Workflow Profile

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title: Workflow RO-Crate profile 1.0 -- EXPERIMENTAL RO-Crate Schema Profile

NOTE: This document is an attempt by Peter (PT) Sefton to see if this profile can be expressed in Schema.org Style Schema terms using RO-Crate Schema (AKA SoSS+) ![Workflow RO-Crate]({{ '/assets/img/ro-crate-workflow.svg' | relative_url }}){: height="300px" width="300px"}

Authors:
- Finn Bacall https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0048-3300
- Alan R Williams https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3156-2105
- Stuart Owen https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2130-0865
- Stian Soiland-Reyes https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9842-9718
Title: Workflow RO-Crate profile 1.0
Publisher: WorkflowHub community
Permalink: https://w3id.org/workflowhub/workflow-ro-crate/1.0 (this version)
https://w3id.org/workflowhub/workflow-ro-crate/ (latest version)
Version: 1.0.3
Profile Crate ro-crate-metadata.json
- Profile Crate preview
Example RO-Crate ro-crate-metadata.json
- Example RO-Crate profile preview

Please leave any suggestions and comments here: https://github.com/seek4science/seek/issues/183

Workflow RO-Crates are a specialization of RO-Crate for packaging an executable workflow with all necessary documentation. It extends the more general Bioschemas ComputationalWorkflow profile.

WorkflowHub uses Workflow RO-Crates as an exchange format for users to upload a packaged workflow.

Extension profiles

Several extensions of Workflow RO-Crate exists:

Workflow Testing RO-Crate defines test infrastructure recognized by LifeMonitor
The Workflow Run Crate profiles extends Workflow RO-Crate to describe workflow run provenance, documenting execution of a workflow.
Five Safes RO-Crate refers to Workflow RO-Crate for the purpose of workflow execution in a distributed trusted research environment (TRE)

Concepts

This section uses terminology from the RO-Crate 1.1 specification.

Context

The Crate JSON-LD MUST be valid according to RO-Crate 1.1 and SHOULD use the RO-Crate 1.1 @context https://w3id.org/ro/crate/1.1/context

8 classes · 17 properties

Classes

Examples Directory #class_Dataset_Examples_Directory
Main Workflow #Class_MainWorkflow
Main Workflow Description #Class_MainWorkflow_Description
Main Workflow Diagram #Class_ImageObject_Diagram
README File #class_CreativeWork_README
RO-Crate Metadadata Descriptor #RO-Crate_Metadata_Descriptor
Root Data Entity #Root_Data_Entity
Test Directory #class_Dataset_Test_Directory

Properties

@id #RO-Crate_Metadata_Descriptor.id
@id #property_CreativeWork_README.id
@id #property_Dataset_Test_Directory.id
@id #property_Dataset_Examples_Directory.id
about #RO-Crate_Metadata_Descriptor.about
about #property_CreativeWork_README.about
conformsTo #prop_conformsTo_Root_Data_Entity
datePublished — MUST be a string in ISO 8601 date format and SHOULD be specified to at least the precision of a day, MAY be a timestamp down to the millisecond #prop_datePublised_Dataset
description — (In addition to the name) SHOULD further elaborate on the name to provide a summary of the context in which the dataset is important #prop_description_Dataset
encodingFormat #property_CreativeWork_README.encodingFormat
image #Property_MainWorkflow_image
license — TODO: Deal with the supplied list of licenses (string values) SHOULD link to a Contextual Entity in the RO-Crate Metadata File with a name and description #prop_license_Dataset
mainEntity #Property_mainEntity_Workflow
name — SHOULD identify the dataset to humans well enough to disambiguate it from other RO-Crates
programmingLanguage #Property_programmingLanguage_Workflow
programmingLanguage #Property_programmingLanguage_WorkflowDescription
subjectOf #Property_MainWorkflow_subjectOf

Types of entities (specializations of Classes) and expected Properties

Class: RO-Crate Metadadata Descriptor #RO-Crate_Metadata_Descriptor

At least 1 instances of this type MUST be present in the crate.

A maximum of 1 instances of this type MAY be present in the crate.

Min Count	Max Count
1	1

Property	Required	Description	Range	Value
@type	Yes			http://schema.org/CreativeWork
@id #RO-Crate_Metadata_Descriptor.id	Yes	The RO-Crate Metadata		ro-crate-metadata.json
about ⓘ #RO-Crate_Metadata_Descriptor.about	Yes	This property on the RO-Crate Metadata Descriptor references the Root Data Entity.	Root Data Entity

Examples of Type

Examples

Example-1: https://w3id.org/workflowhub/workflow-ro-crate/1.0

Class: Root Data Entity #Root_Data_Entity

The Root Data Entity for an RO-Crate. This is the main entity of the RO-Crate and is the one that is referenced by the RO-Crate Metadata Descriptor.

At least 1 instances of this type MUST be present in the crate.

A maximum of 1 instances of this type MAY be present in the crate.

Min Count	Max Count
1	1

Property	Required	Description	Range	Value
@type	Yes			http://schema.org/Dataset
conformsTo #prop_conformsTo_Root_Data_Entity	Yes	The RO-Crate conforms to this profile. This is a link to to the profile entity	Profile Item List
datePublished ⓘ #prop_datePublised_Dataset	Yes	MUST be a string in ISO 8601 date format and SHOULD be specified to at least the precision of a day, MAY be a timestamp down to the millisecond.	schema:Date
description ⓘ #prop_description_Dataset	Yes	(In addition to the name) SHOULD further elaborate on the name to provide a summary of the context in which the dataset is important.	Text
license ⓘ #prop_license_Dataset	Yes	TODO: Deal with the supplied list of licenses (string values) SHOULD link to a Contextual Entity in the RO-Crate Metadata File with a name and description. MAY have a URI (eg for Creative Commons or Open Source licenses). MAY if necessary be a textual description of how the RO-Crate may be used	#class_CreativeWork, schema:URL, schema:Text
mainEntity ⓘ #Property_mainEntity_Workflow	Yes	Links the Root Data Entity to the Main Workflow. The RO-Crate MUST contain exactly one Main Workflow.	Main Workflow
name ⓘ	Yes	SHOULD identify the dataset to humans well enough to disambiguate it from other RO-Crates	Text

Examples of Type

Examples

Example-1: ./

Class: Main Workflow #Class_MainWorkflow

The Main Workflow is the primary workflow of the RO-Crate. It represents the computational process that is described by the RO-Crate.

At least 1 instances of this type MUST be present in the crate.

Min Count	Max Count
1	N/A

Property	Required	Description	Range	Value
@type	Yes			http://schema.org/MediaObject, http://schema.org/SoftwareSourceCode, https://bioschemas.org/ComputationalWorkflow
programmingLanguage ⓘ #Property_programmingLanguage_Workflow	Yes	The programming language used to implement the Main Workflow. This is a string that should be a valid programming language name.	Programming Languages
image ⓘ #Property_MainWorkflow_image	No	If Main Workflow Diagram is present, the Main Workflow MUST refer to it via `image`.	Main Workflow Diagram
subjectOf ⓘ #Property_MainWorkflow_subjectOf	No	Main Workflow to a workflow description. The RO-Crate MUST contain exactly one Main Workflow Description.	Main Workflow Description

Examples of Type

Examples

Example-1: example_workflow.cwl

Class: Main Workflow Description #Class_MainWorkflow_Description

The Crate COULD contain a data entity of type [File, SoftwareSourceCode, HowTo] as the Main Workflow CWL Description.

Instances of this type MAY be present in the crate.

A maximum of 1 instances of this type MAY be present in the crate.

Min Count	Max Count
N/A	1

Property	Required	Description	Range	Value
@type	Yes			http://schema.org/MediaObject, http://schema.org/SoftwareSourceCode, http://schema.org/HowTo
programmingLanguage ⓘ #Property_programmingLanguage_WorkflowDescription	Yes	The programming language used to implement the Main Workflow. This is a string that should be a valid programming language name.	Common Workflow Language

Class: README File #class_CreativeWork_README

Instances of this type SHOULD be present in the crate.

A maximum of 1 instances of this type MAY be present in the crate.

Min Count	Max Count
0	1

Property	Required	Description	Range	Value
@type	Yes			http://schema.org/CreativeWork, http://schema.org/MediaObject
@id #property_CreativeWork_README.id	Yes	README file must have @id of `README.md`.		README.md
about ⓘ #property_CreativeWork_README.about	Yes	The README.md file SHOULD have an about property referencing the Root Data Entity.	Root Data Entity
encodingFormat ⓘ #property_CreativeWork_README.encodingFormat	Yes	Readme file must have an encodingFormat of `text/markdown`.		text/markdown

Class: Test Directory #class_Dataset_Test_Directory

Instances of this type SHOULD be present in the crate.

A maximum of 1 instances of this type MAY be present in the crate.

Min Count	Max Count
0	1

Property	Required	Description	Range	Value
@type	Yes			http://schema.org/Dataset
@id #property_Dataset_Test_Directory.id	Yes	The RO-Crate Metadata		test/

Examples of Type

Examples

Example-1: ./

Class: Examples Directory #class_Dataset_Examples_Directory

Instances of this type SHOULD be present in the crate.

A maximum of 1 instances of this type MAY be present in the crate.

Min Count	Max Count
0	1

Property	Required	Description	Range	Value
@type	Yes			http://schema.org/Dataset
@id #property_Dataset_Examples_Directory.id	Yes	The RO-Crate Metadata		examples/

Examples of Type

Examples

Example-1: ./

Class: Main Workflow Diagram #Class_ImageObject_Diagram

Instances of this type MAY be present in the crate.

Min Count	Max Count
N/A	N/A

Property	Required	Description	Range	Value
@type	Yes			http://schema.org/ImageObject, http://schema.org/MediaObject
No properties defined for this class

Examples of Type

Examples

Example-1: diagram.svg

All Properties

Property: @id #RO-Crate_Metadata_Descriptor.id

Description	Range	Occurs in Domain(s)
The RO-Crate Metadata		RO-Crate Metadadata Descriptor

Property: @id #property_CreativeWork_README.id

Description	Range	Occurs in Domain(s)
README file must have @id of `README.md`.		README File

Property: @id #property_Dataset_Test_Directory.id

Description	Range	Occurs in Domain(s)
The RO-Crate Metadata		Test Directory

Property: @id #property_Dataset_Examples_Directory.id

Description	Range	Occurs in Domain(s)
The RO-Crate Metadata		Examples Directory

Property: about ⓘ #RO-Crate_Metadata_Descriptor.about

Description	Range	Occurs in Domain(s)
This property on the RO-Crate Metadata Descriptor references the Root Data Entity.	Root Data Entity	RO-Crate Metadadata Descriptor

Property: about ⓘ #property_CreativeWork_README.about

Description	Range	Occurs in Domain(s)
The README.md file SHOULD have an about property referencing the Root Data Entity.	Root Data Entity	README File

Property: conformsTo #prop_conformsTo_Root_Data_Entity

Description	Range	Occurs in Domain(s)
The RO-Crate conforms to this profile. This is a link to to the profile entity	Profile Item List	Root Data Entity

Property: datePublished ⓘ #prop_datePublised_Dataset

Description	Range	Occurs in Domain(s)
MUST be a string in ISO 8601 date format and SHOULD be specified to at least the precision of a day, MAY be a timestamp down to the millisecond.	schema:Date	Root Data Entity

Property: description ⓘ #prop_description_Dataset

Description	Range	Occurs in Domain(s)
(In addition to the name) SHOULD further elaborate on the name to provide a summary of the context in which the dataset is important.	Text	Root Data Entity

Property: encodingFormat ⓘ #property_CreativeWork_README.encodingFormat

Description	Range	Occurs in Domain(s)
Readme file must have an encodingFormat of `text/markdown`.		README File

Property: image ⓘ #Property_MainWorkflow_image

Description	Range	Occurs in Domain(s)
If Main Workflow Diagram is present, the Main Workflow MUST refer to it via `image`.	Main Workflow Diagram	Main Workflow

Property: license ⓘ #prop_license_Dataset

Description	Range	Occurs in Domain(s)
TODO: Deal with the supplied list of licenses (string values) SHOULD link to a Contextual Entity in the RO-Crate Metadata File with a name and description. MAY have a URI (eg for Creative Commons or Open Source licenses). MAY if necessary be a textual description of how the RO-Crate may be used	#class_CreativeWork, schema:URL, schema:Text	Root Data Entity

Property: mainEntity ⓘ #Property_mainEntity_Workflow

Description	Range	Occurs in Domain(s)
Links the Root Data Entity to the Main Workflow. The RO-Crate MUST contain exactly one Main Workflow.	Main Workflow	Root Data Entity

Property: name ⓘ

Description	Range	Occurs in Domain(s)
SHOULD identify the dataset to humans well enough to disambiguate it from other RO-Crates	Text	Root Data Entity

Property: programmingLanguage ⓘ #Property_programmingLanguage_Workflow

Description	Range	Occurs in Domain(s)
The programming language used to implement the Main Workflow. This is a string that should be a valid programming language name.	Programming Languages	Main Workflow

Property: programmingLanguage ⓘ #Property_programmingLanguage_WorkflowDescription

Description	Range	Occurs in Domain(s)
The programming language used to implement the Main Workflow. This is a string that should be a valid programming language name.	Common Workflow Language	Main Workflow Description

Property: subjectOf ⓘ #Property_MainWorkflow_subjectOf

Description	Range	Occurs in Domain(s)
Main Workflow to a workflow description. The RO-Crate MUST contain exactly one Main Workflow Description.	Main Workflow Description	Main Workflow

Item Lists

Item List: Profile Item List

A list of valid profile values for this RO-Crate Profile

Workflow RO-Crate Profile (experimental)

{ "@id": "https://w3id.org/workflowhub/workflow-ro-crate/1.0", "@type": [ "CreativeWork", "Profile" ], "name": "Workflow RO-Crate Profile (experimental)", "version": "0.4.0", "description": "This is a profile for RO-Crates that are used to describe workflows -- NOTE have moved the conformsTo to the ROOT Data Entity as per RO-Crate 1.2" }

ID: https://w3id.org/workflowhub/workflow-ro-crate/1.0

Item List: Programming Languages

A list of programming languages that can be used to implement the Main Workflow

Common Workflow Language
Galaxy
KNIME
Nextflow
Snakemake

{ "@id": "https://w3id.org/workflowhub/workflow-ro-crate#cwl", "@type": "ComputerLanguage", "name": "Common Workflow Language", "alternateName": "CWL", "identifier": { "@id": "https://w3id.org/cwl/v1.2/" }, "url": { "@id": "https://www.commonwl.org/" } }

ID: https://w3id.org/workflowhub/workflow-ro-crate#cwl

{ "@id": "https://w3id.org/workflowhub/workflow-ro-crate#galaxy", "@type": "ComputerLanguage", "name": "Galaxy", "identifier": { "@id": "https://galaxyproject.org/" }, "url": { "@id": "https://galaxyproject.org/" } }

ID: https://w3id.org/workflowhub/workflow-ro-crate#galaxy

{ "@id": "https://w3id.org/workflowhub/workflow-ro-crate#knime", "@type": "ComputerLanguage", "name": "KNIME", "identifier": { "@id": "https://www.knime.com/" }, "url": { "@id": "https://www.knime.com/" } }

ID: https://w3id.org/workflowhub/workflow-ro-crate#knime

{ "@id": "https://w3id.org/workflowhub/workflow-ro-crate#nextflow", "@type": "ComputerLanguage", "name": "Nextflow", "identifier": { "@id": "https://www.nextflow.io/" }, "url": { "@id": "https://www.nextflow.io/" } }

ID: https://w3id.org/workflowhub/workflow-ro-crate#nextflow

{ "@id": "https://w3id.org/workflowhub/workflow-ro-crate#snakemake", "@type": "ComputerLanguage", "name": "Snakemake", "identifier": { "@id": "https://doi.org/10.1093/bioinformatics/bts480" }, "url": { "@id": "https://snakemake.readthedocs.io" } }

ID: https://w3id.org/workflowhub/workflow-ro-crate#snakemake

Item List: Common Workflow Language

A list containing only the Common Workflow Language (CWL) as a programming language for the WWorkflow Description.

Common Workflow Language

ID: https://w3id.org/workflowhub/workflow-ro-crate#cwl

Example-1: Example: Workflow

Artifact: An example workflow RO-Crate

 {
  "@id": "#WorkflowExample",
  "@type": "LearningResource",
  "name": "An example workflow RO-Crate",
  "mainEntity": {
    "@id": "./"
  },
  "hasPart": [
    {
      "@id": "./"
    },
    {
      "@id": "https://w3id.org/workflowhub/workflow-ro-crate/1.0"
    },
    {
      "@id": "example_workflow.cwl"
    },
    {
      "@id": "diagram.svg"
    },
    {
      "@id": "README.md"
    }
  ]
}

Example-1: ./

 {
  "@id": "./",
  "@type": "Dataset",
  "name": "Example Workflow",
  "conformsTo": {
    "@id": "https://w3id.org/workflowhub/workflow-ro-crate/1.0"
  },
  "description": "An example workflow RO-Crate",
  "license": "Apache-2.0",
  "datePublished": "2025-10-15",
  "mainEntity": {
    "@id": "example_workflow.cwl"
  },
  "hasPart": [
    {
      "@id": "example_workflow.cwl"
    },
    {
      "@id": "diagram.svg"
    },
    {
      "@id": "README.md"
    },
    {
      "@id": "profile-documentation.md"
    }
  ]
}

Example-1: https://w3id.org/workflowhub/workflow-ro-crate/1.0

 {
  "@id": "https://w3id.org/workflowhub/workflow-ro-crate/1.0",
  "@type": [
    "CreativeWork",
    "Profile"
  ],
  "name": "Workflow RO-Crate Profile (experimental)",
  "version": "0.4.0",
  "description": "This is a profile for RO-Crates that are used to describe workflows -- NOTE have moved the conformsTo to the ROOT Data Entity  as per RO-Crate 1.2"
}

Example-1: example_workflow.cwl

 {
  "@id": "example_workflow.cwl",
  "@type": [
    "File",
    "SoftwareSourceCode",
    "ComputationalWorkflow"
  ],
  "programmingLanguage": {
    "@id": "https://w3id.org/workflowhub/workflow-ro-crate#cwl"
  },
  "name": "Example Workflow",
  "image": {
    "@id": "diagram.svg"
  }
}

Example-1: diagram.svg

 {
  "@id": "diagram.svg",
  "name": "Example Workflow Diagram",
  "@type": [
    "File",
    "ImageObject"
  ]
}

Example-1: README.md

 {
  "@id": "README.md",
  "@type": "File",
  "about": "./",
  "encodingFormat": "text/markdown"
}

Provenance

This document was compiled using generate-masp-docs.js, based on profiles/workflow/profile-text.md using a MASP Schema defined in profiles/workflow/profile-crate/ro-crate-metadata.json.