How to add new tools
Guiding principles
Section titled “Guiding principles”To decide if a tool should be packaged in a Neurocontainer or installed in the Neurodesktop container, we are currently following these guiding principles:
1) Neurodesk is a platform, not a package manager: We don’t distribute tools that can be easily installed via standard package managers.
2) Multiple versions of tools: Neurodesk supports the use of multiple versions of a tool in parallel via Lmod. If a tool doesn’t support this, follow this instruction to package it in Neurocontainers.
3) Inter-container tool linking: Neurodesk is designed to facilitate the linking of tools from different containers, such as workflow managers like nipype or nextflow. Therefore, if a tool is needed to coordinate various container-tools, create an issue to have it installed directly in the Neurodesktop container.
Examples:
| Tool | Easy install | Coordinates containers | Small in size | Latest version is OK | Useful to most users | Conclusion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| git | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | neurodesktop |
| lmod | no | yes | yes | yes | yes | neurodesktop |
| itksnap | yes | no | yes | yes | yes | neurocontainer |
| convert3D | yes | no | yes | no | no | neurocontainer |
| fsl | no | no | no | no | no | neurocontainer |
Adding new tools to Neurocontainers
Section titled “Adding new tools to Neurocontainers”We have launched our new container build system. Some documentation can already be found here: https://github.com/neurodesk/neurocontainers/tree/main/builder.
We have also released a web browser UI to create your own Neurocontainer: https://neurodesk.org/neurocontainers-ui/.
We are currently building the detailed documentation for this, but documentation is also embedded in the UI.
Once your tool is in Neurocontainers, see Update a tool for how to publish new versions of it.
Add a Neurodesk badge to your project
Section titled “Add a Neurodesk badge to your project”Once your tool is listed on the applications page, you can show its newest Neurodesk container version in your README. Replace bidscoin with the name of your tool as it appears in the application list:
[](https://neurodesk.org/overview/applications/)The badge shows the newest version listed on the applications page, so a new container release appears on the badge the next time the Neurodesk website is published.
Need help?
Section titled “Need help?”If you have questions or would like feedback before submitting:
- Open a discussion
We appreciate your contribution to the Neurodesk community and reproducible science.