Output Formats

Choose the output format from the product you want to build. Firecube uses Zarr for multidimensional arrays, Parquet for tables, and Tensogram to package Zarr products as .tgm files.

The output format is separate from storage. The same product shape can be written to a local file:// target or an s3:// target by changing the ingest flags.

Pick the output format from the product shape first; storage is a separate runtime choice.

Choose By Product Shape

Your product is	Use	Why
A multidimensional array product	Zarr	Readers can open subsets of a large array product without downloading everything.
Rows, detections, point observations, or feature records	Parquet	Each batch can write independent columnar files that downstream tools can filter efficiently.
A finished Zarr product that needs to move as one file	Tensogram	The product can be packaged as a .tgm file for transfer, download, or archival cold storage.

If you are building a plugin, use the Plugin Development overview to choose the public class that produces the required format. The format pages here describe the persisted product, not the plugin implementation.

Next Steps

• Zarr — understand groups, arrays, and chunks
• Parquet — understand the dataset and part-file layout
• Tensogram — understand the portable .tgm representation
• Create a Plugin — create a plugin after choosing the product shape
• Performance Tuning — tune chunking, sharding, compression, and batch size