Biodepot Launcher: an app to install, manage and launch bioinformatics workflows

Area of Science:

• Bioinformatics
• Computational Biology
• Software Engineering

Background:

• Bioinformatics workflows are essential for biological data analysis.
• Managing and deploying these workflows often requires complex command-line operations.
• Existing tools may lack user-friendly interfaces for broader accessibility.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce the Biodepot Launcher, a desktop application for managing bioinformatics workflows.
• To provide an intuitive graphical user interface (GUI) for the Biodepot-workflow-builder (Bwb).
• To enable easy installation, management, and deployment of containerized bioinformatics workflows.

Main Methods:

• Development of a desktop application using React and Javascript.
• Integration with the node.js framework Neutralinojs for cross-platform compatibility.
• Utilization of web browser routines for application execution on Linux, Windows, and Mac.

Main Results:

• The Biodepot Launcher offers a double-click icon-based start-up, replacing terminal commands.
• It provides an end-to-end graphical interface for workflow management.
• The application supports launching containerized workflows on local machines and cloud instances.

Conclusions:

• Biodepot Launcher significantly enhances the usability of bioinformatics workflow management.
• The application democratizes access to complex bioinformatics tools through an intuitive GUI.
• It facilitates efficient deployment of containerized workflows across diverse computing environments.