Supported Formats

ASlide resolves formats through Aslide.registry.build_default_registry(). Some entries are selected purely by extension, while others use probes to distinguish multiplex containers from generic formats.

Capability Matrix

Format ID	Extensions	Slide family	Backend/dependency	DeepZoom	Biomarkers	Associated images	Label image	Color correction	Bootstrap/native libs
czi	.czi	runtime-classified	pylibCZIrw, Bio-Formats, or czifile	Backend-dependent	Runtime-dependent	No static support	No	No	Optional reader extra
ome_tiff	.tif, .tiff	multiplex	tifffile probe-selected OME-like TIFF	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
mcd	.mcd	multiplex	readimc	No	Yes	No	No	No	No
hdf5	.h5, .hdf5, .h5ad	multiplex	h5py, image-backed raster probe	No	Yes	No	No	No	No
ims	.ims	multiplex	h5py, IMS probe	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
qptiff	.qptiff	runtime-classified	qptifffile	Yes	Yes for multiplex	No	No	No	No
kfb	.kfb	brightfield	bundled KFB native SDK	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
tmap	.tmap	brightfield	bundled TMAP native SDK	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
sdpc	.sdpc, .dyqx	brightfield	bundled SDPC native SDK	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
vsi	.vsi	brightfield	Bio-Formats and Java	Backend-dependent	No	Backend-dependent	No	No	Bio-Formats extra
mds	.mds, .mdsx	brightfield	native MDS reader	Yes	No	Yes	Backend-dependent	Yes	No
tron	.tron	brightfield	bundled TRON native SDK	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	Yes
isyntax	.isyntax	brightfield	pyisyntax	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No
dyj	.dyj	brightfield	native DYJ reader	Yes	No	Backend-dependent	No	Yes	No
ibl	.ibl	brightfield	native iBL reader	Yes	No	Backend-dependent	No	No	No
zyp	.zyp	brightfield	native ZYP reader	Yes	No	Backend-dependent	No	No	No
bif	.bif	brightfield	BIF/OpenSlide-compatible reader	Yes	No	Backend-dependent	No	No	No
openslide	.svs, .svslide, .ndpi, .vms, .vmu, .scn, .mrxs	brightfield	OpenSlide	Yes	No	Yes	Backend-dependent	No	OpenSlide libraries
generic_tiff	.tif, .tiff	brightfield	generic TIFF reader	No	No	No	No	No	No

Extension and Probe Notes

.tif and .tiff are shared by ome_tiff and generic_tiff. ASlide probes for an OME-like multiplex TIFF first. If the probe does not match, the file falls back to generic TIFF behavior.

.h5, .hdf5, and .h5ad are only supported when the container exposes image-backed channel data. Table-only AnnData files are not reconstructed into slide images.

.sdpc and .dyqx share the SDPC backend.

Runtime-Classified Formats

QPTIFF and CZI are resolved by extension but classified semantically after opening. A brightfield file supports read_region(). A multiplex file supports list_biomarkers() and read_biomarker_region().

Optional Dependencies

VSI and the Bio-Formats CZI path require python-bioformats, python-javabridge, and a working Java runtime. The lightweight CZI path uses the czi extra. Native SDK formats may require setup_runtime_environment() when shared libraries are not found automatically.