eLabFTW
On this page you will learn about eLabFTW. This open-source solution is used to provide ELN@RWTH. eLabFTW is hosted as a software-as-a-service by the French company Deltablot.
Suitability
eLabFTW is a very flexible, domain-agnostic ELN. In the last few years, a large Germany-wide community has established itself around this ELN and it is known to have a sound support infrastructure and a transparent, open-source development philosophy.
That being said, for certain domains, there may be more fitting options.
If you are unsure whether eLabFTW is right for your research, you can visit the following resources:
You can also request a consultation session via the IT-ServiceDesk.
Scope
First and foremost, eLabFTW serves to document research. This includes experimental planning, carrying out the experiments, the steps involved in processing and analyzing results, but also the devices and tools used by your lab.
In addition to basic documentation, eLabFTW allows you to easily link items within the ELN, copy entries, attach data and share your work with others in your lab, or even beyond.
It is not a software to process and analyze your experimental data. This is simply not the aim of this specific ELN. While new features are added often and the platform may evolve in the future, it is important to keep this in mind.
What it does offer are methods of interfacing with other tools using its REST API. This allows you to automate workflows to and from the ELN.
