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OMERO

The Open Microscopy Environment (OME)
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
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About

Launched: 2006
Record Updated: Sep 30, 2026
Data collection or management tool
Repository software
An enterprise image data management platform that enables access, processing, sharing, analysis and where appropriate publication of scientific image data and metadata. From the microscope to publication, OMERO handles all your images in a secure central repository. You can view, organize, analyze and share your data from anywhere you have internet access. Work with your images from a desktop app (Windows, Mac or Linux), from the web or from 3rd party software. Over 160 image file formats supported, including all major microscope formats.
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Domain Relevance

  • Biological sciences
  • Health sciences
  • Other natural sciences

Mission

Imaging systems that measure the constitution, dynamics and architecture of organelles, cells, tissues, organisms and populations have the potential to change Life sciences research.
The OME vision is to build and share the solutions that enable the global scientific community to find, access and use such data.
OME has played a key role in developing technologies that enable sharing and publishing of bioimaging data.

Key Achievements

* OME Data Model, a metadata specification for biological imaging which has provided a basis for the storage, exchange and re-use of bioimaging data.
* OME-TIFF, an open, metadata-rich image file format for storing and openly sharing bioimaging data. The format has been adopted by both the academic community and commercial partners.
* Bio-Formats a suite of libraries available in Java, for reading proprietary scientific image data and metadata into a common model.
* OMERO a client-server software platform for image data management and analysis.

Technical Attributes

Maintenance Status

Actively Maintained

Open Code Repository

Implemented
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Technical Documentation

Implemented
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Code License

Implemented
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Open API

Implemented
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Technical Attribute Statements

Programming Languages

  • java
  • python

Technology Readiness Level

  • Actual system proven in operational environment

Code Licenses Used

  • GNU General Public License (GPL)

Content Licensing

  • Creative commons licenses

Standards

Metadata

  • Dublin Core
  • JSON
  • REST
  • XML Exchange Table Model Document Type Definition

Hosting Options

  • Through third party vendor only

Service Providers

Community Engagement

Code of Conduct

In Progress
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Community Engagement

Implemented
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Community Statements

User Contribution Pathways

  • Contribute funds
  • Contribute to code
  • Contribute to documentation
  • Contribute to education or training
  • Contribute to working groups or interest groups

Community Engagement Activities

  • Annual meetings
  • Blogs
  • Conference participation
  • Mailing lists and discussion forums (including Slack)
  • Social media
  • Webinars and training

Engagement with Values Frameworks

  • Contributor Covenant Code of Conduct for Open Source and Other Digital Commons Communities
  • FAIR Guiding Principles for Scientific Data Management and Stewardship
  • UN Sustainable Development Goals

Additional Information

Organizational History

The OME project has matured over 20 years and has recently introduced a governance model to ensure clarity and sustainability.

Organizational Structure

Business or Ownership Model

Distributed institutional partnership

Full-time Staff

6-10

Volunteers

6-10

Current Affiliations

Funding

Primary Funding Source

  • Contributions

Revenue Sources

  • Grants (private)
  • Grants (public)
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