Data Explorer now embeds IGV and Mol* in the browser, removing a persistent source of wasted time and cloud spend across genomics and structural biology workflows.
When a Nextflow pipeline finishes, scientists typically wants to spot-check an alignment, inspect a protein structure, or verify a variant call. What follows is downloading a multi-gigabyte file to a local machine, launching a separate tool, configuring paths, and waiting. The biology takes seconds. The overhead takes twenty minutes and generates a cloud egress bill in the process. Across a team running multiple Nextflow pipelines across both genomics and structural biology, this overhead compounds. Seqera's Data Explorer feature now eliminates it for both.
Two Viewers, One Platform
Data Explorer now embeds two best-in-class open-source viewers directly in the browser, each purpose-built for its data type:
| IGV – Integrative Genomics Viewer | Mol* – Molecular Structure Viewer |
|---|---|
| In-browser visualization of sequence and alignment data stored in cloud storage. | High-performance 3D visualization of protein structures and molecular data. |
| BAMs, CRAMs, VCFs, BEDs, and more | PDB, mmCIF, SDF, and more |
| Coverage tracks, variant calls, alignments | Protein structures, cryo-EM maps, MD trajectories |
| Instant QC and triage after pipeline runs | Instant review of structural pipeline outputs |
Both are view-only, which reflects the intended use: navigate to a file, open it, decide what to do next. No downloads, no local setup, no egress costs incurred.
Why This Matters at Scale
Downloading BAMs, CRAMs, and large structural files from cloud storage generates real egress costs. Viewing files in-browser eliminates that spend entirely.
Where It Fits Across Your Workflows
IGV – Genomics
- →Post-pipeline QC spot-checks: verify alignment quality or coverage without leaving Seqera.
- →Variant triage: assess flagged samples before committing compute resources to reanalysis.
- →Collaborative review: share results with colleagues who need to browse files, not edit them.
Mol* – Structural biology
- →Structure validation: inspect AlphaFold predictions, docking outputs, or cryo-EM reconstructions the moment a pipeline completes
- →Drug discovery review: share candidate structures with medicinal chemists or leadership without requiring specialist software on their machines
- →MD trajectory inspection: browse molecular dynamics outputs directly in the browser before committing to downstream analysis
Studios: When You Need the Full Experience
The embedded viewers cover read-only inspection. For custom sessions, annotation tracks, read/write access, or complex analysis workflows, Studios runs a full interactive IGV or Mol* environment in the cloud, backed by the same pipeline data using Fusion. This allows you to perform interactive analysis adjacent to your pipelines, all in a single platform.
| QUICK INSPECTION - Data Explorer | FULL ANALYSIS - Studios |
|---|---|
| In-browser, view-only | Complete IGV and Mol* experience |
| Zero setup, instant access | Read and write access |
| No egress cost | Custom sessions, annotations, and overlays |
| Ideal for QC, triage, and review | Ideal for in-depth, collaborative investigation |
Data Explorer's embedded viewers handle the quick look. When a finding needs deeper investigation, Studios is already there, backed by the same data, with the full capabilities of a dedicated interactive environment.
The Bottom Line
Whether your pipelines produce genomic alignments or protein structures, your team can now inspect results in seconds, in the browser, without generating an egress bill. For teams running both genomics and structural biology workloads, that's a return on every pipeline run.