Supported File Formats

Relay supports over 30 file formats across scientific imaging, medical imaging, electrophysiology, video, tabular data, and standard images.

No server-side rendering required. Unlike most web-based viewers, Relay decodes and renders scientific images entirely in the browser using WebAssembly. TIFF, CZI, ND2, LIF, and most other microscopy formats open directly — no BioFormats server, no conversion step, no waiting. This covers 95%+ of scientific image file types.

Scientific image formats

Format	Extensions	Viewer	Notes
OME-TIFF	`.ome.tif`, `.ome.tiff`, `.tif`, `.tiff`	Viv/deck.gl	Multi-channel, Z-stacks, time-series. Tile-based streaming for large files. OME-XML metadata.
OME-Zarr	`.zarr`	Viv/deck.gl	Cloud-optimized chunked arrays. Served via presigned URLs or proxy.
CZI	`.czi`	Viv/deck.gl	Zeiss microscopy format. Decoded client-side via WebAssembly.
ND2	`.nd2`	Viv/deck.gl	Nikon microscopy format. Decoded client-side via WebAssembly.
LIF	`.lif`	Viv/deck.gl	Leica microscopy format. Decoded client-side via WebAssembly.
DICOM	`.dcm`, `.dicom`	DICOM Viewer	Medical imaging with window/level presets and series management.
FITS	`.fits`, `.fit`	Image Viewer	Astronomical images. Input for SExtractor model.

Neuroscience formats

Format	Extensions	Viewer	Notes
NWB	`.nwb`	Spike Viewer	Neurodata Without Borders. HTTP range streaming, 6-hour signed URL TTL.
HDF5	`.h5`, `.hdf5`	Data Viewer	Hierarchical data. Suite2p and SpikeInterface input.
SBX	`.sbx`	—	Scanbox calcium imaging format. Suite2p input.
MDA	`.mda`	—	MountainSort format. SpikeInterface input.
BIN/DAT/RAW	`.bin`, `.dat`, `.raw`	—	Raw electrophysiology recordings. SpikeInterface input.
NPY/NPZ	`.npy`, `.npz`	—	NumPy arrays. Common model output format.
MAT	`.mat`	—	MATLAB data files.

Standard image formats

Format	Extensions	Viewer	Notes
PNG	`.png`	Fabric.js Canvas	Standard raster image.
JPEG	`.jpg`, `.jpeg`	Fabric.js Canvas	Standard raster image.
GIF	`.gif`	Fabric.js Canvas	Animated GIF support.
BMP	`.bmp`	Fabric.js Canvas	Bitmap image.
WebP	`.webp`	Fabric.js Canvas	Modern web image format.
SVG	`.svg`	Fabric.js Canvas	Vector graphics.

Video formats

Format	Extensions	Viewer	Notes
MP4	`.mp4`	Video Player	Frame-by-frame navigation. DeepLabCut and SAM3 input.
AVI	`.avi`	Video Player	Frame-by-frame navigation.
MOV	`.mov`	Video Player	QuickTime format.
MKV	`.mkv`	Video Player	Matroska container.
WebM	`.webm`	Video Player	Web video format.

Data formats

Format	Extensions	Notes
CSV	`.csv`	Tabular data. Model output, keypoint tracks.
TSV	`.tsv`	Tab-separated values.
JSON	`.json`	Structured data. Pipeline definitions, model configs.
PKL	`.pkl`	Python pickle files.
Zarr	`.zarr`	Chunked array storage. SpikeInterface input/output.

3D / Volumetric formats

Format	Type	Notes
Neuroglancer Precomputed	URL-based	3D brain volumes and connectomics. Rendered via Neuroglancer viewer.
Allen CCFv3	URL-based	Reference atlas volumes (10um resolution).

Automatic file routing

Relay automatically routes files to the correct viewer based on type:

TIFF/OME-TIFF files → Viv/deck.gl scientific viewer (multi-channel, Z-stack support)
Files > 2 GB → Always routed to Viv viewer regardless of format
Standard images (PNG, JPEG, etc.) → Fabric.js canvas
Video files → Video player with frame navigation
DICOM → DICOM viewer with window/level controls
NWB → Spike viewer with trace visualization
Neuroglancer URLs → Neuroglancer 3D viewer

Upload limits

Method	Max Size	Notes
Simple upload	100 MB	Single-part upload to Relay Drive
Multipart upload	50 GB	Chunked upload with pause/resume
Asset upload	5 GB	Direct asset upload
S3 direct upload	2 GB	Presigned URL upload

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Settings

Supported File Formats

Supported File Formats

Scientific image formats

Neuroscience formats

Standard image formats

Video formats

Data formats

3D / Volumetric formats

Automatic file routing

Upload limits

​Supported File Formats

​Scientific image formats

​Neuroscience formats

​Standard image formats

​Video formats

​Data formats

​3D / Volumetric formats

​Automatic file routing

​Upload limits

Supported File Formats

Scientific image formats

Neuroscience formats

Standard image formats

Video formats

Data formats

3D / Volumetric formats

Automatic file routing

Upload limits