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bioRxiv · 10.1101/2022.07.08.499265

Workflow sharing with automated metadata validation and test execution to improve the reusability of published workflows

Suetake, H.·Fukusato, T.·Igarashi, T.·Ohta, T.
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Abstract

BackgroundMany open-source workflow systems have made bioinformatics data analysis procedures portable. Sharing these workflows provides researchers easy access to high-quality analysis methods without the requirement of computational expertise. However, published workflows are not always guaranteed to be reliably reusable. Therefore, a system is needed to lower the cost of sharing workflows in a reusable form. ResultsWe introduce Yevis, a system to build a workflow registry that automatically validates and tests workflows to be published. The validation and test are based on the requirements we defined for a workflow being reusable with confidence. Yevis runs on GitHub and Zenodo and allows workflow hosting without the need of dedicated computing resources. A Yevis registry accepts workflow registration via a GitHub pull request, followed by an automatic validation and test process for the submitted workflow. As a proof of concept, we built a registry using Yevis to host workflows from a community to demonstrate how a workflow can be shared while fulfilling the defined requirements. ConclusionsYevis helps in the building of a workflow registry to share reusable workflows without requiring extensive human resources. By following Yeviss workflow-sharing procedure, one can operate a registry while satisfying the reusable work-flow criteria. This system is particularly useful to individuals or communities that want to share workflows but lacks the specific technical expertise to build and maintain a workflow registry from scratch.

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Suetake, H., Fukusato, T., Igarashi, T., Ohta, T.. 2022-07-10. Workflow sharing with automated metadata validation and test execution to improve the reusability of published workflows. https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.07.08.499265

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