diff --git a/ethosu/mlw_codec/makefile b/ethosu/mlw_codec/makefile
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6eb418d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ethosu/mlw_codec/makefile
@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+# Copyright (C) 2020 Arm Limited or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
+#
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the License); you may
+# not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+# www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an AS IS BASIS, WITHOUT
+# WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+
+
+# Description:
+# Makefile to build mlw_codec
+
+UNAME=$(shell uname -o)
+
+CFLAGS=-Wall -Wno-unused-function -Wno-unused-variable
+
+ifeq ($(DEBUG),1)
+    CFLAGS+=-g -O0 -DDEBUG
+else
+    CFLAGS+=-O3
+endif
+
+LIBSRCS=mlw_encode.c mlw_decode.c
+LIBHDRS=mlw_encode.h mlw_decode.h mlw_common.h
+
+ifeq ($(UNAME),Cygwin)
+    MLWEXE=mlw_codec.exe
+else
+    MLWEXE=mlw_codec
+endif
+
+all: mlwexe
+
+.PHONY: mlwexe
+mlwexe: $(MLWEXE)
+
+clean:
+	rm -f $(MLWEXE)
+
+$(MLWEXE): mlw_main.c $(LIBSRCS) $(LIBHDRS) makefile
+	gcc $(CFLAGS) mlw_main.c $(LIBSRCS) -o $(MLWEXE) -lm
diff --git a/ethosu/mlw_codec/mlw_codecmodule.c b/ethosu/mlw_codec/mlw_codecmodule.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..de945ab
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ethosu/mlw_codec/mlw_codecmodule.c
@@ -0,0 +1,174 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2020 Arm Limited. All rights reserved.
+ *
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the License); you may
+ * not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ * www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an AS IS BASIS, WITHOUT
+ * WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+#define PY_SSIZE_T_CLEAN
+#include <Python.h>
+
+#include "mlw_decode.h"
+#include "mlw_encode.h"
+
+/* C extension wrapper for mlw_encode
+ *
+ * This method is exposed directly in python with the arguments with a
+ * prototype of the form:
+ *
+ * output = mlw_codec.encode(input, verbose=0)
+ *
+ * input: [int]
+ * verbose: int
+ * output: bytearray
+ */
+
+static PyObject *
+method_encode (PyObject *self, PyObject *args)
+{
+  /* Object to hold the input integer list. */
+  PyObject *input_list_object;
+
+  /* Object to hold the input verbosity integer, the verbose argument
+   * is optional so defaulted to 0.
+   */
+  int verbose = 0;
+
+  /* Arguments to the method are delivered as a tuple, unpack the
+   * tuple to get the individual arguments, note the second is
+   * optional.
+   */
+  if (!PyArg_ParseTuple(args, "O|i", &input_list_object, &verbose))
+    return NULL;
+
+  /* Unpack the length of the input integer list.  */
+  int input_length = PyObject_Length (input_list_object);
+  if (input_length < 0)
+    input_length = 0;
+
+  /* We need to marshall the integer list into an input buffer
+   * suitable for mlw_encode, use a temporary heap allocated buffer
+   * for that purpose.
+   */
+  int16_t *input_buffer = (int16_t *) malloc(sizeof(int16_t *) * input_length);
+  if (input_buffer == NULL)
+    return PyErr_NoMemory();
+
+  /* Unpack the input integer list into the temporary buffer.
+   */
+  for (int i = 0; i < input_length; i++)
+    {
+      PyObject *item;
+      item = PyList_GetItem(input_list_object, i);
+      if (!PyLong_Check(item))
+        input_buffer[i] = 0;
+      input_buffer[i] = PyLong_AsLong(item);
+    }
+
+  /* We don't know the output length required, we guess worst case,
+   * the mlw_encode call will do a resize (downwards) anyway.
+   */
+  uint8_t *output_buffer = malloc(input_length);
+  if (output_buffer == NULL)
+    return PyErr_NoMemory();
+
+  int output_length = mlw_encode(input_buffer, input_length, &output_buffer, verbose);
+
+  PyObject *output_byte_array = PyByteArray_FromStringAndSize ((char *) output_buffer, output_length);
+
+  /* Discard the temporary input and output buffers.  */
+  free (input_buffer);
+  free (output_buffer);
+
+  return output_byte_array;
+}
+
+/* C extension wrapper for mlw_decode
+ *
+ * This method is exposed directly in python with the arguments with a
+ * prototype of the form:
+ *
+ * output = mlw_codec.decode(input, verbose=0)
+ *
+ * input: bytearray
+ * verbose: int
+ * output: [int]
+ */
+
+static PyObject *
+method_decode(PyObject *self, PyObject *args)
+{
+  /* Object to hold the input bytearray. */
+  PyObject *input_bytearray_object;
+
+  /* Object to hold the input verbosity integer, the verbose argument
+   * is optional so defaulted to 0.
+   */
+  int verbose = 0;
+
+  /* Arguments to the method are delivered as a tuple, unpack the
+   * tuple to get the individual arguments, note the second is
+   * optional.
+   */
+  if (!PyArg_ParseTuple(args, "Y|i", &input_bytearray_object, &verbose))
+    return NULL;
+
+  /* Unpack the input buffer and length from the bytearray object.  */
+  uint8_t *input_buffer = (uint8_t *) PyByteArray_AsString(input_bytearray_object);
+  int input_length = PyByteArray_Size(input_bytearray_object);
+
+  /* We don't know the output length required, we guess, but the guess
+   * will be too small, the mlw_decode call will do a resize (upwards)
+   * anyway.
+   */
+  int16_t *output_buffer = malloc (input_length);
+  if (output_buffer == NULL)
+    return PyErr_NoMemory();
+
+  int output_length = mlw_decode (input_buffer, input_length, &output_buffer, verbose);
+
+  /* Construct a new integer list and marshall the output buffer
+   * contents into the list.  */
+  PyObject *output_list = PyList_New(output_length);
+  for (int i = 0; i <output_length; i++)
+    PyList_SetItem (output_list, i, PyLong_FromLong (output_buffer[i]));
+
+  free (output_buffer);
+
+  return output_list;
+}
+
+/* mlw_codec method descriptors.
+ */
+
+static PyMethodDef mlw_methods[] = {
+    {"decode", method_decode, METH_VARARGS, "Python interface for decode"},
+    {"encode", method_encode, METH_VARARGS, "Python interface for encode"},
+    {NULL, NULL, 0, NULL}
+};
+
+/* mlw_codec module descriptor.
+ */
+
+static struct PyModuleDef mlw_codecmodule = {
+    PyModuleDef_HEAD_INIT,
+    "mlw_codec",
+    "Python interface for the mlw encoder",
+    -1,
+    mlw_methods
+};
+
+PyMODINIT_FUNC PyInit_mlw_codec(void) {
+    return PyModule_Create(&mlw_codecmodule);
+}
diff --git a/ethosu/mlw_codec/mlw_common.h b/ethosu/mlw_codec/mlw_common.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..008473a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ethosu/mlw_codec/mlw_common.h
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2020 Arm Limited. All rights reserved.
+ *
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the License); you may
+ * not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ * www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an AS IS BASIS, WITHOUT
+ * WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+#include <stdint.h>
+
+#ifndef __MLW_COMMON_H__
+#define __MLW_COMMON_H__
+
+#define ZDIV_DISABLE        6   // not alternating mode
+#define ZDIV_EOS            7   // indicates end of stream
+
+#define WDIV_UNCOMPRESSED   7   // indicates uncompressed weights
+
+#endif
diff --git a/ethosu/mlw_codec/mlw_decode.c b/ethosu/mlw_codec/mlw_decode.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..92aaea6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ethosu/mlw_codec/mlw_decode.c
@@ -0,0 +1,300 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2020 Arm Limited. All rights reserved.
+ *
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the License); you may
+ * not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ * www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an AS IS BASIS, WITHOUT
+ * WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+#include <stdio.h>
+#include <stdlib.h>
+#include <stdint.h>
+#include <stdbool.h>
+#include <string.h>
+#include <assert.h>
+#include <math.h>
+#include <stdarg.h>
+#include <math.h>
+#include "mlw_common.h"
+#include "mlw_decode.h"
+
+
+/////////////////////////////// Read from bitstream
+
+typedef struct bitbuf {
+    uint8_t *buf;
+    int buf_size;               // in bytes
+    int pos;                    // bit pos of next bit
+    int log_symbols;
+} bitbuf_t;
+
+
+// size in byte
+static void bitbuf_init( bitbuf_t *bb, uint8_t *buf, int size, int log_symbols) {
+    bb->buf  = buf;
+    bb->pos  = 0;
+    bb->buf_size = size;
+    bb->log_symbols = log_symbols;
+}
+
+static int bitbuf_getbit( bitbuf_t *bb) {
+    int byte_pos = bb->pos>>3;
+    int bit_pos = bb->pos&7;
+    if ( byte_pos < 0 || byte_pos >= bb->buf_size ) {
+        printf("bitbuf_getbit: underrun, bit_pos %3d byte_pos %3d buf_size %3d\n", bit_pos, byte_pos, bb->buf_size);
+        exit(1);
+    }
+    int bit = bb->buf[ byte_pos ] & (1<<bit_pos) ? 1 : 0;
+    bb->pos++;
+    return bit;
+}
+
+static int bitbuf_get( bitbuf_t *bb, const char *name, int len) {
+    int i, data=0, save_pos=bb->pos;
+    if (len>0) {
+        for(i=0; i<len; i++) {
+            data |= bitbuf_getbit(bb)<<i;
+        }
+        if (bb->log_symbols)
+            printf("bitbuf: pos %3d %7s len %d data %x\n", save_pos, name, len, data);
+    }
+    return data;
+}
+
+// Decode the given weight stream
+//      inbuf       compressed bitstream
+//      inbuf_size  size of compressed bitstream in bytes
+//      outbuf      uncompressed 9bit signed weights, buffer malloced
+//      verbose     if non-zero, printf log
+// Return value is the number of uncompressed weights
+int mlw_decode( uint8_t *inbuf, int inbuf_size, int16_t **outbuf, int verbose) {
+    int nvalues;
+    int w_grc_div;
+    int w_grc_trunc;
+    int w_uncompressed;
+    int z_grc_div, z_prev_grc_div=0;
+    int new_palette;
+    int palsize=0, palbits=0;
+    int direct_offset=0;
+    int16_t palette[512];
+    int first=1;
+    int use_zero_run, i, j;
+    int outbuf_size=0;
+    int nchunks=0;
+
+    *outbuf=0;
+
+    bitbuf_t bitbuf_s, *bb=&bitbuf_s;
+    bitbuf_init( bb, inbuf, inbuf_size, (verbose&2)?1:0 );
+
+    // Loop over all slices
+    while(1) {
+        // Decode slice header
+        z_grc_div = bitbuf_get( bb, "ZDIV", 3 );
+        while(z_grc_div==ZDIV_EOS) {                    // TODO: change to ZDIV_PAD
+            // End of stream
+            // Byte align
+            bitbuf_get( bb, "BYTEALIGN", (8-(bb->pos&7))&7 );
+            first=1;
+            if ( (bb->pos/8) == inbuf_size) {
+                // Quit if we actually reached end of input stream
+                break;
+            }
+            z_grc_div = bitbuf_get( bb, "ZDIV", 3 );
+        }
+        if ( (bb->pos/8) == inbuf_size) {
+            break;  // reached end of input stream
+        }
+        assert(z_grc_div<4 || z_grc_div==ZDIV_DISABLE);
+        use_zero_run = z_grc_div!=ZDIV_DISABLE;    // alternating grc
+        nvalues = bitbuf_get( bb, "SLICELEN", 15 )+1;
+        w_grc_div = bitbuf_get( bb, "WDIV", 3 );
+        w_grc_trunc = bitbuf_get( bb, "WTRUNC", 1 );
+        new_palette = bitbuf_get( bb, "NEWPAL", 1 );
+        if (first) {
+            // the first slice must have a palette/direct mode setup
+            assert(new_palette);
+            first=0;
+        }
+        if (!new_palette) {
+            // At the moment it is not supported to change between alternating
+            // and non-alternating without redefining the palette (this is because
+            // the zero is not included in the palette in case of alternating)
+            int prev_use_zero_run = z_prev_grc_div!=ZDIV_DISABLE;
+            (void)(prev_use_zero_run);
+            assert( use_zero_run == prev_use_zero_run);
+        }
+        z_prev_grc_div = z_grc_div;
+        if (new_palette) {
+            direct_offset = bitbuf_get( bb, "DIROFS", 5 );
+            palsize = bitbuf_get( bb, "PALSIZE", 5 );
+            if (palsize>0)
+                palsize++;
+            palbits = bitbuf_get( bb, "PALBITS", 3 )+2;
+            for(i=0; i<palsize; i++) {
+                palette[i] = bitbuf_get( bb, "PALETTE", palbits );
+            }
+        }
+
+        if (w_grc_div==WDIV_UNCOMPRESSED) {
+            // Uncompressed mode
+            w_uncompressed = 1;
+            int uncompressed_bits;
+            if (palsize>0) {
+                // Uncompressed bits is given by palette size.
+                uncompressed_bits=0;
+                while( (1<<uncompressed_bits) < palsize )
+                    uncompressed_bits++;
+            } else {
+                // No palette. PALBITS is used to specify uncompressed bits.
+                uncompressed_bits=palbits;
+            }
+            // In uncompressed mode there's only a remainder part (no unary)
+            // This is achieved by setting w_grc_div to index bit width
+            w_grc_div = uncompressed_bits;
+        } else {
+            w_uncompressed = 0;
+            assert(w_grc_div<6);
+        }
+
+        // Decode the slice
+        int z_nvalues = nvalues + (new_palette?1:0);
+        int *w_value = malloc( nvalues*sizeof(int) );
+        int *z_value = malloc( z_nvalues*sizeof(int) );
+        int w_pos=0, z_pos=0;
+        int w_prev_pos=0, z_prev_pos=0;
+        int w_unary0=0, w_unary1=0, w_unary1_len=0, w_q[12]={0}, w_carry=0;
+        int z_unary=0, z_q[12]={0}, z_carry=0;
+        int w_nsymbols=0;
+        int w_prev_enable=0, w_prev_nsymbols=0, w_prev_q[12]={0};
+        int z_nsymbols=0;
+        int z_prev_enable=0, z_prev_nsymbols=0, z_prev_q[12]={0};
+        int total_zcnt=0;
+        int z_unary_len = z_grc_div<3 ? 12 : 8;
+
+        // Loop over all chunks in the slice
+        do {
+            // Flow control to possibly throttle either the weights or zero-runs
+            int balance = use_zero_run ? w_pos - z_pos : 0;
+            int w_enable = (balance<8 || !use_zero_run) && w_pos<nvalues;
+            int z_enable = balance>=0 && use_zero_run && z_pos<z_nvalues;
+            if (w_enable) {
+                if (!w_uncompressed)
+                    w_unary0 = bitbuf_get( bb, "WUNARY0", 12 );
+                else
+                    w_unary0 = 0;
+            }
+            if (z_enable) {
+                z_unary = bitbuf_get( bb, "ZUNARY", z_unary_len );
+                z_nsymbols=0;
+                int cnt = z_carry;
+                for(i=0; i<z_unary_len; i++) {
+                    if (z_unary & (1<<i)) {
+                        cnt++;
+                    } else {
+                        z_q[z_nsymbols++] = cnt;
+                        cnt=0;
+                    }
+                }
+                z_carry = cnt;
+                z_pos += z_nsymbols;
+            }
+            if (w_enable) {
+                w_unary1_len=0;
+                int max_symbols = w_uncompressed && w_grc_div>5 ? 8 : 12;
+                for(i=0; i<max_symbols; i++) {
+                    if (w_unary0&(1<<i))
+                        w_unary1_len++;
+                }
+                w_unary1 = bitbuf_get( bb, "WUNARY1", w_unary1_len );
+                w_nsymbols=0;
+                int cnt = w_carry;
+                for(i=0; i<max_symbols; i++) {
+                    int code=0;
+                    if (w_unary0 & (1<<i)) {
+                        code++;
+                        if (w_unary1&1) {
+                            code++;
+                        }
+                        w_unary1 = w_unary1>>1;
+                    }
+                    cnt += code;
+                    if (code<2 || w_grc_trunc) {
+                        w_q[w_nsymbols++] = cnt;
+                        cnt=0;
+                    }
+                }
+                w_carry = cnt;
+                w_pos += w_nsymbols;
+            }
+            if (w_prev_enable) {
+                for(i=0; i<w_prev_nsymbols && w_prev_pos<nvalues; i++, w_prev_pos++) {
+                    int remain = bitbuf_get( bb, "WREMAIN", w_grc_div );
+                    w_value[w_prev_pos] = (w_prev_q[i]<<w_grc_div) + remain;
+                }
+            }
+            if (z_prev_enable) {
+                for(i=0; i<z_prev_nsymbols && z_prev_pos<z_nvalues; i++, z_prev_pos++) {
+                    int remain = bitbuf_get( bb, "ZREMAIN", z_grc_div );
+                    z_value[z_prev_pos] = (z_prev_q[i]<<z_grc_div) + remain;
+                    total_zcnt += z_value[z_prev_pos];
+                }
+            }
+            w_prev_enable = w_enable;
+            w_prev_nsymbols = w_nsymbols;
+            memcpy( w_prev_q, w_q, sizeof(w_prev_q));
+            z_prev_enable = z_enable;
+            z_prev_nsymbols = z_nsymbols;
+            memcpy( z_prev_q, z_q, sizeof(z_prev_q));
+            nchunks++;
+        } while( w_prev_enable || z_prev_enable );
+
+        // Interleave non-zero and zeros into the outbut buffer
+        // Increase the outbuffer to fit the new slice
+        *outbuf = realloc( *outbuf, (outbuf_size + nvalues + total_zcnt)*sizeof(int16_t));
+
+        int k=outbuf_size;
+
+        // Insert initial zeros
+        // (slices redefining the palette may start with zeros)
+        if (new_palette && use_zero_run) {
+            for(j=0; j<z_value[0]; j++) {
+                (*outbuf)[k++] = 0;
+            }
+        }
+
+        // Loop over all weights and insert zeros in-between
+        for(i=0; i<nvalues; i++) {
+            int val;
+            assert(w_value[i]<512); // HW supports 9bit
+            if (w_value[i]<palsize) {
+                val = palette[w_value[i]];
+            } else {
+                val = w_value[i]-palsize+direct_offset;
+            }
+            int sign = val&1;
+            int mag  = val>>1;
+            (*outbuf)[k++] = sign ? -mag : mag;
+            if (use_zero_run) {
+                for(j=0; j<z_value[i+(new_palette?1:0)]; j++) {
+                    (*outbuf)[k++] = 0;
+                }
+            }
+        }
+
+        outbuf_size = k;
+        free(w_value);
+        free(z_value);
+    }
+    return outbuf_size;
+}
diff --git a/ethosu/mlw_codec/mlw_decode.h b/ethosu/mlw_codec/mlw_decode.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a15261a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ethosu/mlw_codec/mlw_decode.h
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2020 Arm Limited. All rights reserved.
+ *
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the License); you may
+ * not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ * www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an AS IS BASIS, WITHOUT
+ * WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+#include <stdint.h>
+
+#ifndef __MLW_DECODE_H__
+#define __MLW_DECODE_H__
+
+#ifdef _MSC_VER
+  #define EXPORTED __declspec(dllexport)
+#else
+  #define EXPORTED __attribute__((visibility("default")))
+#endif
+
+#if __cplusplus
+extern "C"
+{
+#endif
+
+EXPORTED
+int mlw_decode(uint8_t *inbuf, int inbuf_size, int16_t **outbuf, int verbose);
+
+#if __cplusplus
+}
+#endif
+
+#endif
diff --git a/ethosu/mlw_codec/mlw_encode.c b/ethosu/mlw_codec/mlw_encode.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ac25fc5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ethosu/mlw_codec/mlw_encode.c
@@ -0,0 +1,874 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2020 Arm Limited. All rights reserved.
+ *
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the License); you may
+ * not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ * www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an AS IS BASIS, WITHOUT
+ * WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+#include <stdio.h>
+#include <stdlib.h>
+#include <stdint.h>
+#include <stdbool.h>
+#include <string.h>
+#include <assert.h>
+#include <math.h>
+#include <stdarg.h>
+#include <math.h>
+#include "mlw_common.h"
+#include "mlw_encode.h"
+
+#define DPRINTF(...)
+//#define DPRINTF(...) printf(__VA_ARGS__)
+
+#define ZERO_RUN_THRES  4
+
+#define min(a,b) ((a)<(b)?(a):(b))
+#define max(a,b) ((a)>(b)?(a):(b))
+
+typedef struct palette {
+    int16_t lut[32];
+    int16_t inv_lut[512];
+    int palsize;    // number of palette entries
+    int palbits;    // bit width of palette entries
+    int use_zero_runs;    // zeros are coded separately
+    int only_palette;   // no values outside the palette
+    int direct_offset;  // added to the decoded weight index before direct conversion to sign/mag
+    int only_zeros;     // special case that the section is all zeros
+} palette_t;
+
+static int is_power_of_two( int x ) {
+    return ((x-1) & x)==0;
+}
+
+static int get_palette_index_bits( int size ) {
+    int i;
+    for(i=7; i>=0; i--)
+        if (size > (1<<i) )
+            return i+1;
+    return 0;
+}
+
+// Search the stream for suitable palette restart positions
+// Return the number of restarts
+static int search_palette_sections( int16_t *buf, int size, int **palette_restart_positions ) {
+    int i,j,got_palette,restart_i,palette_size=0, last_restart_idx, zero_cnt;
+    int prev_idx[512];  // For each value, keep track of the index of the previous occurence
+    int *restart_pos;
+    int max_palettes = size/64;
+
+    // Preliminary allocation of sufficient size
+    restart_pos = (int*)malloc( max_palettes*sizeof(int) );
+    last_restart_idx=0;
+    got_palette=0;
+    restart_i=1;
+    restart_pos[0] = 0;
+    zero_cnt=0;
+    memset( prev_idx, -1, sizeof(prev_idx));
+    for(i=0; i<size; i++) {
+        // Guess if zeros should be excluded from the palette
+        int exclude_zero = zero_cnt > (i-last_restart_idx)/4;
+
+        if (got_palette) {
+            // Check if the next value is not covered by the current palette
+            if ( prev_idx[ buf[i]+256 ] < last_restart_idx ) {
+                // New value: increase the palette size
+                palette_size++;
+                DPRINTF("Note: at pos %d extend palette to size %d\n", i, palette_size);
+                if ( is_power_of_two(palette_size-1-exclude_zero) ) {
+                    if ( (i - last_restart_idx - zero_cnt) > 512 || (palette_size-exclude_zero)>32 ) {
+                        // create a new palette because we extend a long lasting palette to require one more index bit
+                        DPRINTF("Note: at pos %d create new palette because previous has to increase one more index bit. last_restart_idx %d n %d zero_cnt %d\n", i, last_restart_idx, i - last_restart_idx, zero_cnt );
+                        assert( restart_i < max_palettes );
+                        DPRINTF("restart %d pos %d\n", restart_i, i);
+                        restart_pos[restart_i++] = i;
+                        last_restart_idx = i;
+                        got_palette=0;
+                        zero_cnt=0;
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+        }
+
+        prev_idx[ buf[i]+256 ] = i;
+        if (buf[i]==0)
+            zero_cnt++;
+
+        static const int window_sizes[5][2] = {{32,1}, {64,1}, {128,1}, {256,1}, {512,1}};
+        int k;
+        // loop over window sizes
+        for(k=0; k<5; k++) {
+            // Every Nth non-zero value, count what would be the size of a palette covering the last N NZ.
+            int N = window_sizes[k][0] * (got_palette?2:1);
+            if ( (i - last_restart_idx - zero_cnt) > 0 && ((i - last_restart_idx - zero_cnt) % N)==0 ) {
+                // Search backward to the position N nonzero values earlier
+                int nzcnt=0;
+                for( j=i; j>last_restart_idx; j--) {
+                    if ( buf[j]!=0 ) {
+                        if (nzcnt==N+1)
+                            break;
+                        nzcnt++;
+                    }
+                }
+                int restart_idx = j;
+
+                // Calculate the size of a new palette (starting at restart_idx)
+                int new_palette_size=0;
+                for(j=0; j<512; j++) {
+                    if ( prev_idx[j] >= restart_idx ) {
+                        new_palette_size++;
+                    }
+                }
+
+                int create_new_palette=0;
+                if (got_palette) {
+                    int new_size_bits = get_palette_index_bits( new_palette_size - exclude_zero );
+                    int old_size_bits = get_palette_index_bits( palette_size - exclude_zero );
+                    int savings = N*(old_size_bits*15-new_size_bits*15)/16 - new_palette_size*8 - 20;
+                    if ( savings>0 ) {
+                        // Create new palette because it can be smaller than the existing palette
+                        create_new_palette=1;
+                        DPRINTF("Note: at pos %d restart smaller palette\n", restart_idx);
+                    }
+                } else {
+                    if ( (new_palette_size-exclude_zero) <= 32) {
+                        int new_size_bits = get_palette_index_bits( new_palette_size - exclude_zero );
+                        // estimate if we will make savings by using palette mode
+                        int savings = N*(90-new_size_bits*15)/16 - new_palette_size*8 - 20;
+                        create_new_palette = savings>0;
+                    }
+                }
+                if (create_new_palette) {
+                    palette_size=new_palette_size;
+                    got_palette=1;
+                    last_restart_idx = restart_idx;
+                    DPRINTF("Note: at pos %d create palette of size %d\n", last_restart_idx, new_palette_size);
+                    if ( restart_pos[restart_i-1] != last_restart_idx) {
+                        assert( restart_i < max_palettes );
+                        restart_pos[restart_i++] = last_restart_idx;
+                    }
+                    zero_cnt=0;
+                    for( j=last_restart_idx; j<=i; j++)
+                        if (buf[j]==0)
+                            zero_cnt++;
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }
+    // Reallocate to actual size
+    *palette_restart_positions = (int*)realloc( restart_pos, restart_i*sizeof(int) );
+    return restart_i;
+}
+
+// Calculate frequency table
+static void calc_freq( const int16_t *buf, int size, int freq[512] ) {
+    int i;
+    memset(freq, 0, 512*sizeof(int));
+    for(i=0; i<size; i++) {
+        freq[buf[i]+256]++;
+    }
+}
+
+static int cmp_uint64(const void * a, const void * b) {
+   uint64_t aa = *(uint64_t*)a;
+   uint64_t bb = *(uint64_t*)b;
+   return  aa>bb ? -1 : aa<bb ? 1 : 0;
+}
+
+// Create palette from the given frequencies
+// Freq index 0-511 correspond to weights -256..255
+static void create_palette( int freq[512],
+                           int use_zero_runs,
+                           palette_t *p ) {
+    uint64_t freq64[512];
+    int i,all_cnt,all_max_val;
+
+    // Pair the frequency with the value so that
+    // the array can be sorted on frequency while keeping
+    // track of the corresponding palette value
+    memset(freq64, 0, sizeof(freq64));
+    all_cnt=0;
+    all_max_val=0;
+    for(i=-255; i<256; i++) {
+        if (i==0 && use_zero_runs)
+            continue;
+        int sign = i<0;
+        int mag = abs(i);
+        int palval = (mag<<1) | sign;
+
+        // Store palette value in 16 LSB bits, which will not affect the sorting
+        freq64[palval] = (((uint64_t)freq[i+256])<<16) | palval;
+        all_cnt+=freq[i+256];
+
+        if (freq[i+256]>0) {
+          all_max_val = max(all_max_val, palval);
+        }
+    }
+
+    // Count number of non-used weight values around zero (0, -1, +1, -2, +2 etc)
+    for(i=0; i<31; i++) {
+        if ((freq64[i]>>16)!=0)
+            break;
+    }
+    p->direct_offset = i;
+
+    // Sort in descending frequency order
+    qsort(freq64, 512, sizeof(uint64_t), cmp_uint64);
+
+    // Identify special case that there are no weights to code
+    // in the weight index stream (i.e. all weights are zeros)
+    p->only_zeros = (freq64[0]>>16)==0;
+    if (p->only_zeros) {
+        p->direct_offset=0;
+    }
+
+    // Check if all weights fit into the palette (and the palette is not empty)
+    p->only_palette = (freq64[0]>>16)>0 && (freq64[32]>>16)==0;
+
+    int max_palette_size;
+    if (p->only_palette) {
+        max_palette_size = 32;
+    } else {
+        // For direct-lut we must make sure that the encoded weight
+        // index is not > 511. We do that by limiting the palette size
+        // such that the greatest value can be reached after subtracting
+        // the palette size.
+        max_palette_size = min(32, 511-all_max_val);
+        if (max_palette_size==1) {
+            max_palette_size=0; // because palette of size 1 is not supported
+        }
+    }
+
+    // Setup the 32 entry palette
+    int palette_max_val = 0, val, cnt, pal_cnt=0;
+    for(i=0; i<max_palette_size; i++) {
+        cnt = freq64[i]>>16;
+        val = freq64[i]&0xffff;
+        if ( cnt==0 )
+            break;
+        p->lut[i] = val;
+        palette_max_val = max(palette_max_val, val);
+        pal_cnt+=cnt;
+    }
+    if (i==1)
+        i++;    // palette size of 1 is not supported, make it 2
+
+    // Heuristic for when to use the palette. If more than half of the
+    // weights are in the palette then we use it. This ensures we don't
+    // use palette for e.g. rectangular distributions.
+    int palbits_val;
+    if (pal_cnt > all_cnt/2) {
+        p->palsize  =  i;
+        palbits_val = palette_max_val;
+    } else {
+        // No palette
+        p->palsize  =  0;
+        // If no palette, then palbits is used to specify the
+        // number of bits required for uncompressed mode, i.e.
+        // the number of bits for the greatest weight value
+        palbits_val = all_max_val;
+    }
+
+    // the palette entry bit width
+    // minimum 2bits (because PALBITS is in range 2..9)
+    int palbits=2;
+    while( (1<<palbits) <= palbits_val )
+        palbits++;
+    assert(palbits<=9);
+    p->palbits  = palbits;
+    p->use_zero_runs  = use_zero_runs;
+}
+
+// Return 1 if zero runs should be used
+// If palette_size is 512, then palette is not used (in that case the palette is setup
+// with the standard alternating unsigned to signed mapping)
+static int find_palette( const int16_t *inbuf, int inbuf_size, palette_t *p) {
+    int freq[512], i;
+
+    // Calculate frequencies of the given weight stream
+    calc_freq( inbuf, inbuf_size, freq);
+
+    // Find two most common values
+    int most_common_freq[2]={0}, most_common_val[2]={0};
+    for(i=0; i<512; i++) {
+        if ( freq[i] > most_common_freq[0] ) {
+            most_common_freq[1] = most_common_freq[0];
+            most_common_val[1]  = most_common_val[0];
+            most_common_freq[0] = freq[i];
+            most_common_val[0]  = i-256;
+        } else if ( freq[i] > most_common_freq[1] ) {
+            most_common_freq[1] = freq[i];
+            most_common_val[1]  = i-256;
+        }
+    }
+
+    // Decide if zero-runs (alternating mode) should be used:
+    // * zero should be the most common symbol
+    // * zero should be sufficiently more common than the second most common symbol
+    int use_zero_runs = most_common_val[0]==0 && most_common_freq[0] > ZERO_RUN_THRES*most_common_freq[1];
+
+    // Create the palette
+    create_palette( freq, use_zero_runs, p);
+
+    return use_zero_runs;
+}
+
+static void create_inverse_palette( palette_t *p) {
+    int i;
+    memset( p->inv_lut, 0, sizeof(p->inv_lut));
+    for(i=0; i<512; i++) {
+        int val  = i;
+        int sign = val&1;
+        int mag  = val>>1;
+        int weight = sign ? -mag : mag;
+        if (weight+256 < 512)
+            p->inv_lut[ weight+256 ] = i + p->palsize - p->direct_offset;
+    }
+    for(i=0; i<p->palsize; i++) {
+        int val = p->lut[i];
+        int sign = val&1;
+        int mag  = val>>1;
+        int weight = sign ? -mag : mag;
+        if (weight+256 < 512)
+            p->inv_lut[ weight+256 ] = i;
+    }
+}
+
+#define NWCFG 13
+#define NZCFG 4 // restrict search to ZDIV=0..3
+#define MAX_ZWCFG (max(NWCFG,NZCFG))
+
+// search state
+typedef struct search_state {
+    int bitcnt;             // number of bits to reach this state
+    uint8_t prev_cfg;       // previous grc parameter config
+} search_state_t;
+
+// (trunc<<4) | div, 0x20 means uncompressed
+static const char w_grc_params[] = { 0x00, 0x01, 0x02, 0x03, 0x04, 0x05, 0x10, 0x11, 0x12, 0x13, 0x14, 0x15, 0x20 };
+static const char z_grc_params[] = { 0x00, 0x01, 0x02, 0x03, 0x04 };
+
+
+
+// An algorithm similar to the Viterbi algorithm is used to search for a
+// good GRC parameter sequence for the given input value sequence.
+// The inval buffer can contain weights, weight indices or runs.
+// The return value is the resulting number of bitstream sections.
+static int search_grc_params( const int *inval_buf,
+                              int n_inval,
+                              int zrun_mode,
+                              int uncompressed_bits,
+                              uint8_t *grc_param_cfg,
+                              int *grc_param_pos,
+                              int max_grc_param_cfg,
+                              int *existing_grc_param_pos,
+                              int n_existing_grc_param_pos,
+                              int *bitcnt )
+{
+    int n_cfg = zrun_mode ? NZCFG : NWCFG;
+    const char *grc_params = zrun_mode ? z_grc_params : w_grc_params;
+    int i,j;
+
+    search_state_t *state[MAX_ZWCFG];
+    for(i=0; i<n_cfg; i++) {
+        state[i] = malloc( sizeof(search_state_t) * (n_inval+1) );
+        state[i][0].bitcnt=0;
+        state[i][0].prev_cfg=i;
+    }
+
+    // Loop over inval_buf
+    int existing_idx=0;
+    for(i=0; i<n_inval; i++) {
+        int value = inval_buf[i];
+
+        // Best GRC parameter so far
+        int best_bitcnt=0x7fffffff, best_cfg=0;
+        for(j=0; j<n_cfg; j++) {
+            if (state[j][i].bitcnt < best_bitcnt) {
+                best_bitcnt = state[j][i].bitcnt;
+                best_cfg = j;
+            }
+        }
+
+        int cmd_cost = 40;
+        if (existing_idx < n_existing_grc_param_pos && existing_grc_param_pos[existing_idx] == (i+1)) {
+            // free transition, because the weight stream already inserted a command at this position
+            cmd_cost = 0;
+            existing_idx++;
+        }
+
+        // Loop over GRC parameters, calculate bits to code value, and then update the search state
+        for(j=0; j<n_cfg; j++) {
+            int div = grc_params[j]&15;
+            int trunc = grc_params[j]>>4;
+            int q = value>>div;
+            int bits = trunc ? min(q+1,2) + div : q+1+div;
+            if (!zrun_mode && ((trunc && q>2) || q>31))
+                bits=10000;  // it's not possible to code the current value; give it a high cost
+            if (trunc==2)
+                bits=uncompressed_bits;
+
+            if ( best_bitcnt + cmd_cost < state[j][i].bitcnt ) {
+                // Change GRC parameters
+                state[j][i+1].prev_cfg  = best_cfg;
+                state[j][i+1].bitcnt    = best_bitcnt + cmd_cost + bits;
+            } else {
+                // Keep same GRC parameters
+                state[j][i+1].prev_cfg  = j;
+                state[j][i+1].bitcnt    = state[j][i].bitcnt + bits;
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+
+    // Best GRC parameter
+    int best_bitcnt=0x7fffffff, best_cfg=0;
+    for(j=0; j<n_cfg; j++) {
+        if (state[j][n_inval].bitcnt < best_bitcnt) {
+            best_bitcnt = state[j][n_inval].bitcnt;
+            best_cfg = j;
+        }
+    }
+
+    int cfg = best_cfg;
+    int n_cmds=0;
+    for(i=n_inval; i>=0; i--) {
+        if (state[cfg][i].prev_cfg != cfg || i==0) {
+            n_cmds++;
+            cfg = state[cfg][i].prev_cfg;
+        }
+    }
+
+    (void)(max_grc_param_cfg);
+    assert(n_cmds<=max_grc_param_cfg);
+
+    cfg = best_cfg;
+    j=n_cmds-1;
+    int endpos=n_inval;
+    for(i=n_inval; i>=0; i--) {
+        if (state[cfg][i].prev_cfg != cfg || i==0) {
+            grc_param_cfg[j] = cfg;
+            grc_param_pos[j] = endpos;
+            j--;
+            cfg = state[cfg][i].prev_cfg;
+            endpos = i-1;
+        }
+    }
+    assert(j==-1);
+
+    for(i=0; i<n_cfg; i++) {
+        free(state[i]);
+    }
+
+    *bitcnt = best_bitcnt;
+
+    return n_cmds;
+}
+
+
+/////////////////////////////// Write to bitstream
+
+typedef struct bitbuf {
+    uint8_t *buf;
+    int buf_size;               // in bytes
+    int pos;                    // bit pos of next bit
+    int log_symbols;
+} bitbuf_t;
+
+// size in byte
+static void bitbuf_init( bitbuf_t *bb, uint8_t *buf, int size, int log_symbols ) {
+    bb->buf  = buf;
+    bb->pos  = 0;
+    bb->buf_size = size;
+    bb->log_symbols = log_symbols;
+}
+
+static void bitbuf_putbit( bitbuf_t *bb, int bit) {
+    int byte_pos = bb->pos>>3;
+    int bit_pos = bb->pos&7;
+    assert( byte_pos >= 0 );
+    assert( byte_pos < bb->buf_size );
+    bb->buf[ byte_pos ] = (bb->buf[ byte_pos ] & ~(1<<bit_pos)) | (bit<<bit_pos);
+    bb->pos += 1;
+}
+
+static void bitbuf_put( bitbuf_t *bb, const char *name, int len, int data) {
+    int i;
+    if (len>0) {
+        if (bb->log_symbols)
+            printf("bitbuf: pos %3d %7s len %d data %x\n", bb->pos, name, len, data);
+        for(i=0; i<len; i++) {
+            bitbuf_putbit(bb, (data>>i)&1);
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+// Return new bitpos
+static int encode_slice( const int *w_value,
+                         const int *z_value,
+                         int nvalues,
+                         palette_t *p,
+                         int new_palette,
+                         int uncompressed_bits,
+                         int w_cfg,
+                         int z_cfg,
+                         uint8_t *bitbuf,
+                         int bitbuf_size,
+                         int bitpos,
+                         int verbose )
+{
+    int i,j;
+    bitbuf_t bitbuf_s, *bb=&bitbuf_s;
+    bitbuf_init( bb, bitbuf, bitbuf_size, verbose&2?1:0 );
+    bb->pos = bitpos;
+
+    assert(nvalues<32768);
+    // GRC parameters for this slice
+    int w_grc_div       = w_grc_params[w_cfg] & 15;
+    int w_grc_trunc     = (w_grc_params[w_cfg] >> 4)==1;
+    int w_uncompressed  = (w_grc_params[w_cfg] >> 4)==2;
+    int z_grc_div       = z_grc_params[z_cfg] & 15;
+
+    if (w_uncompressed) {
+        w_grc_div = uncompressed_bits;
+    }
+
+    int zdiv = p->use_zero_runs ? z_grc_div : ZDIV_DISABLE;
+    int wdiv = !w_uncompressed ? w_grc_div : WDIV_UNCOMPRESSED;
+
+    if (verbose&1) {
+        printf("slice: bitoffset %7d slicelen %5d zdiv %d wdiv %d wtrunc %d newpal %d palbits %d palsize %2d\n",
+                bb->pos, nvalues, zdiv, wdiv, w_grc_trunc, new_palette, p->palbits, p->palsize);
+    }
+
+    // Write slice header
+    bitbuf_put( bb, "ZDIV", 3, zdiv);
+    bitbuf_put( bb, "SLICELEN", 15, nvalues-1 );
+    bitbuf_put( bb, "WDIV", 3, wdiv);
+    bitbuf_put( bb, "WTRUNC", 1, w_grc_trunc );
+    bitbuf_put( bb, "NEWPAL", 1, new_palette );
+    if (new_palette) {
+        bitbuf_put( bb, "DIROFS", 5, p->direct_offset );
+        bitbuf_put( bb, "PALSIZE", 5, max(0, p->palsize-1));
+        bitbuf_put( bb, "PALBITS", 3, p->palbits-2 );
+        for(i=0; i<p->palsize; i++) {
+            bitbuf_put( bb, "PALETTE", p->palbits, p->lut[i] );
+        }
+    }
+
+    int z_nvalues = nvalues + (new_palette?1:0);
+    int w_pos=0, z_pos=0;
+    int w_unary0=0, w_unary1=0, w_unary1_len=0, w_q=-1, w_r=0;
+    int z_unary=0, z_q=-1, z_r=0;
+    int w_nsymbols=0, w_remain[12]={0};
+    int w_prev_enable=0, w_prev_nsymbols=0, w_prev_remain[12]={0};
+    int z_nsymbols=0, z_remain[12]={0};
+    int z_prev_enable=0, z_prev_nsymbols=0, z_prev_remain[12]={0};
+    int z_unary_len = z_grc_div<3 ? 12 : 8;
+    do {
+        int balance = p->use_zero_runs ? w_pos - z_pos : 0;
+        int w_enable = balance<8 && w_pos<nvalues;
+        int z_enable = balance>=0 && p->use_zero_runs && z_pos<z_nvalues;
+        if (w_enable) {
+            // Encode chunk (weights)
+            j=0;
+            w_nsymbols=0;
+            w_unary0=0;
+            w_unary1=0;
+            w_unary1_len=0;
+            int max_symbols = w_uncompressed && w_grc_div>5 ? 8 : 12;
+            while(j<max_symbols) {
+                if (w_q<0) {
+                    if (w_pos<nvalues) {
+                        int value = w_value[w_pos];
+                        assert(value<512);
+                        w_q = value>>w_grc_div;
+                        w_r = value&((1<<w_grc_div)-1);
+                        assert( w_q<=31 && (!w_grc_trunc || w_q<=2));
+                    } else {
+                        w_q = 0;
+                        w_r = -1;   // don't send remainder
+                    }
+                }
+                while( w_q>=0 && j<max_symbols) {
+                    w_unary0 |= w_q>0 ? (1<<j) : 0;
+                    if (w_q>0) {
+                        w_unary1 |= w_q>1 ? (1<<w_unary1_len) : 0;
+                        w_unary1_len++;
+                    }
+                    j++;
+                    w_q-=2;
+                    if (w_grc_trunc)
+                        w_q--;
+                }
+                if (w_q<0 && w_r>=0) {
+                    w_remain[w_nsymbols] = w_r;
+                    w_nsymbols++;
+                    w_pos++;
+                }
+            }
+        }
+
+        if (z_enable) {
+            // Encode chunk (zrun)
+            j=0;
+            z_nsymbols=0;
+            z_unary=0;
+            while(j<z_unary_len) {
+                if (z_q<0) {
+                    if (z_pos<z_nvalues) {
+                        int value = z_value[z_pos];
+                        z_q = value>>z_grc_div;
+                        z_r = value&((1<<z_grc_div)-1);
+                    } else {
+                        z_q = 0;
+                        z_r = -1;
+                    }
+                }
+                while( z_q>=0 && j<z_unary_len) {
+                    z_unary |= z_q>0 ? (1<<j) : 0;
+                    j++;
+                    z_q--;
+                }
+                if (z_q<0 && z_r>=0) {
+                    z_remain[z_nsymbols] = z_r;
+                    z_nsymbols++;
+                    z_pos++;
+                }
+            }
+        }
+
+        // Write chunk to bitstream
+        if (w_enable && !w_uncompressed) {
+            bitbuf_put( bb, "WUNARY0", 12, w_unary0);
+        }
+        if (z_enable) {
+            bitbuf_put( bb, "ZUNARY", z_unary_len, z_unary);
+        }
+        if (w_enable && !w_uncompressed) {
+            bitbuf_put( bb, "WUNARY1", w_unary1_len, w_unary1);
+        }
+        if (w_prev_enable) {
+            for(i=0; i<w_prev_nsymbols; i++) {
+                bitbuf_put( bb, "WREMAIN", w_grc_div, w_prev_remain[i]);
+            }
+        }
+        if (z_prev_enable) {
+            for(i=0; i<z_prev_nsymbols; i++) {
+                bitbuf_put( bb, "ZREMAIN", z_grc_div, z_prev_remain[i]);
+            }
+        }
+        w_prev_enable = w_enable;
+        w_prev_nsymbols = w_nsymbols;
+        memcpy( w_prev_remain, w_remain, sizeof(w_prev_remain));
+        z_prev_enable = z_enable;
+        z_prev_nsymbols = z_nsymbols;
+        memcpy( z_prev_remain, z_remain, sizeof(z_prev_remain));
+    } while( w_prev_enable || z_prev_enable );
+
+    return bb->pos;
+}
+
+
+// return new bitpos
+static int encode_section( const int16_t *inbuf,
+                           int size,
+                           palette_t *p,
+                           uint8_t *bitbuf,
+                           int bitbuf_size,
+                           int bitpos,
+                           int verbose )
+{
+    int uncompressed_bits;
+
+    // Uncompressed mode can only be used if either all weights
+    // are in the palette OR if the palette is not used.
+    if (p->only_palette) {
+        // Uncompressed bits derived from palette size
+        uncompressed_bits=0;
+        while( (1<<uncompressed_bits) < p->palsize )
+            uncompressed_bits++;
+    } else if (p->palsize==0) {
+        // Uncompressed bits is palbits (which is the bitdepth of the greatest weight)
+        uncompressed_bits = p->palbits;
+    } else {
+        // Don't use uncompressed
+        uncompressed_bits = 100;
+    }
+
+    int *weight_values = malloc( size*sizeof(int) );
+    int *zrun_values = malloc( size*sizeof(int) );
+
+    // Get weights (or weight indicies) AND zero-runs from the input weight stream.
+    int i=0, n_weights = 0, zcnt;
+    while(1) {
+        if (p->use_zero_runs) {
+            zcnt=0;
+            // Count zero run
+            // Special case: if all weights in the section are zero, we must
+            // still ensure we have one coded weight so the the slice length
+            // doesn't become 0. Therefore we skip the first zero run and code
+            // the zero explicitly as a weight value instead
+            if (!p->only_zeros || i>0) {
+                while( i<size && inbuf[i]==0) {
+                    zcnt++;
+                    i++;
+                }
+            }
+            zrun_values[n_weights] = zcnt;
+        }
+        if (i==size)
+            break;
+        int value = p->inv_lut[inbuf[i]+256];
+        weight_values[n_weights] = value;
+        n_weights++;
+        i++;
+    }
+
+    // Search for good GRC parameters for the weight stream
+    int n_w_slice, w_bitcnt;
+    uint8_t *w_slice_cfg;
+    int *w_slice_pos;
+    w_slice_cfg = malloc( size );
+    w_slice_pos = malloc( size*sizeof(int) );
+    n_w_slice = search_grc_params( weight_values, n_weights, 0, uncompressed_bits, w_slice_cfg, w_slice_pos, size, 0, 0, &w_bitcnt);
+    if (n_weights==0)
+        n_w_slice = 0;
+
+    // Search for good GRC parameters for the zrun stream
+    int n_z_slice=0, z_bitcnt=0;
+    uint8_t *z_slice_cfg=0;
+    int *z_slice_pos=0;
+    if (p->use_zero_runs) {
+        z_slice_cfg = malloc( size );
+        z_slice_pos = malloc( size*sizeof(int) );
+        n_z_slice = search_grc_params( zrun_values, n_weights+1, 1, 0, z_slice_cfg, z_slice_pos, size, w_slice_pos, n_w_slice, &z_bitcnt);
+    }
+
+    // Encode bitstream slice
+    int pos=0, i_w_slice=0, i_z_slice=0, new_palette=1;
+    while(pos<n_weights || new_palette) {
+        int endpos=pos+32767;   // max slice length
+
+        if (i_w_slice<n_w_slice && w_slice_pos[i_w_slice]<endpos) {
+            endpos = w_slice_pos[i_w_slice];
+        }
+
+        if (i_z_slice<n_z_slice && z_slice_pos[i_z_slice]<endpos) {
+            endpos = z_slice_pos[i_z_slice];
+        }
+
+        if (n_weights < endpos) {
+            endpos = n_weights;
+        }
+
+        // The first slice (when new_palette is 1) encodes zero runs both at the
+        // beginning and end (i.e. number of zero runs are len+1).
+        // The following slices only encode zero runs at the end (there cannot be
+        // any zeros in the beginning since they are encoded by the previous slice)
+        int len = endpos - pos;
+        int *zrun_buf = p->use_zero_runs ? zrun_values+pos+(!new_palette) : 0;
+        bitpos = encode_slice( weight_values+pos, zrun_buf, len,
+                               p, new_palette, uncompressed_bits,
+                               w_slice_cfg[i_w_slice], p->use_zero_runs ? z_slice_cfg[i_z_slice] : 0,
+                               bitbuf, bitbuf_size, bitpos, verbose );
+        new_palette = 0;
+
+        if (i_w_slice<n_w_slice && w_slice_pos[i_w_slice]==endpos) {
+            i_w_slice++;
+        }
+        if (i_z_slice<n_z_slice && z_slice_pos[i_z_slice]==endpos) {
+            i_z_slice++;
+        }
+        pos = endpos;
+    }
+
+    // Free temporary buffers
+    free(w_slice_cfg);
+    free(w_slice_pos);
+    if (p->use_zero_runs) {
+        free(z_slice_cfg);
+        free(z_slice_pos);
+    }
+    free(weight_values);
+    free(zrun_values);
+
+    return bitpos;
+}
+
+// Encode the given weight stream
+//      inbuf       uncompressed 9bit signed weights
+//      inbuf_size  number of weights
+//      outbuf      compressed bitstream, buffer is malloced
+//      verbose     if non-zero, printf log
+// Return value is the size in bytes of the compressed output
+// Return -1 if error
+int mlw_encode( int16_t *inbuf, int inbuf_size, uint8_t **outbuf, int verbose) {
+    int i;
+    // Range check
+    for(i=0; i<inbuf_size; i++) {
+        if (inbuf[i]<-255 || inbuf[i]>255) {
+            printf("ERROR: weight out of range at index %d, weight value is %d (valid range is -255..255)\n", i, inbuf[i]);
+            return -1;
+        }
+    }
+
+    int bitbuf_size = inbuf_size*2+1024;
+    *outbuf = malloc( bitbuf_size );
+
+    // Analyse input data to find palette re-programming points
+    int n_restarts;
+    int *palette_restart_pos;
+    n_restarts = search_palette_sections( inbuf, inbuf_size, &palette_restart_pos);
+
+    // Compress each section (using a single palette) separately
+    int bitpos=0;
+    for(i=0; i<n_restarts; i++) {
+        palette_t palette;
+        int pos, size;
+        pos = palette_restart_pos[i];
+        size   = (i<n_restarts-1 ? palette_restart_pos[i+1] : inbuf_size) - pos;
+        find_palette( inbuf+pos, size, &palette);
+        create_inverse_palette( &palette);
+        bitpos = encode_section( inbuf+pos, size, &palette,
+                                 *outbuf, bitbuf_size, bitpos, verbose );
+    }
+
+
+    // Add end of stream marker and align to 128bit
+    {
+        bitbuf_t bitbuf_s, *bb=&bitbuf_s;
+        bitbuf_init( bb, *outbuf, bitbuf_size, verbose&2?1:0 );
+        bb->pos = bitpos;
+        bitbuf_put( bb, "ZDIV", 3, ZDIV_EOS);
+        bitbuf_put( bb, "BYTEALIGN", (8-(bb->pos&7))&7, 0xff );
+
+        // Pad with 0xff until 64bit aligned
+        while( bb->pos & 127 ) {
+          bitbuf_put( bb, "PAD", 8, 0xff );
+        }
+        bitpos = bb->pos;
+    }
+    assert((bitpos&127)==0);
+    int outbuf_size = bitpos/8;
+    *outbuf = realloc( *outbuf, outbuf_size);
+
+    free(palette_restart_pos);
+
+    return outbuf_size;
+}
+
+void mlw_free_outbuf( uint8_t *outbuf ) {
+    if (outbuf)
+        free(outbuf);
+}
diff --git a/ethosu/mlw_codec/mlw_encode.h b/ethosu/mlw_codec/mlw_encode.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a995ac6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ethosu/mlw_codec/mlw_encode.h
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2020 Arm Limited. All rights reserved.
+ *
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the License); you may
+ * not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ * www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an AS IS BASIS, WITHOUT
+ * WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+#include <stdint.h>
+
+#ifndef __MLW_ENCODE_H__
+#define __MLW_ENCODE_H__
+
+#ifdef _MSC_VER
+  #define EXPORTED __declspec(dllexport)
+#else
+  #define EXPORTED __attribute__((visibility("default")))
+#endif
+
+#if __cplusplus
+extern "C"
+{
+#endif
+
+EXPORTED
+int mlw_encode(int16_t *inbuf, int inbuf_size, uint8_t **outbuf, int verbose);
+
+EXPORTED
+void mlw_free_outbuf(uint8_t *outbuf);
+
+#if __cplusplus
+}
+#endif
+
+#endif
diff --git a/ethosu/mlw_codec/mlw_main.c b/ethosu/mlw_codec/mlw_main.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9f72049
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ethosu/mlw_codec/mlw_main.c
@@ -0,0 +1,177 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2020 Arm Limited. All rights reserved.
+ *
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the License); you may
+ * not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ * www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an AS IS BASIS, WITHOUT
+ * WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+#include <stdio.h>
+#include <stdlib.h>
+#include <stdint.h>
+#include <stdbool.h>
+#include <string.h>
+#include <assert.h>
+#include <math.h>
+#include <getopt.h>
+#include <stdarg.h>
+#include "mlw_encode.h"
+#include "mlw_decode.h"
+
+static void fatal_error(const char *format, ...) {
+  va_list ap;
+  va_start (ap, format);
+  vfprintf(stderr, format, ap);
+  va_end(ap);
+  exit(1);
+}
+
+static void print_usage(void) {
+    printf("Usage:\n");
+    printf("    Encode: ./mlw_codec [<options>] [-o <outfile.mlw>] infiles.bin\n");
+    printf("    Decode: ./mlw_codec [<options>] -d [-o <outfile.bin>] infiles.mlw\n");
+    printf("\n");
+    printf("Options:\n");
+    printf("    -w      The uncompressed weight file is an int16_t (word) stream.\n");
+    printf("            This is to support 9bit signed weights. Little endian is assuemd.\n");
+    printf("            The default format is int8_t (byte) stream (if -w is not specified)\n");
+    printf("\n");
+}
+
+// Read file into allocated buffer. Return length in bytes.
+static int read_file( FILE *f, uint8_t **buf) {
+
+    fseek(f, 0, SEEK_END);
+    int size = ftell(f);
+    fseek(f, 0, SEEK_SET);
+    *buf = malloc(size);
+    assert(*buf);
+    int rsize = fread(*buf, 1, size, f);
+    assert(rsize==size);
+    fclose(f);
+    return size;
+}
+
+
+#define MAX_INFILES 1000
+
+int main(int argc, char *argv[])
+{
+    int c, decode=0, inbuf_size, outbuf_size;
+    char *infile_name[MAX_INFILES], *outfile_name=0;
+    uint8_t *inbuf=0, *outbuf=0;
+    FILE *infile, *outfile=0;
+    int verbose=0, infile_idx=0;
+    int int16_format=0;
+
+    if (argc==1) {
+        print_usage();
+        exit(1);
+    }
+
+    // Parse command line options
+    while( optind < argc) {
+        // Parse options
+        while ((c = getopt (argc, argv, "di:o:v:w?")) != -1) {
+            switch (c) {
+            case 'd':
+                decode=1;
+                break;
+            case 'i':
+                assert(infile_idx<MAX_INFILES);
+                infile_name[infile_idx++]=optarg;
+                break;
+            case 'o':
+                outfile_name=optarg;
+                break;
+            case 'v':
+                verbose=atoi(optarg);
+                break;
+            case 'w':
+                int16_format=1;
+                break;
+            case '?':
+                print_usage();
+                exit(0);
+            }
+        }
+
+        if (optind<argc) {
+            assert(infile_idx<MAX_INFILES);
+            infile_name[infile_idx++]=argv[optind];
+            optind++;
+
+        }
+    }
+
+    if (outfile_name) {
+        outfile=fopen(outfile_name, "wb");
+        if (!outfile)
+            fatal_error("ERROR: cannot open outfile %s\n", outfile_name);
+    }
+
+    // Loop over input files
+    int nbr_of_infiles=infile_idx;
+    for(infile_idx=0; infile_idx<nbr_of_infiles; infile_idx++) {
+        infile=fopen(infile_name[infile_idx], "rb");
+        if (!infile)
+            fatal_error("ERROR: cannot open infile %s\n", infile_name[infile_idx]);
+
+        // Read infile to buffer
+        inbuf_size = read_file(infile, &inbuf);
+
+        if (!decode) {
+            // Encode
+            int i, n = int16_format ? inbuf_size/sizeof(int16_t) : inbuf_size;
+            int16_t *weights = malloc( n * sizeof(int16_t) );
+            for(i=0; i<n; i++) {
+                weights[i] = int16_format ? ((int16_t*)inbuf)[i] : ((int8_t*)inbuf)[i];
+            }
+            outbuf_size = mlw_encode( weights, n, &outbuf, verbose);
+            free(weights);
+            printf("Input size %d output size %d bpw %4.2f\n", n, outbuf_size, outbuf_size*8.0/n);
+        } else {
+            // Decode
+            int i, n;
+            int16_t *weights;
+            n = mlw_decode( inbuf, inbuf_size, &weights, verbose);
+            outbuf_size = int16_format ? n*sizeof(int16_t) : n;
+            outbuf = malloc( outbuf_size );
+            assert(outbuf);
+            for(i=0; i<n; i++) {
+                if (int16_format)
+                    ((int16_t*)outbuf)[i] = weights[i];
+                else
+                    outbuf[i] = weights[i];
+            }
+            free(weights);
+            printf("Input size %d output size %d bpw %4.2f\n", inbuf_size, n, inbuf_size*8.0/n);
+
+        }
+
+        if (outfile) {
+            fwrite(outbuf, 1, outbuf_size, outfile);
+        }
+
+        if (inbuf)
+            free(inbuf);
+        if (outbuf)
+            free(outbuf);
+    }
+
+    if (outfile) {
+        fclose(outfile);
+    }
+
+    return 0;
+}
diff --git a/ethosu/mlw_codec/test_mlw_codec.py b/ethosu/mlw_codec/test_mlw_codec.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b868721
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ethosu/mlw_codec/test_mlw_codec.py
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+
+# Copyright (C) 2020 Arm Limited or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
+#
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the License); you may
+# not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+# www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an AS IS BASIS, WITHOUT
+# WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+
+
+# Simple example of the usage of mlw_codec.
+
+import sys
+
+from ethosu import mlw_codec
+
+
+# Simple example
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    weights = [0, 2, 3, 0, -1, -2, -3, 0, 0, 0, 1, -250, 240] * 3
+    print("Original weights    :", weights)
+
+    compressed_weights = mlw_codec.encode(weights)
+    print("Compressed weights  :", len(compressed_weights), compressed_weights)
+
+    uncompressed_weights = mlw_codec.decode(compressed_weights)
+    print("Uncompressed weights:", uncompressed_weights)
+
+    if weights != uncompressed_weights:
+        print("TEST FAILED")
+        sys.exit(1)
+    else:
+        print("TEST PASSED")
+        sys.exit(0)