WorkflowHub: A registry for computational workflows
Carole Goble (University of Manchester), Johan Gustafsson (Australian BioCommons, University of Melbourne)
July 16, 2025
11am-11.30 PST / 2pm-2.30 EST / 20:00-20:30 CEST
The rising popularity of computational workflows is driven by the need for
repetitive and scalable data processing, sharing of processing know-how, and
transparent methods. As both combined records of analysis and descriptions of
processing steps, workflows should be reproducible, reusable, adaptable, and
available. Workflow sharing presents opportunities to reduce unnecessary
reinvention, promote reuse, increase access to best practice analyses for
non-experts, and increase productivity. In reality, workflows are scattered
and difficult to find, in part due to the diversity of available workflow
engines and ecosystems, and because workflow sharing is not yet part of
research practice.
WorkflowHub provides a unified registry for all computational workflows that
links to community repositories, and supports both the workflow lifecycle and
making workflows findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable (FAIR).
By interoperating with diverse platforms, services, and external registries,
WorkflowHub adds value by supporting workflow sharing, explicitly assigning
credit, enhancing FAIRness, and promoting workflows as scholarly artefacts.
The registry has a global reach, with hundreds of research organisations
involved, and more than 1,200 workflows registered.
About the Authors
Carole Goble
Professor of Computer Science
Carole Goble is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Manchester, where she leads the eScience group. She is the joint head of ELIXIR-UK, the national node of the European Research Infrastructure for life science data, and the co-director of Federated Analytics for Health Data Research UK. She is also co-lead of the FAIR Computational Workflows working group in the Workflows Community Initiative.
Johan Gustafsson
Research Community Engagement Lead
Johan Gustafsson is the Research Community Engagement Lead (Proteins / Metabolites / Workflows) at the Australian BioCommons, University of Melbourne. The BioCommons is a national digital infrastructure initiative supporting Australian life sciences research.
