{
  "status": "shipping",
  "supersedes": [],
  "supersededBy": [],
  "firstSeen": null,
  "lastSeen": null,
  "updated": "2026-10-23",
  "advantages": [],
  "limitations": [],
  "slug": "zarr",
  "term": "Zarr",
  "aliases": [],
  "definition": "Zarr is a specification family for storing chunked multidimensional arrays as metadata and encoded objects in a key-value store.",
  "note": "Storage model: metadata describes array shape, data type, chunk layout and codecs; chunk keys locate stored representations. Format versions and implementation versions are separate identifiers. [zarr-core]\n\nSparse regions: an uninitialized chunk can be represented by absence and read as the configured fill value. Readability alone does not establish that all intended observations were written or preserved. [zarr-core]\n\nShards: the indexed sharding codec places multiple inner chunks in one stored object. Its index can explicitly mark an inner region empty, so stored-object presence is not a complete inner-region inventory. [zarr-sharding]\n\nArchive evidence: Hesela's version-scoped experiments separate expected presence, coordinate identity, generation consistency and consumer interpretation. [hesela-zarr]",
  "related": [
    "zarr-fill-value",
    "zarr-consolidated-metadata",
    "hdf5",
    "backup-verification"
  ],
  "citations": [
    {
      "id": "zarr-core",
      "title": "Zarr format 3 core specification: fill values and array reads",
      "url": "https://zarr-specs.readthedocs.io/en/latest/v3/core/index.html",
      "accessed": "2026-10-23"
    },
    {
      "id": "zarr-sharding",
      "title": "Zarr sharding codec 1.0: empty inner chunks and index layout",
      "url": "https://zarr-specs.readthedocs.io/en/latest/v3/codecs/sharding-indexed/index.html",
      "accessed": "2026-10-23"
    },
    {
      "id": "hesela-zarr",
      "title": "Hesela: Zarr archive acceptance observations",
      "url": "https://hesela.dev/datasets/zarr-archive-acceptance/",
      "accessed": "2026-10-23"
    }
  ]
}