Hi everyone,

I’m a software engineer with experience building internal tools, APIs, Django/React applications, and bioinformatics-related web platforms. I’ve been working on a personal open-source project called OpenLIMS to better understand how lab software, sample tracking, and bioinformatics workflows can be modeled in a modern web application.

The project is still early and is not intended for regulated production use yet. My goal right now is mainly educational: to build a practical LIMS-style system that demonstrates common concepts such as sample management, inventory tracking, audit/event logs, configurable fields, file attachments, and Docker-based local deployment.

Current stack:

• Django / Django REST Framework
• React
• PostgreSQL
• Redis
• Docker Compose
• GitHub Actions CI

Current features include:

• Sample management
• Inventory locations and containers
• Custom fields for different sample workflows
• Event/audit logging
• Sample file attachments
• Basic reports and system status pages
• Local setup with Docker Compose

I’m trying to learn more about what workflows are most important from a bioinformatics or lab informatics perspective.

For people who have worked with LIMS, sample tracking, sequencing workflows, clinical/research labs, or lab automation:

• What LIMS concepts should a project like this model first?
• What are common pain points when moving from spreadsheets to a LIMS?
• What sample metadata is usually important to track?
• Where do LIMS systems usually need to integrate with bioinformatics pipelines?
• What would make a small open-source LIMS project useful as a learning tool?

I’m not trying to present this as a finished or validated system. I’m mainly interested in understanding the domain better and making the project useful for learning, demos, and possibly future contributors.

GitHub: https://github.com/Mokey2002/OpenLIMS

Thanks — I’d appreciate any advice from people who have worked around lab data, LIMS, sequencing, or bioinformatics workflows.