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Installation & Configuration

System Requirements​

The currently suggested minimum configuration is as follows:

  • An OS that supports Docker
    • Docker Engine and Docker Compose, both of which can be installed along with GUI using the Docker Desktop suite.
    • The Docker Daemon may be configured to run as a non-root user (Rootless mode). Please see the distribution-specific setup instructions for details.
    • Some users have reported success using Podman. However, we currently do not test compatibility with Podman because of resource limitations.
  • 4 CPUs (x64 instruction set)
  • 8 GB memory
  • 300 GB disk space for OS (Linux preferred), docker and Chemotion ELN
  • 100 GB or more disk space for each attached device depending on the attached device(s).
  • Browser: For the use of the Chemotion ELN (and Repository), Chrome is recommended. Other browsers such as Firefox or Edge only allow limited functionalities in some areas of the application (e.g. collection management and ChemSpectra).
Recommendation

Please use Chrome as browser for the Chemotion ELN and Repository.

Ways to Install​

Installing the ELN makes it available on port 4000 (default location is 0.0.0.0:4000) of the computer on which it is installed. To make it accessible on a domain name, e.g. https://myeln.edu or over a network requires you to setup proxy. Detailed instructions for this are system/network dependent (and beyond the scope of this documentation). However, some hints are provided here.

Single User Installation

The ELN is designed to be used by multiple users. This means that it is usually installed on a server computer that is then served on a domain name (see FQDN for more) across a lab/department/institution/university. While it possible to use the ELN as a single user on private computer, this is not encouraged given the limitations that may arise in relation to device integration, deploying email service, and data sharing etc.

If you still wish to install Chemotion ELN on your private computer (especially for testing etc.), we highly recommend the use of ChemCLI to do so. If you do not provide a web-address during installation then the ELN should start running at http://localhost:4000 when you use the tool.

After Installation​

Please follow the configuration steps (see here and here to personalize your installation and then perform a system check to make sure that all features are working as intended.

When to upgrade?

The team behind Chemotion ELN is working hard to introduce new features, bug fixes and security patches. We therefore recommend that you upgrade your ELN instance (at least) once every three months. To make it easy for you, most upgrade involve creating a backup (for data safety reasons), replacing a file, stopping the old ELN and starting the new one. This process is further automated if you use ChemCLI.

Chemotion versions released before April 2022​

i.e. versions before ELN v1.1.2

While we strive to support all instances of Chemotion, the documentation only deals actively with fresh installations and upgrades for ELN versions released in past 12 months. For anything before that, and particularly for installations that run natively (i.e. without docker), please get in touch with the helpdesk for more personalized support.