool; the last commit is recent and the repository is not archived. Suitable for production use in stable workflows.
Install
pynrrd on PyPI
Before you install
Low friction: pure-Python wheel with only numpy and typing_extensions as runtime dependencies. Dormant maintenance (568 days since last release) but repository is not archived and last commit is recent; suitable for stable, read-write workflows where active development is not expected.
Requires Python 3.7 or above; v1.0+ does not support older versions.
License in practice
MIT license (permissive): you may use, modify, and distribute pynrrd freely in commercial and private projects, provided you retain the copyright notice and license text.
Quickstart
pip install pynrrd
import pynrrd
import numpy
data = numpy.zeros((5, 4, 3, 2))
pynrrd.write('testdata.nrrd', data)
readdata, header = pynrrd.read('testdata.nrrd')Verify before relying
- Performance characteristics and memory efficiency for large volumetric datasets.
- Completeness of NRRD format specification coverage (which NRRD versions and encodings are fully supported).
- Compatibility with non-standard or vendor-specific NRRD variants.
Package facts
| License | permissive license permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.7 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | 2 packagesnumpytyping_extensions |
| Maintenance | Dormant 568 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 142,619 / month, #11,204 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | License :: OSI Approved :: MIT LicenseProgramming Language :: PythonProgramming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13Programming Language :: Python :: 3.7Programming Language :: Python :: 3.8Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9Topic :: Scientific/Engineering |
Evidence: pynrrd-1.1.3-py3-none-any.whl
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