diff --git a/common/train.cpp b/common/train.cpp
index 773e2c59c..dcf9614e4 100644
--- a/common/train.cpp
+++ b/common/train.cpp
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ void free_random_uniform_distribution(struct random_uniform_distribution * rnd)
 
 struct ggml_tensor * randomize_tensor_normal(struct ggml_tensor * tensor, struct random_normal_distribution * rnd) {
     float scale = 1.0f; // xavier
-    switch (tensor->n_dims) {
+    switch (ggml_n_dims(tensor)) {
         case 1:
             scale /= sqrtf((float) tensor->ne[0]);
             for (int i0 = 0; i0 < tensor->ne[0]; i0++) {
@@ -119,7 +119,7 @@ struct ggml_tensor * randomize_tensor_normal(struct ggml_tensor * tensor, struct
 }
 
 struct ggml_tensor * randomize_tensor_uniform(struct ggml_tensor * tensor, struct random_uniform_distribution * rnd) {
-    switch (tensor->n_dims) {
+    switch (ggml_n_dims(tensor)) {
         case 1:
             for (int i0 = 0; i0 < tensor->ne[0]; i0++) {
                 float * dst = (float *) ((char *) tensor->data + i0*tensor->nb[0]);
@@ -183,25 +183,27 @@ float fclamp(const float v, const float min, const float max) {
 }
 
 void assert_shape_1d(struct ggml_tensor * tensor, int64_t ne0) {
-    GGML_ASSERT(tensor->n_dims == 1);
     GGML_ASSERT(tensor->ne[0] == ne0);
+    GGML_ASSERT(tensor->ne[1] == 1);
+    GGML_ASSERT(tensor->ne[2] == 1);
+    GGML_ASSERT(tensor->ne[3] == 1);
 }
 
 void assert_shape_2d(struct ggml_tensor * tensor, int64_t ne0, int64_t ne1) {
-    GGML_ASSERT(tensor->n_dims == 2);
     GGML_ASSERT(tensor->ne[0] == ne0);
     GGML_ASSERT(tensor->ne[1] == ne1);
+    GGML_ASSERT(tensor->ne[2] == 1);
+    GGML_ASSERT(tensor->ne[3] == 1);
 }
 
 void assert_shape_3d(struct ggml_tensor * tensor, int64_t ne0, int64_t ne1, int64_t ne2) {
-    GGML_ASSERT(tensor->n_dims == 3);
     GGML_ASSERT(tensor->ne[0] == ne0);
     GGML_ASSERT(tensor->ne[1] == ne1);
     GGML_ASSERT(tensor->ne[2] == ne2);
+    GGML_ASSERT(tensor->ne[3] == 1);
 }
 
 void assert_shape_4d(struct ggml_tensor * tensor, int64_t ne0, int64_t ne1, int64_t ne2, int64_t ne3) {
-    GGML_ASSERT(tensor->n_dims == 4);
     GGML_ASSERT(tensor->ne[0] == ne0);
     GGML_ASSERT(tensor->ne[1] == ne1);
     GGML_ASSERT(tensor->ne[2] == ne2);
@@ -225,8 +227,8 @@ int64_t get_example_targets_batch(
     bool                   sample_random_offsets
 ) {
     GGML_ASSERT(samples_count > 0);
-    GGML_ASSERT(tokens_input->n_dims  == 2);
-    GGML_ASSERT(target_probs->n_dims  == 3);
+    GGML_ASSERT(ggml_is_matrix(tokens_input));
+    GGML_ASSERT(ggml_is_3d(target_probs));
     int64_t n_vocab  = target_probs->ne[0];
     int64_t n_tokens = tokens_input->ne[0];
     int64_t n_batch  = tokens_input->ne[1];
diff --git a/examples/baby-llama/baby-llama.cpp b/examples/baby-llama/baby-llama.cpp
index 8155101d0..2dc2988d3 100644
--- a/examples/baby-llama/baby-llama.cpp
+++ b/examples/baby-llama/baby-llama.cpp
@@ -1258,9 +1258,9 @@ static struct ggml_tensor * forward_lora(
 }
 
 static void sample_softmax(struct ggml_tensor * logits, struct ggml_tensor * probs, struct ggml_tensor * best_samples) {
-    assert(logits->n_dims == 2);
-    assert(probs->n_dims == 2);
-    assert(best_samples->n_dims == 1);
+    assert(ggml_is_matrix(logits));
+    assert(ggml_is_matrix(probs));
+    assert(ggml_is_vector(best_samples));
     assert(logits->ne[1] == best_samples->ne[0]);
     assert(logits->ne[0] == probs->ne[0]);
     assert(logits->ne[1] == probs->ne[1]);
@@ -1292,9 +1292,9 @@ static void sample_softmax_batch(
     struct ggml_context * ctx, struct ggml_tensor * logits, struct ggml_tensor * probs,
     struct ggml_tensor * best_samples
 ) {
-    GGML_ASSERT(best_samples->n_dims == 2);
-    GGML_ASSERT(logits->n_dims == 3);
-    GGML_ASSERT(probs->n_dims == 3);
+    GGML_ASSERT(ggml_is_matrix(best_samples));
+    GGML_ASSERT(ggml_is_3d(logits));
+    GGML_ASSERT(ggml_is_3d(probs));
     int n_tokens = best_samples->ne[0];
     int n_batch  = best_samples->ne[1];
     int n_vocab  = logits->ne[0];
@@ -1334,7 +1334,7 @@ static void print_row(struct ggml_tensor * probs, int i) {
 }
 
 static void print_matrix(struct ggml_tensor * probs) {
-    assert(probs->n_dims == 2);
+    assert(ggml_is_matrix(probs));
     for (int i = 0; i < probs->ne[1]; ++i) {
         for (int k = 0; k < probs->ne[0]; ++k) {
             float p = ggml_get_f32_1d(probs, i*probs->ne[0] + k);
@@ -1386,8 +1386,8 @@ static void get_example_targets(int example_id, struct ggml_tensor * tokens_inpu
 static void get_example_targets_batch(
     struct ggml_context * ctx, int example_id, struct ggml_tensor * tokens_input, struct ggml_tensor * targets
 ) {
-    GGML_ASSERT(tokens_input->n_dims == 2);
-    GGML_ASSERT(     targets->n_dims == 3);
+    GGML_ASSERT(ggml_is_matrix(tokens_input));
+    GGML_ASSERT(ggml_is_3d(targets));
     int n_tokens = tokens_input->ne[0];
     int n_batch  = tokens_input->ne[1];
     GGML_ASSERT(n_tokens == targets->ne[1]);
diff --git a/examples/convert-llama2c-to-ggml/convert-llama2c-to-ggml.cpp b/examples/convert-llama2c-to-ggml/convert-llama2c-to-ggml.cpp
index cae3bf3c3..4d41e1779 100644
--- a/examples/convert-llama2c-to-ggml/convert-llama2c-to-ggml.cpp
+++ b/examples/convert-llama2c-to-ggml/convert-llama2c-to-ggml.cpp
@@ -427,7 +427,7 @@ static void print_row(struct ggml_tensor * probs, int i) {
 }
 
 static void print_matrix(struct ggml_tensor * probs) {
-    assert(probs->n_dims == 2);
+    assert(ggml_is_matrix(probs));
     for (int i = 0; i < probs->ne[1]; ++i) {
         for (int k = 0; k < probs->ne[0]; ++k) {
             float p = get_f32_2d(probs, k, i);
@@ -639,7 +639,7 @@ static void load_vocab(const char *filename, Config *config, struct llama_vocab
 
 static void convert_weights_ak_to_gg(struct ggml_tensor * gg_weights, const float * karpathy_weights) {
     int ct;
-    switch (gg_weights->n_dims){
+    switch (ggml_n_dims(gg_weights)) {
         case 1:
             ct = 0;
             for (int i0 = 0; i0 < gg_weights->ne[0]; i0++){
diff --git a/examples/finetune/finetune.cpp b/examples/finetune/finetune.cpp
index af46e44a6..b9849e8c9 100644
--- a/examples/finetune/finetune.cpp
+++ b/examples/finetune/finetune.cpp
@@ -1110,7 +1110,7 @@ static void write_tensor(struct llama_file * file, struct ggml_tensor * tensor,
         name = ggml_get_name(tensor);
     }
     uint32_t name_len = strlen(name);
-    uint32_t nd = tensor->n_dims;
+    uint32_t nd = ggml_n_dims(tensor);
     uint32_t ne[4] = { (uint32_t)tensor->ne[0],
                        (uint32_t)tensor->ne[1],
                        (uint32_t)tensor->ne[2],
diff --git a/examples/gguf/gguf.cpp b/examples/gguf/gguf.cpp
index 9ab63a293..9e24bf24c 100644
--- a/examples/gguf/gguf.cpp
+++ b/examples/gguf/gguf.cpp
@@ -195,7 +195,7 @@ static bool gguf_ex_read_1(const std::string & fname) {
 
             struct ggml_tensor * cur = ggml_get_tensor(ctx_data, name);
 
-            printf("%s: tensor[%d]: n_dims = %d, name = %s, data = %p\n", __func__, i, cur->n_dims, cur->name, cur->data);
+            printf("%s: tensor[%d]: n_dims = %d, name = %s, data = %p\n", __func__, i, ggml_n_dims(cur), cur->name, cur->data);
 
             // print first 10 elements
             const float * data = (const float *) cur->data;
diff --git a/examples/llava/clip.cpp b/examples/llava/clip.cpp
index 4bb7b93b6..112465968 100644
--- a/examples/llava/clip.cpp
+++ b/examples/llava/clip.cpp
@@ -514,7 +514,7 @@ struct clip_ctx * clip_model_load(const char * fname, const int verbosity = 1) {
             ctx_size += padded_size;
             if (verbosity >= 3) {
                 printf("%s: tensor[%d]: n_dims = %d, name = %s, tensor_size=%zu, padded_size=%zu, offset=%zu\n", __func__, i,
-                       cur->n_dims, cur->name, tensor_size, padded_size, offset);
+                       ggml_n_dims(cur), cur->name, tensor_size, padded_size, offset);
             }
         }
     }
@@ -962,7 +962,7 @@ bool clip_model_quantize(const char * fname_inp, const char * fname_out, const i
         }
 
         // quantize only 2D tensors
-        quantize &= (cur->n_dims == 2);
+        quantize &= (ggml_n_dims(cur) == 2);
 
         if (quantize) {
             new_type = type;
@@ -1035,7 +1035,7 @@ bool clip_model_quantize(const char * fname_inp, const char * fname_out, const i
             fout.put(0);
         }
 
-        printf("%s: n_dims = %d | quantize=%d | size = %f MB -> %f MB\n", name.c_str(), cur->n_dims, quantize,
+        printf("%s: n_dims = %d | quantize=%d | size = %f MB -> %f MB\n", name.c_str(), ggml_n_dims(cur), quantize,
                orig_size / 1024.0 / 1024.0, new_size / 1024.0 / 1024.0);
     }
 
diff --git a/ggml.c b/ggml.c
index f0a972690..f6f8b8251 100644
--- a/ggml.c
+++ b/ggml.c
@@ -2054,24 +2054,37 @@ size_t ggml_element_size(const struct ggml_tensor * tensor) {
     return ggml_type_size(tensor->type);
 }
 
-static inline bool ggml_is_scalar(const struct ggml_tensor * tensor) {
+bool ggml_is_scalar(const struct ggml_tensor * tensor) {
     static_assert(GGML_MAX_DIMS == 4, "GGML_MAX_DIMS is not 4 - update this function");
 
     return tensor->ne[0] == 1 && tensor->ne[1] == 1 && tensor->ne[2] == 1 && tensor->ne[3] == 1;
 }
 
-static inline bool ggml_is_vector(const struct ggml_tensor * tensor) {
+bool ggml_is_vector(const struct ggml_tensor * tensor) {
     static_assert(GGML_MAX_DIMS == 4, "GGML_MAX_DIMS is not 4 - update this function");
 
     return tensor->ne[1] == 1 && tensor->ne[2] == 1 && tensor->ne[3] == 1;
 }
 
-static inline bool ggml_is_matrix(const struct ggml_tensor * tensor) {
+bool ggml_is_matrix(const struct ggml_tensor * tensor) {
     static_assert(GGML_MAX_DIMS == 4, "GGML_MAX_DIMS is not 4 - update this function");
 
     return tensor->ne[2] == 1 && tensor->ne[3] == 1;
 }
 
+bool ggml_is_3d(const struct ggml_tensor * tensor) {
+    return tensor->ne[3] == 1;
+}
+
+int ggml_n_dims(const struct ggml_tensor * tensor) {
+    for (int i = GGML_MAX_DIMS - 1; i >= 1; --i) {
+        if (tensor->ne[i] > 1) {
+            return i + 1;
+        }
+    }
+    return 1;
+}
+
 static inline bool ggml_can_mul_mat(const struct ggml_tensor * t0, const struct ggml_tensor * t1) {
     static_assert(GGML_MAX_DIMS == 4, "GGML_MAX_DIMS is not 4 - update this function");
 
@@ -2521,7 +2534,6 @@ static struct ggml_tensor * ggml_new_tensor_impl(
         /*.type         =*/ type,
         /*.backend      =*/ GGML_BACKEND_CPU,
         /*.buffer       =*/ NULL,
-        /*.n_dims       =*/ n_dims,
         /*.ne           =*/ { 1, 1, 1, 1 },
         /*.nb           =*/ { 0, 0, 0, 0 },
         /*.op           =*/ GGML_OP_NONE,
@@ -2628,7 +2640,7 @@ struct ggml_tensor * ggml_new_f32(struct ggml_context * ctx, float value) {
 }
 
 struct ggml_tensor * ggml_dup_tensor(struct ggml_context * ctx, const struct ggml_tensor * src) {
-    return ggml_new_tensor(ctx, src->type, src->n_dims, src->ne);
+    return ggml_new_tensor(ctx, src->type, GGML_MAX_DIMS, src->ne);
 }
 
 static void ggml_set_op_params(struct ggml_tensor * tensor, const void * params, size_t params_size) {
@@ -3077,7 +3089,7 @@ struct ggml_tensor * ggml_format_name(struct ggml_tensor * tensor, const char *
 struct ggml_tensor * ggml_view_tensor(
         struct ggml_context * ctx,
         struct ggml_tensor  * src) {
-    struct ggml_tensor * result = ggml_new_tensor_impl(ctx, src->type, src->n_dims, src->ne, src, 0);
+    struct ggml_tensor * result = ggml_new_tensor_impl(ctx, src->type, GGML_MAX_DIMS, src->ne, src, 0);
     ggml_format_name(result, "%s (view)", src->name);
 
     for (int i = 0; i < GGML_MAX_DIMS; i++) {
@@ -3235,10 +3247,10 @@ static struct ggml_tensor * ggml_add_cast_impl(
         is_node = true;
     }
 
-    struct ggml_tensor * result = ggml_new_tensor(ctx, type, a->n_dims, a->ne);
+    struct ggml_tensor * result = ggml_new_tensor(ctx, type, GGML_MAX_DIMS, a->ne);
 
     result->op   = GGML_OP_ADD;
-    result->grad = is_node ? ggml_new_tensor(ctx, GGML_TYPE_F32, a->n_dims, a->ne) : NULL;
+    result->grad = is_node ? ggml_new_tensor(ctx, GGML_TYPE_F32, GGML_MAX_DIMS, a->ne) : NULL;
     result->src[0] = a;
     result->src[1] = b;
 
@@ -3607,12 +3619,12 @@ struct ggml_tensor * ggml_sum_rows(
         is_node = true;
     }
 
-    int64_t ne[4] = {1,1,1,1};
-    for (int i=1; i<a->n_dims; ++i) {
+    int64_t ne[GGML_MAX_DIMS] = { 1 };
+    for (int i = 1; i < GGML_MAX_DIMS; ++i) {
         ne[i] = a->ne[i];
     }
 
-    struct ggml_tensor * result = ggml_new_tensor(ctx, a->type, a->n_dims, ne);
+    struct ggml_tensor * result = ggml_new_tensor(ctx, a->type, GGML_MAX_DIMS, ne);
 
     result->op   = GGML_OP_SUM_ROWS;
     result->grad = is_node ? ggml_dup_tensor(ctx, result) : NULL;
@@ -3633,8 +3645,8 @@ struct ggml_tensor * ggml_mean(
         is_node = true;
     }
 
-    int64_t ne[GGML_MAX_DIMS] = { 1, a->ne[1], a->ne[2], a->ne[3] };
-    struct ggml_tensor * result = ggml_new_tensor(ctx, GGML_TYPE_F32, a->n_dims, ne);
+    int64_t ne[4] = { 1, a->ne[1], a->ne[2], a->ne[3] };
+    struct ggml_tensor * result = ggml_new_tensor(ctx, GGML_TYPE_F32, 4, ne);
 
     result->op   = GGML_OP_MEAN;
     result->grad = is_node ? ggml_dup_tensor(ctx, result) : NULL;
@@ -3656,8 +3668,7 @@ struct ggml_tensor * ggml_argmax(
         is_node = true;
     }
 
-    int64_t ne[GGML_MAX_DIMS] = { a->ne[1], 1, 1, 1 };
-    struct ggml_tensor * result = ggml_new_tensor(ctx, GGML_TYPE_I32, a->n_dims, ne);
+    struct ggml_tensor * result = ggml_new_tensor_1d(ctx, GGML_TYPE_I32, a->ne[1]);
 
     result->op   = GGML_OP_ARGMAX;
     result->grad = is_node ? ggml_dup_tensor(ctx, result) : NULL;
@@ -3680,7 +3691,7 @@ struct ggml_tensor * ggml_repeat(
         is_node = true;
     }
 
-    struct ggml_tensor * result = ggml_new_tensor(ctx, a->type, b->n_dims, b->ne);
+    struct ggml_tensor * result = ggml_new_tensor(ctx, a->type, GGML_MAX_DIMS, b->ne);
 
     result->op   = GGML_OP_REPEAT;
     result->grad = is_node ? ggml_dup_tensor(ctx, result) : NULL;
@@ -3707,7 +3718,7 @@ struct ggml_tensor * ggml_repeat_back(
         return a;
     }
 
-    struct ggml_tensor * result = ggml_new_tensor(ctx, a->type, b->n_dims, b->ne);
+    struct ggml_tensor * result = ggml_new_tensor(ctx, a->type, GGML_MAX_DIMS, b->ne);
 
     result->op   = GGML_OP_REPEAT_BACK;
     result->grad = is_node ? ggml_dup_tensor(ctx, result) : NULL;
@@ -4083,7 +4094,7 @@ struct ggml_tensor * ggml_mul_mat(
     }
 
     const int64_t ne[4] = { a->ne[1], b->ne[1], b->ne[2], b->ne[3] };
-    struct ggml_tensor * result = ggml_new_tensor(ctx, GGML_TYPE_F32, MAX(a->n_dims, b->n_dims), ne);
+    struct ggml_tensor * result = ggml_new_tensor(ctx, GGML_TYPE_F32, 4, ne);
 
     result->op   = GGML_OP_MUL_MAT;
     result->grad = is_node ? ggml_dup_tensor(ctx, result) : NULL;
@@ -4117,7 +4128,7 @@ struct ggml_tensor * ggml_mul_mat_id(
     }
 
     const int64_t ne[4] = { as[0]->ne[1], b->ne[1], b->ne[2], b->ne[3] };
-    struct ggml_tensor * result = ggml_new_tensor(ctx, GGML_TYPE_F32, MAX(as[0]->n_dims, b->n_dims), ne);
+    struct ggml_tensor * result = ggml_new_tensor(ctx, GGML_TYPE_F32, 4, ne);
 
     ggml_set_op_params_i32(result, 0, id);
     ggml_set_op_params_i32(result, 1, n_as);
@@ -4155,7 +4166,7 @@ struct ggml_tensor * ggml_out_prod(
 
     // a is broadcastable to b for ne[2] and ne[3] -> use b->ne[2] and b->ne[3]
     const int64_t ne[4] = { a->ne[0], b->ne[0], b->ne[2], b->ne[3] };
-    struct ggml_tensor * result = ggml_new_tensor(ctx, GGML_TYPE_F32, MAX(a->n_dims, b->n_dims), ne);
+    struct ggml_tensor * result = ggml_new_tensor(ctx, GGML_TYPE_F32, 4, ne);
 
     result->op   = GGML_OP_OUT_PROD;
     result->grad = is_node ? ggml_dup_tensor(ctx, result) : NULL;
@@ -4440,7 +4451,7 @@ struct ggml_tensor * ggml_reshape(
         //GGML_ASSERT(false);
     }
 
-    struct ggml_tensor * result = ggml_new_tensor_impl(ctx, a->type, b->n_dims, b->ne, a, 0);
+    struct ggml_tensor * result = ggml_new_tensor_impl(ctx, a->type, GGML_MAX_DIMS, b->ne, a, 0);
     ggml_format_name(result, "%s (reshaped)", a->name);
 
     result->op   = GGML_OP_RESHAPE;
@@ -4818,7 +4829,7 @@ struct ggml_tensor * ggml_diag(
     }
 
     const int64_t ne[4] = { a->ne[0], a->ne[0], a->ne[2], a->ne[3] };
-    struct ggml_tensor * result = ggml_new_tensor(ctx, a->type, MAX(a->n_dims, 2), ne);
+    struct ggml_tensor * result = ggml_new_tensor(ctx, a->type, 4, ne);
 
     result->op   = GGML_OP_DIAG;
     result->grad = is_node ? ggml_dup_tensor(ctx, result) : NULL;
@@ -5465,7 +5476,7 @@ struct ggml_tensor * ggml_pool_1d(
         is_node = true;
     }
 
-    const int64_t ne[3] = {
+    const int64_t ne[2] = {
         ggml_calc_pool_output_size(a->ne[0], k0, s0, p0),
         a->ne[1],
     };
@@ -5584,7 +5595,7 @@ struct ggml_tensor * ggml_argsort(
         enum ggml_sort_order  order) {
     bool is_node = false;
 
-    struct ggml_tensor * result = ggml_new_tensor(ctx, GGML_TYPE_I32, a->n_dims, a->ne);
+    struct ggml_tensor * result = ggml_new_tensor(ctx, GGML_TYPE_I32, GGML_MAX_DIMS, a->ne);
 
     ggml_set_op_params_i32(result, 0, (int32_t) order);
 
@@ -5631,7 +5642,7 @@ struct ggml_tensor * ggml_flash_attn(
     }
 
     //struct ggml_tensor * result = ggml_dup_tensor(ctx, q);
-    struct ggml_tensor * result = ggml_new_tensor(ctx, GGML_TYPE_F32, q->n_dims, q->ne);
+    struct ggml_tensor * result = ggml_new_tensor(ctx, GGML_TYPE_F32, GGML_MAX_DIMS, q->ne);
 
     int32_t t = masked ? 1 : 0;
     ggml_set_op_params(result, &t, sizeof(t));
@@ -5664,7 +5675,7 @@ struct ggml_tensor * ggml_flash_ff(
     }
 
     //struct ggml_tensor * result = ggml_dup_tensor(ctx, a);
-    struct ggml_tensor * result = ggml_new_tensor(ctx, GGML_TYPE_F32, a->n_dims, a->ne);
+    struct ggml_tensor * result = ggml_new_tensor(ctx, GGML_TYPE_F32, GGML_MAX_DIMS, a->ne);
 
     result->op   = GGML_OP_FLASH_FF;
     result->grad = is_node ? ggml_dup_tensor(ctx, result) : NULL;
@@ -5780,7 +5791,6 @@ struct ggml_tensor * ggml_win_part(
     const int np  = npx*npy;
 
     const int64_t ne[4] = { a->ne[0], w, w, np, };
-
     struct ggml_tensor * result = ggml_new_tensor(ctx, GGML_TYPE_F32, 4, ne);
 
     int32_t params[] = { npx, npy, w };
@@ -14563,7 +14573,7 @@ static struct ggml_tensor * ggml_recompute_graph_node(
         return replacements->vals[i];
     }
 
-    struct ggml_tensor * clone = ggml_new_tensor(ctx, node->type, node->n_dims, node->ne);
+    struct ggml_tensor * clone = ggml_new_tensor(ctx, node->type, GGML_MAX_DIMS, node->ne);
 
     // insert clone into replacements
     GGML_ASSERT(replacements->set.keys[i] == NULL); // assert that we don't overwrite
@@ -16564,7 +16574,7 @@ static void ggml_graph_export_leaf(const struct ggml_tensor * tensor, FILE * fou
     fprintf(fout, "%-6s %-12s %8d %" PRId64 " %" PRId64 " %" PRId64 " %" PRId64 " %16zu %16zu %16zu %16zu %16p %32s\n",
             ggml_type_name(tensor->type),
             ggml_op_name  (tensor->op),
-            tensor->n_dims,
+            ggml_n_dims(tensor),
             ne[0], ne[1], ne[2], ne[3],
             nb[0], nb[1], nb[2], nb[3],
             tensor->data,
@@ -16579,7 +16589,7 @@ static void ggml_graph_export_node(const struct ggml_tensor * tensor, const char
             arg,
             ggml_type_name(tensor->type),
             ggml_op_name  (tensor->op),
-            tensor->n_dims,
+            ggml_n_dims(tensor),
             ne[0], ne[1], ne[2], ne[3],
             nb[0], nb[1], nb[2], nb[3],
             tensor->data,
@@ -16669,11 +16679,9 @@ void ggml_graph_export(const struct ggml_cgraph * cgraph, const char * fname) {
 
                 const uint32_t type   = tensor->type;
                 const uint32_t op     = tensor->op;
-                const uint32_t n_dims = tensor->n_dims;
 
                 fwrite(&type,   sizeof(uint32_t), 1, fout);
                 fwrite(&op,     sizeof(uint32_t), 1, fout);
-                fwrite(&n_dims, sizeof(uint32_t), 1, fout);
 
                 for (int j = 0; j < GGML_MAX_DIMS; ++j) {
                     const uint64_t ne = tensor->ne[j];
@@ -16703,11 +16711,9 @@ void ggml_graph_export(const struct ggml_cgraph * cgraph, const char * fname) {
 
                 const uint32_t type   = tensor->type;
                 const uint32_t op     = tensor->op;
-                const uint32_t n_dims = tensor->n_dims;
 
                 fwrite(&type,   sizeof(uint32_t), 1, fout);
                 fwrite(&op,     sizeof(uint32_t), 1, fout);
-                fwrite(&n_dims, sizeof(uint32_t), 1, fout);
 
                 for (int j = 0; j < GGML_MAX_DIMS; ++j) {
                     const uint64_t ne = tensor->ne[j];
@@ -16879,12 +16885,10 @@ struct ggml_cgraph * ggml_graph_import(const char * fname, struct ggml_context *
         {
             uint32_t type;
             uint32_t op;
-            uint32_t n_dims;
 
             for (uint32_t i = 0; i < n_leafs; ++i) {
                 type   = *(const uint32_t *) ptr; ptr += sizeof(type);
                 op     = *(const uint32_t *) ptr; ptr += sizeof(op);
-                n_dims = *(const uint32_t *) ptr; ptr += sizeof(n_dims);
 
                 int64_t ne[GGML_MAX_DIMS];
                 size_t  nb[GGML_MAX_DIMS];
@@ -16900,7 +16904,7 @@ struct ggml_cgraph * ggml_graph_import(const char * fname, struct ggml_context *
                     nb[j] = nb_cur;
                 }
 
-                struct ggml_tensor * tensor = ggml_new_tensor(*ctx_eval, (enum ggml_type) type, n_dims, ne);
+                struct ggml_tensor * tensor = ggml_new_tensor(*ctx_eval, (enum ggml_type) type, GGML_MAX_DIMS, ne);
 
                 tensor->op = (enum ggml_op) op;
 
@@ -16917,7 +16921,7 @@ struct ggml_cgraph * ggml_graph_import(const char * fname, struct ggml_context *
 
                 ptr += ggml_nbytes(tensor);
 
-                fprintf(stderr, "%s: loaded leaf %d: '%16s', %3d dims, %9zu bytes\n", __func__, i, tensor->name, n_dims, ggml_nbytes(tensor));
+                fprintf(stderr, "%s: loaded leaf %d: '%16s', %9zu bytes\n", __func__, i, tensor->name, ggml_nbytes(tensor));
             }
         }
 
@@ -16927,12 +16931,10 @@ struct ggml_cgraph * ggml_graph_import(const char * fname, struct ggml_context *
         {
             uint32_t type;
             uint32_t op;
-            uint32_t n_dims;
 
             for (uint32_t i = 0; i < n_nodes; ++i) {
                 type   = *(const uint32_t *) ptr; ptr += sizeof(type);
                 op     = *(const uint32_t *) ptr; ptr += sizeof(op);
-                n_dims = *(const uint32_t *) ptr; ptr += sizeof(n_dims);
 
                 enum ggml_op eop = (enum ggml_op) op;
 
@@ -17003,7 +17005,7 @@ struct ggml_cgraph * ggml_graph_import(const char * fname, struct ggml_context *
                         } break;
                     default:
                         {
-                            tensor = ggml_new_tensor(*ctx_eval, (enum ggml_type) type, n_dims, ne);
+                            tensor = ggml_new_tensor(*ctx_eval, (enum ggml_type) type, GGML_MAX_DIMS, ne);
 
                             tensor->op = eop;
                         } break;
@@ -17022,7 +17024,7 @@ struct ggml_cgraph * ggml_graph_import(const char * fname, struct ggml_context *
 
                 result->nodes[i] = tensor;
 
-                fprintf(stderr, "%s: loaded node %d: '%16s', %3d dims, %9zu bytes\n", __func__, i, tensor->name, n_dims, ggml_nbytes(tensor));
+                fprintf(stderr, "%s: loaded node %d: '%16s', %9zu bytes\n", __func__, i, tensor->name, ggml_nbytes(tensor));
             }
         }
     }
@@ -17160,7 +17162,7 @@ void ggml_graph_dump_dot(const struct ggml_cgraph * gb, const struct ggml_cgraph
             fprintf(fp, "(%s)|", ggml_type_name(node->type));
         }
 
-        if (node->n_dims == 2) {
+        if (ggml_is_matrix(node)) {
             fprintf(fp, "%d [%" PRId64 ", %" PRId64 "] | <x>%s", i, node->ne[0], node->ne[1], ggml_op_symbol(node->op));
         } else {
             fprintf(fp, "%d [%" PRId64 ", %" PRId64 ", %" PRId64 "] | <x>%s", i, node->ne[0], node->ne[1], node->ne[2], ggml_op_symbol(node->op));
@@ -17427,7 +17429,7 @@ static enum ggml_opt_result ggml_opt_adam(
             int64_t i = 0;
             for (int p = 0; p < np; ++p) {
                 const int64_t ne = ggml_nelements(ps[p]);
-                const float p_decay = ((ps[p]->n_dims >= decay_min_ndim) ? decay : 0.0f) * sched;
+                const float p_decay = ((ggml_n_dims(ps[p]) >= decay_min_ndim) ? decay : 0.0f) * sched;
                 for (int64_t j = 0; j < ne; ++j) {
                     float x  = ggml_get_f32_1d(ps[p], j);
                     float g_ = g[i]*gnorm;
@@ -19205,8 +19207,8 @@ void gguf_add_tensor(
         ctx->infos[idx].ne[i] = 1;
     }
 
-    ctx->infos[idx].n_dims = tensor->n_dims;
-    for (int i = 0; i < tensor->n_dims; i++) {
+    ctx->infos[idx].n_dims = ggml_n_dims(tensor);
+    for (uint32_t i = 0; i < ctx->infos[idx].n_dims; i++) {
         ctx->infos[idx].ne[i] = tensor->ne[i];
     }
 
diff --git a/ggml.h b/ggml.h
index ae8101fab..84d6ba8b1 100644
--- a/ggml.h
+++ b/ggml.h
@@ -502,7 +502,6 @@ extern "C" {
 
         struct ggml_backend_buffer * buffer;
 
-        int     n_dims;
         int64_t ne[GGML_MAX_DIMS]; // number of elements
         size_t  nb[GGML_MAX_DIMS]; // stride in bytes:
                                    // nb[0] = ggml_type_size(type)
@@ -534,7 +533,7 @@ extern "C" {
 
         void * extra; // extra things e.g. for ggml-cuda.cu
 
-        char padding[12];
+        char padding[8];
     };
 
     static const size_t GGML_TENSOR_SIZE = sizeof(struct ggml_tensor);
@@ -666,6 +665,11 @@ extern "C" {
     GGML_API bool ggml_is_transposed(const struct ggml_tensor * tensor);
     GGML_API bool ggml_is_contiguous(const struct ggml_tensor * tensor);
     GGML_API bool ggml_is_permuted  (const struct ggml_tensor * tensor);
+    GGML_API bool ggml_is_scalar    (const struct ggml_tensor * tensor);
+    GGML_API bool ggml_is_vector    (const struct ggml_tensor * tensor);
+    GGML_API bool ggml_is_matrix    (const struct ggml_tensor * tensor);
+    GGML_API bool ggml_is_3d        (const struct ggml_tensor * tensor);
+    GGML_API int  ggml_n_dims       (const struct ggml_tensor * tensor); // returns 1 for scalars
 
     GGML_API bool ggml_are_same_shape(const struct ggml_tensor * t0, const struct ggml_tensor * t1);
 
diff --git a/llama.cpp b/llama.cpp
index 456807d9d..eddb70859 100644
--- a/llama.cpp
+++ b/llama.cpp
@@ -8471,7 +8471,7 @@ static void llama_model_quantize_internal(const std::string & fname_inp, const s
         bool quantize = name.rfind("weight") == name.size() - 6; // ends with 'weight'?
 
         // quantize only 2D tensors
-        quantize &= (tensor->n_dims == 2);
+        quantize &= (ggml_n_dims(tensor) == 2);
         quantize &= params->quantize_output_tensor || name != "output.weight";
         quantize &= !params->only_copy;