netcdf4-wasm

Partial WebAssembly port of the NetCDF4 C library with TypeScript bindings for browser and Node.js

netcdf4-wasm brings the power of NetCDF4 to web browsers and Node.js through WebAssembly. Read and write NetCDF files directly in JavaScript with a familiar, Python-inspired API.

Features:

• 🌐 Works in browsers and Node.js
• 📦 Partial NetCDF4 file format support
• 🐍 API modeled after netcdf4-python
• 🚀 High-performance WASM compilation
• 📝 Complete TypeScript type definitions

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Installation

npm install @earthyscience/netcdf4-wasm

Quick Start

Reading Files

import { NetCDF4 } from '@earthyscience/netcdf4-wasm';

// Open existing file
const ds = await NetCDF4.fromBlobLazy(file);

// Access dimensions
// TODO: Add example

// Read variables
// TODO: Add example

// Close when done
ds.close();

Working with Groups

// Access groups
// TODO: Add example

Writing Files

import { NetCDF4 } from '@earthyscience/netcdf4-wasm';

// Create a new NetCDF file
// TODO: Add example

API Reference

The API closely follows netcdf4-python conventions, making it intuitive for scientists familiar with Python.

Core Classes:

• NetCDF4 - Main file interface

Advanced Usage

If you encounter memory-related errors with large files, you can increase the initial memory allocation:

// TODO: Add example once API is stable

Building from Source

See our Contributing Guide for detailed build instructions.

Contributing

We welcome contributions! Please see our Contributing Guide for details.

Resources

• NetCDF4 C Library Documentation
• netcdf4-python Documentation
• GitHub Issues
• GitHub Discussions

Acknowledgments

This project builds upon the initial work from oceanum-io/netcdf4-wasm. We're grateful for their foundational efforts in bringing NetCDF4 to WebAssembly and are continuing their work with additional features and improvements.