Test Data

Test data is essential for automated testing and continuous integration of nf-core components and pipelines. These specifications define standards for organizing, documenting, and managing test datasets to ensure reproducible testing across the nf-core ecosystem.

All test data used by nf-core components and pipelines is centrally stored in the nf-core/test-datasets repository. This centralized approach ensures test data remains accessible, properly licensed, and efficiently reused across multiple projects.

While these specifications are mandatory for test data contributed to nf-core repositories, they represent proven best practices for managing test data in any Nextflow workflow development project.

Test data specifications

The following specifications define standards for managing test data in nf-core:

• General: Guidelines for test data replication, file size limits, licensing requirements, and documentation standards to ensure test data is accessible and properly managed.
• Modules: Module-specific guidelines for reusing existing test data, handling large datasets with stub runs, proper organization structure in test-datasets repository, and naming conventions for test files.