Dockstore 1.16 new features include AI-based automatic topic sentence generation, automatic DOI generation and discovery, and improved search results
Dockstore is a free and open-source registry for sharing analytical tools and workflows in bioinformatics and adjacent fields of study. Over 4,400 workflows are currently being shared on the platform. Examples include workflows to analyze viral DNA and generate summary statistics, a workflow to compare a given COVID sample to public databases, and a workflow that uses the latest T2T reference genomes to study a human DNA sample, among many, many others.
Currently, Dockstore supports analytic workflows written in Workflow Definition Language (WDL), Common Workflow Language (CWL), Galaxy, and Nextflow. It also supports the sharing of Jupyter Notebooks.
In November 2024, Dockstore released version 1.16 which added several significant new features:
- AI based automatic topic sentence generation.
- Automatic Digital Object Identifier (DOI) generation and discovery of existing DOIs.
- Improved search results.
AI Based Automatic Topic Sentence Generation
As a first step into seeing how Dockstore can help tool developers generate documentation, Dockstore now supports AI-generated topic sentences when the developer has not supplied one. Topic sentences are intended to be short descriptions of the workflow to help the user quickly narrow down the results of the search.
Recognizing that AIs don’t always get things right, these topic sentences will be tagged with an AI badge 
AI topic sentences are a pilot feature. It is our hope that as our experience with AI tools grows, we will eventually be able to implement AI to assist workflow developers in generating additional documentation as well.
For more information about our AI generated topic sentences, please see this FAQ entry.
Automatic DOI Generation and Discovery
When a developer publishes a workflow, they now have the option to automatically generate a DOI for that workflow or workflow version. With the release of 1.16, this is an opt-in feature. If all goes well, we expect to make automatic DOI generation the default with 1.17 and include the ability to opt out.
Additionally, if the workflow already has a DOI that was generated by GitHub or Zenodo, Dockstore will discover that DOI and add it to the list of DOIs displayed for the workflow.
For more information about our Automatic DOI Generation and Discovery, please see this page in our documentation.
Improved Search Results
We’ve adjusted the format of the search results to make them more readable, and we’ve added the ability to search for a phrase by enclosing the phrase in double quotes, without requiring users to perform an “Advanced Search.”
If you are a current Dockstore user, we hope that you will find all of these new updates helpful. If you haven’t tried Dockstore yet, now is the perfect time to check out how it can help you save time in your research! We are here to make your job easier. For assistance, or to leave comments or suggestions, please check out our Dockstore forum. Follow us on Bluesky and Mastodon for more updates!
