Before you begin
If you have visited CellRepo and are unsure where to start, this page is for you. CellRepo is designed to fit into ongoing biological work, not change how you do research.
Most biological work involves gradual change.
Strains are modified.
Constructs evolve.
Protocols are adjusted.
People join and leave projects.
As this happens, important context can be lost.
CellRepo exists to help you record: - what an asset looks like at a given point in time, - how it changed, - and who contributed to those changes.
The goal is continuity and clarity over time.
How to approach CellRepo at the beginning
CellRepo is built around a small number of ideas that reflect how lab work already happens:
- Work is usually organised around a project
- Within a project, there are individual biological assays or experiments, addressed as repositories in here
- When a meaningful change happens, the updates can be recorded, which would be addressed as commits in here
In practice, this might mean:
- saving the current version of a strain after a modification,
- recording how a construct was changed,
- or capturing the point at which an experimental outcome became relevant.
CellRepo gives structure to these moments.
A realistic first use
A typical first interaction with CellRepo looks like this:
- You decide whether you are working on your own or within a lab or organisation
- You create a project to group related work
- You create a record for your work
- You save its current protocols or results
That is enough to get started.
You can build on this gradually as your work progresses.
Personal work and shared work
One of the first decisions you will encounter is whether your work is personal or shared with others.
This choice affects:
- who the work is associated with,
- and who can access it.
It doesn't change how biological information is recorded.
If you are unsure which option applies to you, that is expected. The Using CellRepo Solo or Team page explains this in more detail.
When something feels unfamiliar
Some of the terms used in CellRepo may be new, especially if you have not used structured digital tracking tools before.
Whenever a term is unclear, the CellRepo concepts > Key terms at a glance section explains it in plain language and in a biological context.
Getting help when you need it
If you are unsure about a concept, a setup choice, or how something works, you can always contact us at support@cellrepo.com.
What to read next
If you are ready to continue, the next step is to decide how your work should be set up: