ptsX

PTSX is a binary file format developed by the Precision Timing Systems consortium in 2021 for the storage and exchange of high‑resolution time‑coded event data. It is used primarily in scientific instrumentation, such as particle physics detectors and high‑speed imaging systems, where precise time stamps are required. The format stores records consisting of a 64‑bit timestamp, a 32‑bit event identifier, and a variable‑length payload containing measurement data or metadata. Timestamps are encoded as nanoseconds relative to the Unix epoch, providing interoperability with existing time‑keeping standards.

The technical specification is published as an open‑source document and is supported by a C++ library that provides read/write utilities, basic validation routines, and conversion tools to more common formats such as CSV or JSON. PTSX files can be compressed using standard zlib streams, and the format includes an optional checksum field for integrity verification. Because the structure is self‑describing, software tools can parse event streams without external schema information, facilitating automated data processing pipelines.

Adoption of PTSX has spread to several universities and research laboratories that require a lightweight, format‑agnostic solution for temporal data. Compared with verbose XML or proprietary proprietary formats, PTSX offers a smaller footprint and quicker I/O performance. However, its usage remains niche; broader adoption would require integration into popular data‑analysis frameworks such as ROOT or Pandas, and better tooling for visual inspection of event streams. Despite these limitations, PTSX has gained recognition for its straightforward design and strong focus on time‑accuracy, making it a candidate format for future projects involving high‑speed event capture.