Pre-Workshop Checklist

Preparing for in-person workshops run by Melbourne Bioinformatics



Enrolled in a workshop and need help with setup?

Use this checklist to make sure you have completed all the necessary steps.

These are general guidelines. Please check emails from the training team and your workshop’s description for specific tools needed.

Checklist for workshops

My workshop uses...

R / RStudio
Bash (command line)
Galaxy
Git
Python


R / RStudio

R is a widely used statistical programming language, and RStudio is its most common interface.

What you need to install

Your workshop may require specific packages. You can install packages available on CRAN using:

install.packages("packagename")

To check your R version:

version


Bash / Command Line

Many workshops require using the command line to access remote servers or run tools.

Before the workshop



Galaxy

Galaxy is a user-friendly platform for running bioinformatics workflows without needing command-line tools.

Before the workshop

  • Sign in using your University of Melbourne email—this gives you 600GB of storage.
  • Set up your Galaxy account before attending to avoid delays.
  • If you haven't received the Galaxy invitation email, check your spam folder.

You can access Galaxy at the link provided in your workshop email.



Git

Git is used for version control and is the backbone of GitHub. Learning how to use git will make versioning and sharing your code useful during your studies.

Install Git

Test your installation

git --version

Common tasks you may need


git clone https://github.com/example/repo.git
git pull
git status


Python

Python is a beginner-friendly programming language that is gaining popularity in bioinformatics. We teach introductory courses as part of our workshop schedule.

Install Python

Check Python version

python --version

Install required packages with the 

pip install packagename


Slack

Melbourne Bioinformatics uses Slack to communicate with participants before, during, and after workshops.

You can download Slack or use it in your browser.

Common issues

  • Not receiving Slack emails? Check your spam/junk folder.
  • If you still do not receive an invitation, contact the training team.