BioArchLinux: community-driven fresh reproducible software repository for life sciences
Guoyi Zhang, Pekka Ristola, Han Su, Bipin Kumar, Boyu Zhang, Yujin Hu, Michael G Elliot, Viktor Drobot, Jie Zhu, Jens Staal, Martin Larralde, Shun Wang, Yun Yi, Haoran YuAbstract
Motivation
The BioArchLinux project was initiated to address challenges in bioinformatics software reproducibility and freshness. Relying on Arch Linux's user-driven ecosystem, we aim to create a comprehensive and continuously updated repository for life sciences research.
Results
BioArchLinux provides a PKGBUILD-based system for seamless software packaging and maintenance, enabling users to access the latest bioinformatics tools across multiple programming languages. The repository includes Docker images, Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) support, and Junest for non-root environments, enhancing accessibility across platforms. Although being developed and maintained by a small core team, BioArchLinux is a fast-growing bioinformatics repository that offers a participatory and community-driven environment.
Availability
The repository, documentation, and tools are freely available at https://bioarchlinux.org and https://github.com/BioArchLinux. Users and developers are encouraged to contribute and expand this open-source initiative.