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Data Types

Synapse uses a set of typed data containers that flow between nodes. Each type has a distinct port color.

ImageData (Green)

A 2D image represented as a PIL Image.

  • Formats: Grayscale (L), RGB, RGBA
  • Bit depth: 8-bit (uint8) or 16-bit (uint16)
  • File types: TIFF, PNG, JPEG, BMP, and more
  • Conversion: Use "RGB to Gray" to convert color to grayscale

MaskData (Forest Green)

A binary mask — a single-channel image where white (255) represents foreground and black (0) represents background.

  • Created by threshold nodes, ROI nodes, or segmentation tools
  • Used as input for morphological operations and measurements
  • Multiple masks can be combined with Image Math

LabelData (Chartreuse)

An integer-valued image where each connected region has a unique label (1, 2, 3, ...).

  • Created by Watershed, Label 2D, or segmentation nodes
  • Background pixels have label 0
  • Displayed as a color-coded overlay
  • Used for per-object measurements

SkeletonData (Yellow-Green)

A thinned skeleton mask — a special subtype of MaskData produced by skeletonization.

  • Created by Skeletonize node
  • Used for branch analysis, filopodia measurement, and path tracing

TableData (Blue)

A tabular dataset (pandas DataFrame) with named columns and rows.

  • Created by measurement nodes (Particle Props, Image Stats, etc.)
  • Manipulated with Data & Table nodes (Filter, Sort, Aggregate, etc.)
  • Visualized with Plot nodes
  • Saved to CSV/Excel with the Data Saver node

StatData (Royal Blue)

A statistical result object containing test statistics, p-values, and summary tables.

  • Created by analysis nodes (Grouped Comparison, Pairwise Comparison, etc.)
  • Displayed in the node's output or connected to a Data Table Node

FigureData (Purple)

A matplotlib figure object for scientific plots.

  • Created by Plot nodes (Scatter, Histogram, Box Plot, etc.)
  • Edited with the Figure Editor node
  • Displayed inline with Data Figure Node
  • Exported as SVG/PNG/PDF via the SVG Editor node

PathData (Gray)

A file or folder path string.

  • Produced by Folder Iterator (one path per batch iteration)
  • Consumed by Image Reader, Table Reader, etc.
  • Modified with Path Modifier node