tifffile

Read and write TIFF files

tifffile Permissive license BSD-3-Clause Active ★ 662 v2026.7.31 released 2026-08-01

Install

tifffile on PyPI

pip

pip install tifffile

uv

uv add tifffile

poetry

poetry add tifffile

Package facts

License	BSD-3-Clause (permissive)
Python support	supports the current Python release (>=3.12)
Install friction	low — pure-Python wheel
Runtime dependencies	1 — numpy
Maintenance	actively maintained — 12 days since the last release
Last repo commit	2026-08-01
First released	2014-10-11
Popularity	one of the top 1,000 most-downloaded packages on PyPI (30-day window, as of 2026-08-13)
Known vulnerabilities	none known (OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-13)

Evidence: tifffile-2026.7.31-py3-none-any.whl

Development Status :: 4 - BetaIntended Audience :: DevelopersIntended Audience :: Science/ResearchOperating System :: OS IndependentProgramming Language :: Python :: 3 :: OnlyProgramming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13Programming Language :: Python :: 3.14Programming Language :: Python :: 3.15

About tifffile

from the package's own PyPI description — quoted content, verbatim

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, FLIMage, Olympus FluoView and SIS, ScanImage, Molecular Dynamics GEL, Huron TIFF, Aperio SVS, Leica SCN, Roche BIF, PerkinElmer QPTIFF (QPI, PKI), Hamamatsu NDPI, Argos AVS, Philips DP, DICOM-TIFF, 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,...

Read as markdown · JSON record · Source repository · Homepage · Docs

AI interpretation — verify before relying

AI-generated interpretation of the package facts above; every digit, version, license, or vulnerability id it cites is grounded in the facts already shown on this page

Tifffile reads and writes TIFF files and TIFF-like formats (BigTIFF, OME-TIFF, GeoTIFF, etc.) as NumPy arrays, supporting numerous compression schemes and bioimaging metadata standards.

Low friction: pure Python wheel with only numpy as a runtime dependency. Actively maintained with a release 12 days old and steady commits; 662 GitHub stars suggest stable, established use.

BSD-3-Clause is permissive; you may use, modify, and distribute tifffile with minimal restrictions, provided you retain the license notice.

Usage

import numpy as np
import tifffile

data = np.array([[1, 2], [3, 4]])
tifffile.imwrite('image.tiff', data)
read_data = tifffile.imread('image.tiff')

Requires Python 3.12 or later; optional compression support requires additional libraries.

Verdict: Tifffile is a mature, actively maintained library for TIFF I/O with minimal dependencies and no known vulnerabilities. Its permissive BSD-3-Clause license and broad format support make it a reliable choice for bioimaging and scientific image workflows.

Needs verification

Whether imagecodecs and other optional dependencies are automatically installed or must be added separately for compression use cases.
Performance characteristics when reading/writing very large TIFF files.
Specific Python 3.12, 3.13, 3.14, 3.15 compatibility details beyond the stated requirement.

read write TIFF filesTIFF image processingNumPy array TIFF storagebioimaging TIFF formatsOME-TIFF GeoTIFF supportTIFF compression codecsimage metadata TIFF parsing