eLabFTW
A free and open-source electronic lab notebook for researchers, by researchers.
Executive Summary
eLabFTW is an open-source Electronic Lab Notebook (ELN) and Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) designed to help researchers organize experiments, manage inventory, and promote FAIR data principles. It is used by academic, industrial, and research institutions globally, offering a highly customizable and secure platform for digital record-keeping. Its differentiation lies in being truly open-source, providing full control over data, and offering robust features for reproducibility and collaboration.
Use Cases
- Documenting and organizing experimental procedures and results.
- Managing laboratory inventory, samples, and reagents.
- Ensuring data reproducibility and integrity through timestamping and audit trails.
- Facilitating collaboration and data sharing within research teams.
- Booking and managing shared laboratory equipment.
- Promoting Open Science and FAIR data principles.
Features
Visibility
- Full-Text Search: Powerful search engine to quickly locate experiments, resources, and associated data.
- Tagging and Categorization: Flexible system for organizing and filtering entries, allowing for custom categories and tags.
- Audit Trail & Version History: Tracks all revisions and changes to entries, providing a comprehensive and unalterable history.
- Experiment Status Tracking: Color-coded statuses for experiments, allowing users to monitor progress and workflow.
Intelligence
- Experiment & Resource Templates: Pre-defined structures for common experiments and resource types to standardize documentation and save time.
- Interlinked Data: Ability to link experiments to specific resources and vice-versa, creating a seamless documentation flow.
- Molecule Editor: Integrated tool for drawing and managing chemical structures.
- Equipment Booking System: Scheduler to manage the sharing and booking of laboratory equipment and resources.
Support
- Extensive Documentation: Comprehensive user, admin, and technical guides available online.
- Active Community Support: Engaged community via chat rooms and GitHub for peer-to-peer assistance and discussions.
- Professional Support & Hosting: Optional paid support and hosting services provided by Deltablot for dedicated assistance and managed deployments.
Technical Specifications
- Architecture
- Web application running in Linux containers with a MySQL database.
- Deployment
- On-premise (Docker) or Cloud/SaaS (via Deltablot hosting).
- Authentication
- Login/password, LDAP, SAML2, Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA).
- API Available
- Yes
- MCP Server
- No
Infrastructure
- User-dependent for self-hosted
- DigitalOcean
- Vultr
Integrations
- Timestamping
- Digital Signatures
- API
- Export Formats
- Multi-team
Security & Compliance
Certifications: GMP Compliance
Encryption: TLSv1.2/1.3 for data in transit, passwords hashed using state-of-the-art algorithms. Encryption at rest is dependent on the server installation for self-hosted instances.
Pricing
- Model
- Open-source (free software), optional paid hosting and support services.
- Starting Price
- Free for self-hosted; Contact Deltablot for hosting and support pricing.
- Target Customer
- SMB to Enterprise (Academic, Research Institutions, Startups, Companies).
- Contract Type
- N/A for free software; Varies for paid services (Contact Deltablot).
- Free Trial
- Yes, N/A (online demo available) (credit card required)
About eLabFTW
eLabFTW is an open-source electronic laboratory notebook (ELN) manager for research teams, designed by researchers for researchers. It enables users to store and organize research experiments and related data, and features a database for managing laboratory resources. Deltablot, founded in 2019, provides hosting and support services for eLabFTW users globally.