libdicom

{
  "aliases": [],
  "alternatives": [
    "OpenSlide",
    "GDAL",
    "dcmread"
  ],
  "build_dependencies": [
    "meson",
    "ninja"
  ],
  "categories": [
    "library",
    "image-tool",
    "medical-imaging",
    "parser"
  ],
  "caveats": null,
  "conflicts_with": [],
  "dependencies": [
    "uthash"
  ],
  "deprecated": 0,
  "deprecation_reason": null,
  "desc": "DICOM WSI read library",
  "disable_reason": null,
  "disabled": 0,
  "enrichment_fetched_at": "2026-06-20T23:41:02+00:00",
  "first_seen": "2026-06-20T23:34:18+00:00",
  "full_name": "libdicom",
  "github_default_branch": "main",
  "github_last_commit_at": "2026-06-06T12:54:28Z",
  "github_readme_excerpt": "[![Build\nStatus](https://github.com/ImagingDataCommons/libdicom/actions/workflows/run_unit_tests.yml/badge.svg)](https://github.com/ImagingDataCommons/libdicom/actions)\n[![Documentation Status](https://readthedocs.org/projects/libdicom/badge/?version=latest)](https://libdicom.readthedocs.io/en/latest/?badge=latest)\n[![Conan Center](https://img.shields.io/conan/v/libdicom)](https://conan.io/center/recipes/libdicom)\n\n# libdicom\n\nlibdicom is a C library and a set of command-line tools\nfor reading DICOM WSI files. It is free (MIT licensed), fast,\ncross-platform, uses little memory, has no dependencies, [includes API\ndocumentation](https://libdicom.readthedocs.io), and is [easy to use from\nlanguages like Python](https://github.com/jcupitt/pylibdicom).\n\n![A DICOM WSI being viewed via OpenSlide 4.0](data/vipsdisp.png)\n\nlibdicom returns compressed frame data, not RGB pixel arrays. OpenSlide 4.0\nand later use libdicom to implement DICOM support and is a better choice\nif you want to process image files.\n\nlibdicom aims to support most popular DICOM WSI variants. If you have a\nsample file which does not work well, please [open an issue and we\u0027ll try\nto add support](https://github.com/ImagingDataCommons/libdicom/issues).\n\n## Building from source\n\n```shell\ncd libdicom-1.3.0\nmeson setup builddir --buildtype release\nmeson compile -C builddir\nmeson install -C builddir\n```\nSee [the installation\ndocumentation](https://libdicom.readthedocs.io/en/latest/installation.html)\nfor build dependencies and installation options.\n\n## Sample code\n\nSee [the documentation](https://libdicom.readthedocs.io) for full details.\n\n```c\n#include \u003cstdlib.h\u003e\n#include \u003cdicom/dicom.h\u003e\n\nint main() {\n    const char *file_path = \"/path/to/file.dcm\";\n    DcmError *error = NULL;\n\n    DcmFilehandle *filehandle = dcm_filehandle_create_from_file(\u0026error, file_path);\n    if (filehandle == NULL) {\n        dcm_error_log(error);\n        dcm_error_clear(\u0026error);\n        return 1;\n    }\n\n    const DcmDataSet *metadata =\n     ",
  "github_repo": "ImagingDataCommons/libdicom",
  "github_stars": 36,
  "github_topics": [
    "c",
    "dicom",
    "medical-imaging"
  ],
  "homepage": "https://github.com/ImagingDataCommons/libdicom",
  "homepage_og_description": null,
  "homepage_og_image": null,
  "homepage_title": null,
  "installs_30d": 3781,
  "installs_365d": 21892,
  "installs_90d": 8953,
  "keg_only": 0,
  "keg_only_reason": null,
  "last_seen": "2026-06-20T23:34:18+00:00",
  "license": "MIT",
  "llm_generated_at": "2026-06-20T23:46:36+00:00",
  "llm_model": "claude-haiku-4-5",
  "name": "libdicom",
  "oldnames": [],
  "one_liner": "C library and CLI tools for reading DICOM whole-slide medical imaging files with minimal dependencies.",
  "optional_dependencies": [],
  "rank_30d": 717,
  "rank_365d": 1021,
  "rank_90d": 854,
  "raw_hash": "97ce9c48c7601675",
  "recommended_dependencies": [],
  "revision": 0,
  "ruby_source_path": "Formula/lib/libdicom.rb",
  "tap": "homebrew/core",
  "test_dependencies": [],
  "uses_from_macos": [],
  "version_head": null,
  "version_stable": "1.3.0",
  "versioned_formulae": [],
  "why_use_this": "libdicom extracts compressed frame data from DICOM WSI (whole-slide imaging) files efficiently with low memory overhead and no external dependencies. Use it as a building block for medical image processing pipelines, or let OpenSlide 4.0+ handle DICOM support via libdicom under the hood. It\u0027s cross-platform, MIT-licensed, and binds easily to Python and other languages."
}