CREDO: a friendly Customizable, REproducible, DOcker file generator for bioinformatics applications

Area of Science:

• Bioinformatics
• Computational Biology
• Genomics

Background:

• Reproducibility in bioinformatics is challenged by inconsistent analysis methods and lack of standardization.
• This leads to result discrepancies, impacting research credibility and fostering mistrust.
• Open science practices, including data and code sharing, are encouraged to mitigate these issues.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce CREDO, a Customizable, REproducible, DOcker file generator.
• To address reproducibility challenges in bioinformatics research through automated Docker container generation.
• To promote efficient and reliable bioinformatics analysis.

Main Methods:

• CREDO generates Docker containers with embedded bioinformatics tools.
• It simplifies Dockerfile creation by managing heterogeneous packages (e.g., Bioconductor, Conda).
• Package information and dependencies are stored in a GitHub-compatible format for reproducibility.

Main Results:

• CREDO facilitates the building and distribution of Docker images for bioinformatics applications.
• It streamlines the generation of Docker images, enhancing research reproducibility.
• The tool offers a user-friendly GUI and generates modular Docker images.

Conclusions:

• CREDO is a valuable tool for improving reproducibility in bioinformatics.
• It supports efficient Docker image creation for life scientists.
• The tool promotes open science practices and enhances the reliability of bioinformatics research.