eLabFTW is a free, open-source electronic lab notebook (ELN) for research teams to store, organize experiments, manage lab inventories, and schedule resources.

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🚀 Overview

eLabFTW is a web-based electronic laboratory notebook and inventory system that helps research labs digitize their workflows, from experiment logging to resource tracking and team collaboration. It provides a secure, self-hosted alternative to proprietary tools, ensuring data ownership and compliance with FAIR principles for findable, accessible, interoperable, and reproducible research.

The project solves critical issues in scientific research: disorganized physical notebooks or scattered digital notes, inefficient sharing of reagents and equipment, lack of audit trails, and risks of data lock-in with commercial services that may change policies or shut down. By offering timestamping, signing, powerful search, and export options, it enhances reproducibility and collaboration.

Built for researchers, postdocs, principal investigators, and lab administrators worldwide. Originally developed by Nicolas Carpi at Institut Curie because existing ELNs were cumbersome, expensive, or closed-source, it's now a community-driven project with contributions from institutions globally, prioritizing usability and open science.

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✨ Key Features

• Electronic lab notebook for creating, editing, and signing experiments/protocols with tags, categories, LaTeX support, file uploads, and advanced search (what it does: centralizes notes; why: improves traceability and reproducibility).
• Inventory database for reagents, plasmids, antibodies, cell lines, etc., with quantity tracking, links to experiments, and molecule editor (manages lab stocks efficiently).
• Scheduler/booking system for equipment and rooms with permission controls (enables resource sharing without conflicts).
• Optional: Public REST API, blockchain timestamping, multi-language support (21+ languages), todo lists, and upcoming ELN consortium .eln format interoperability.

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🛠 Tech Stack

• Frontend: TypeScript, JavaScript, SCSS, HTML
• Backend: PHP
• Database: MySQL
• Auth: Custom (advanced permissions and team groups)
• Hosting: Docker/Podman/Kubernetes on GNU/Linux servers

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👥 Who Is This For?

This project is useful for:

• Researchers who want to keep digital lab notebooks and collaborate securely.
• Teams looking for integrated inventory management and equipment booking.
• Indie labs or institutions building compliant, self-hosted research tools.

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📸 Screenshots / Demo

• Live demo: https://demo.elabftw.net
• GitHub: https://github.com/elabftw/elabftw

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🔥 Project Status

• 🟢 Actively building

Last updated: 2026-03-24

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❓ FAQ

Is this project free?

Yes / Open Source (100% free software under AGPLv3; no paywalls or premium features; optional paid hosting via Deltablot.)

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Is the source code available?

Yes — link to repository https://github.com/elabftw/elabftw

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Can I contribute?

Yes — report bugs/improvements via GitHub issues; submit PRs for code; help with translations; join bi-monthly community meetings or Gitter chat. See https://doc.elabftw.net/docs/contributing/intro.

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📬 Contact & Links

• Website: https://www.elabftw.net
• GitHub: https://github.com/elabftw/elabftw
• Twitter/X: https://x.com/eLabFTW
• Email: contact@deltablot.com

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