This is the documentation set for HDF5. It includes specifications and documentation of software and tools developed and maintained by The HDF Group. It is impractical to document the entire HDF5 ecosystem in one place, and you should also consult the documentation sets of the many outstanding community projects.

For a first contact with HDF5, the best place is to have a look at the getting started page that shows you how to write and compile your first program with HDF5.

The main documentation is organized by documentation flavor. Most technical documentation consists to varying degrees of information related to tasks, concepts, or reference material. As its title suggests, the Reference Manual is 100% reference material, while the Cookbook is focused on tasks. The different guide-type documents cover a mix of tasks, concepts, and reference, to help a specific audience succeed.

Versions

Version-specific documentation (see the version in the title area) can be found here:

Search: If you are looking for a specific function, constant, type, etc., use the search box in the top right-hand corner!
Otherwise, check out the full-text search.

Offline reading: You can download it as an archive for offline reading.

ToDo List: There is plenty of unfinished business.