What is Tiled?#

Tiled helps scientists to store, find, and access scientific data at scale. It provides a API that understands scientific data structures of varied types so users can slice, convert, and retrieve just what they need. Tiled is designed to run on a scientist’s laptop or deploy at scale in a facility’s data center.

Tiled is a fully open source project developed under a multi-institutional governance model.

Tiled enables scientists to:

  • Search across metadata

  • Slice remotely into arrays and tables

  • Transcode data into the format they need

  • Locate or download underlying data files or blobs (e.g. S3 buckets)

  • Stream live data and “replay” recent data

  • Upload or register datasets to add them to Tiled

Tiled fits into existing systems#

Tiled supports parallel uploads and downloads for efficient transfers. It can also serve as a catalog: users can discover data through Tiled’s search and metadata API, then access it through other systems, or register existing data assets without copying them into Tiled. Tiled doesn’t insist on being the pipe through which all data flows; it coexists comfortably alongside other solutions.

Tiled understands your data#

Data structures are first-class citizens in Tiled: it supports N-dimensional array data, tabular data, and nested directory-like containers of these. Tiled also supports specialized array types, including sparse arrays and awkward arrays. It was built to be the recommended data store for Bluesky and to be a general-purpose store for any raw, processed, or analyzed scientific data. It is used in the wild as both.

Tiled plays well with your existing tools#

Tiled includes a Python client for reading and writing data, with strong integration with libraries like numpy, pandas, and dask. Data can also be accessed through a browser-based web interface or from any HTTP client, including command-line tools like curl and HTTPie. Users have built custom web and desktop applications on Tiled, as well as integrations with scientific tools like Igor.

Tiled is secure and easy for institutions to adopt#

Tiled uses web security standards, so it works with existing institutional infrastructure. Access can be configured with fine-grained policies tied to an institution’s authentication and authorization systems, or it can be run as a simple single-user server with no setup. The server’s security is regularly vetted by third-party penetration testers.