⭐ Loompy v2.0 was released Dec. 24, 2017! (what's new?)
.loom is an efficient file format for very large omics datasets,
consisting of a main matrix, optional additional layers, a variable number of row and column
annotations. Loom also supports sparse graphs. We use loom files to store single-cell gene expression
data: the main matrix contains the actual expression values (one
column per cell, one row per gene); row and column annotations
contain metadata for genes and cells, such as Name, Chromosome,
Position (for genes), and Strain, Sex, Age (for cells).
Loom files (.loom) are created in the HDF5 file format, which
supports an internal collection of numerical multidimensional datasets.
HDF5 is supported by many computer languages, including Java, MATLAB,
Mathematica, Python, R, and Julia. .loom files are accessible from
any language that supports HDF5.
To get started, head over to the documentation!
Loom, loompy, and the loom-viewer are being developed by members of the Linnarsson Lab.