What is a scenario?
A scenario is a visual workflow that lets you chain data-processing steps together to explore hypotheses, validate results, or run production pipelines. Each scenario is built by connecting processes (tasks and protocols) through typed ports, feeding data from one step to the next.
Scenarios are at the heart of the Constellab data lab. They support a wide range of activities — from bioinformatics protocol development and simulations to sophisticated analyses using machine learning or AI algorithms. We recommend reviewing the page about the virtual laboratory ecosystem as a prerequisite to better understand the content here.
Key concepts
Before diving into scenarios, here are the core building blocks you will encounter:
- Process — the basic execution unit inside a scenario. A process runs a specific task (e.g. data cleaning, statistical analysis, file conversion). Each process has typed input and output ports that define what data it consumes and produces.
- Protocol — a container that groups several processes into a reusable sub-workflow. Protocols can be nested, letting you organize complex pipelines into logical blocks.
- Port — a typed connection point on a process. Input ports receive resources, and output ports emit resources. Ports enforce type compatibility so only valid connections can be made.
- Connection — a link between an output port of one process and an input port of another. Connections define the data flow through the scenario.
- Resource — any piece of data (table, file, dataset, etc.) that flows through the scenario. Resources are created by uploading files, generated by processes, or imported from other labs.
- Community agent — a pre-built, shareable process available from the Constellab Community. Agents can be added to a scenario, configured, and even edited to fit your needs.
- Viewer — a special process type that visualizes data. Viewers let you inspect intermediate or final results directly inside the scenario.
- Scenario template — a saved workflow blueprint that can be reused to create new scenarios with a predefined structure of processes and connections.
Scenario types
Scenarios are categorized by how they were created:
- Manual — created by a user from scratch or from a template. This is the most common type.
- Auto — automatically generated by the system (e.g. as part of an import or a resource transformation).
- Imported — received from another data lab. Imported scenarios can be updated from the source lab and may show external execution statuses.
What's in this section?
This section covers everything you need to know about working with scenarios:
- Creating and configuring a scenario — how to create a scenario, add processes, connect ports, add resources, and configure tasks.
- Running and managing a scenario — how to run, stop, reset, clone, archive, and describe scenarios, including the scenario lifecycle and execution queue.
- Scenario collaboration — how to link notes, synchronize with space, validate scenarios, and share them between data labs.
- Process customization — how to change process styles (icon, color) and configure dynamic ports.
- Community agents — how to share, download, import, and edit Community agents.
- Scenario FAQ — common questions and troubleshooting tips.
