bayesflow-org/bayesflow

[FEATURE] H5Dataset

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#605 opened on Jan 8, 2026

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Description

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe. Special support for .h5 files would be nice. Currently, the user has to supply this themselves, as it is not a case covered by the generic DiskDataset.

Describe the solution you'd like Given a single .h5 file with appropriate internal structure, the H5Dataset class should be able to load batches of simulations without further help from the user.

Describe alternatives you've considered We currently don't provide alternatives.

Additional context We should make sure the "appropriate internal structure" of the .h5 file is easy to achieve and is according to best-practices with HDF5, particularly with respect to varying sequence-lengths of the simulations. We could provide helper methods to save simulations in such a way that they are compatible with the dataset class.

Contributor guide

Research direction
Study the HDF5 file format and the existing DiskDataset class to design the H5Dataset class with helper methods for saving simulations.
Tech stack
python
Domain
machine learningaidata
Issue type
Feature
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
3
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
1-2 days
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
Fresh
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
Clear
Prerequisites
PythonHDF5
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
50