WorkflowHub and nf-core collaboration enhances workflow accessibility

27 June 2024

This development marks a major step forward in making high-quality, best-practice workflows more accessible to researchers and stakeholders in the scientific community.

WorkflowHub announces a significant advancement in the accessibility and visibility of computational workflows by integrating nf-core community workflows into its registry. This development marks a major step forward in making high-quality, best-practice workflows more accessible to researchers and stakeholders in the scientific community.

WorkflowHub, a prominent registry for computational workflows, now automatically registers workflows developed by nf-core, a community-driven initiative focused on developing best-practice workflows. 

The marriage of these two resources will not only allow new workflows to be included automatically, but also updated versions of existing ones.

Additionally, during the import process, workflows are automatically annotated based on the metadata provided by the nf-core community in their native development repositories. This ensures that the workflows are visible, well-documented and easily understandable, following the principles of FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) data practices.

Contributions from the nf-core community are now streamlined and automated, freeing up valuable time and resources for both WorkflowHub and nf-core teams to focus on creating high-quality workflows without the added burden of managing findability and accessibility.

Developments in WorkflowHub are steered by the joint Product Owners Prof Carole Goble, ELIXIR-UK, Dr Frederick Coppens, ELIXIR-Belgium, and Dr Johan Gustafsson, Australian BioCommons. Recognising the increasing importance of Nextflow as a standard for defining bioinformatics workflows, the team engaged with nf-core to automatically ingest nf-core workflows to WorkflowHub. 

Finn Bacall, Senior Research Software Engineer at the University of Manchester, ELIXIR-UK, implemented the code to pull nf-core workflows into WorkflowHub.

Notes to editors

About ELIXIR-UK

ELIXIR-UK is part of the European ELIXIR infrastructure, which supports life science research and its translation to medicine, the environment, and society. By integrating national bioinformatics resources, ELIXIR-UK aims to provide a sustainable infrastructure for biological information, ensuring that data is effectively managed, analysed and shared across the scientific community.

For further details, reach out to us at [email protected]

About WorkflowHub

WorkflowHub is a leading registry for computational workflows, providing a platform for discovering, sharing, and using workflows across various scientific domains. It aims to enhance the accessibility and usability of computational workflows, promoting collaboration and innovation in the research community.

About nf-core

Nf-core is a community-driven initiative focused on developing best practice workflows using the Nextflow workflow management system. It provides a platform for collaborative development and sharing of high-quality workflows, fostering reproducibility and efficiency in computational research.

About BioCommons

Australian BioCommons is a digital infrastructure capability enhancing Australian life sciences research. BioCommons links Australian researchers with the tools, platforms, and expertise they need to undertake world-class research into the molecular basis of life.

BioCommons facilitates links between the Australian research landscape and international platforms and communities, and contributes directly to WorkflowHub’s development and governance. This contribution forms part of an ongoing collaboration strategy between BioCommons and ELIXIR to share technical experience and maintain a more global perspective.

For further details, reach out to us at [email protected]