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1.68 docs: Connect and QuiltSync documentation updates (#4744)
Co-authored-by: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
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docs/Catalog/Connect.md

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<!-- markdownlint-disable-next-line first-line-h1 -->
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> Connect Server requires Quilt Platform version 1.68 or later.
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**Quilt Connect Server** is an identity provider and gateway that enables
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external services to securely interact with your Quilt data and perform
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actions on behalf of your users. Connect Server:
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- Authenticates requests using your organization's identity provider
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- Issues session tokens scoped to individual user permissions
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- Routes requests to authorized services within your AWS environment
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One such service is the **Quilt Platform MCP Server** (below), which lets you use
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web-based AI assistants — like Claude.ai — to interact with
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your Quilt data through natural language and the
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[Model Context Protocol (MCP)](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/).
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## Admin Setup
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Connect Server is disabled by default. To enable it, set the `ConnectAllowedHosts`
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CloudFormation parameter to a non-empty value.
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### CloudFormation Parameters
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<!-- markdownlint-disable line-length table-column-style -->
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| Parameter | Default | Description |
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| ----------------------- | ------------- | --------------------------------------------------- |
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| `ConnectAllowedHosts` | _(empty)_ | Comma-separated hostnames allowed as OAuth |
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| | | `redirect_uri`. Empty = disabled. Set to AI |
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| | | client domains |
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| | | (e.g. `claude.ai, claude.com, your-tenant.benchling.com`). |
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| `ConnectSecurityGroup` | _(empty)_ | Optional EC2 security group ID for Connect ALB |
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| | | IP allowlisting. Empty = allow all. |
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| `CertificateArnConnect` | _(empty)_ | Optional ACM certificate ARN for the Connect ALB. |
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| | | Empty = reuses main stack TLS certificate. |
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<!-- markdownlint-enable line-length table-column-style -->
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### DNS Configuration
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After deploying with Connect enabled, create a DNS alias record for your
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Connect subdomain (typically `<stack-name>-connect.<your-domain>`):
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| Route 53 Field | Value |
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| --------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- |
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| Record type | `A` (alias) |
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| Alias target | `ConnectLoadBalancerDNSName` CloudFormation output |
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| Hosted zone ID | `ConnectLoadBalancerCanonicalHostedZoneID` output |
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The final Connect Server hostname is available in the `ConnectHost` CloudFormation
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output.
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### IP Allowlisting (Optional)
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To restrict which IP ranges can reach the Connect Server, create an EC2
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security group with inbound rules on port 443 for your trusted CIDR ranges,
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then pass the security group ID as `ConnectSecurityGroup`. If omitted, the
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Connect ALB accepts traffic from any IP.
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## Platform MCP Server
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The Platform MCP Server is a service that runs behind Connect Server. It allows
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web-based AI assistants like Claude.ai to search packages, browse buckets, and
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retrieve data on your behalf, all within your organization's AWS environment
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and subject to your existing Quilt permissions — no local installation required.
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### MCP Client Setup
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Your Quilt administrator will provide a **Connect Server URL** of the form
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`https://<stack-name>-connect.<your-domain>`. Typically, your Organization's administrator
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will use this URL to add Quilt as an MCP server in your AI assistant. For example:
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1. Go to Claude.ai's [Organization Settings -> Connectors](https://claude.ai/admin-settings/connectors)
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2. Click **Add Custom Connector**.
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3. Enter your Connect Server URL: `https://<connect-host>/mcp/platform/mcp`
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### MCP User Authorization
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Next, each user will need to individually authorize their MCP connection,
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so it runs using their credentials.
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1. Login to your Quilt stack as usual (e.g., via Okta SSO)
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2. Go to, e.g., Claude.ai [Settings -> Connectors](https://claude.ai/settings/connectors)
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3. Click **Connect**
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The first time your AI assistant connects to Quilt, you will be redirected to the
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Quilt catalog authorization page at `/connect/authorize`. This page shows:
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- The name of the AI client requesting access
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- What the client is allowed to do (read access, scoped to your Quilt role)
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![Quilt Connect Server](../imgs/connect-authorize.png)
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Click **Continue** to grant access, or **Cancel** to deny it. After
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authorizing, the AI assistant receives a session token scoped to your Quilt
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user — it cannot access data beyond what your assigned Quilt role permits.
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You do not need to re-authorize the same client unless your session expires
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or the Quilt stack is redeployed.
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Once authenticated, you may also need to authorize individual tools when used.
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You can pre-authorize them by clicking **Configure** on the connector page.
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![Quilt MCP Configuration](../imgs/mcp-tools.png)

docs/SUMMARY.md

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* [Packaging Engine](Catalog/Packaging.md)
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* [Query](Catalog/Query.md)
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* [Quilt+ URIs](Catalog/URI.md)
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* [Quilt Connect](Catalog/Connect.md) AI Assistant Integration
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* [Qurator Omni](Catalog/Qurator.md) AI Assistant
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* [Search](Catalog/Search.md)
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* [Visualization & Dashboards](Catalog/VisualizationDashboards.md)
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* [Benchling Packager](examples/benchling.md)
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* [Event-Driven Packaging](advanced-features/event-driven-packaging.md)
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* [Nextflow Plugin](examples/nextflow.md)
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* [Quilt MCP Server](https://github.com/quiltdata/quilt-mcp-server)
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* [QuiltSync Desktop Application](examples/quiltsync.md)

docs/examples/quiltsync.md

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# QuiltSync
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**Desktop client for seamless access to versioned, AI-ready datasets.**
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QuiltSync is a desktop application for syncing versioned Quilt data packages to
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your local machine. It provides local access to Quilt packages stored in S3,
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with support for Windows 10+, macOS 10.14+ (Intel & Apple Silicon), and Linux.
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Visit [quilt.bio/quiltsync](https://quilt.bio/quiltsync/) to download the
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latest version.
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## Features
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QuiltSync is a desktop application from Quilt Data that enables scientists,
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researchers, and engineers to access, manage, and version large datasets
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locally. Install once and seamlessly sync Quilt data packages (versioned,
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AI/ML-ready datasets) to your computer across Windows, macOS (Intel & Apple
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Silicon), and Linux.
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- Browse and sync packages via graphical interface
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- Selective file sync to manage disk space
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- Version control for data packages
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- Browser-based authentication
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- Auto-generated commit messages (v0.14+)
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## Getting Started
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When viewing packages in the Quilt web catalog, you can open them directly in
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QuiltSync:
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### Installation
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1. Navigate to a package in your Quilt catalog
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2. Click the "Get Package" button and select "QuiltSync"
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3. QuiltSync will open automatically (if installed) and begin syncing the
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package
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Download and install QuiltSync from
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[quilt.bio/quiltsync](https://quilt.bio/quiltsync/).
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### Integration with Benchling
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### Opening Packages and Files
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QuiltSync integrates with the [Benchling Webhook](./benchling.md) to provide
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seamless access to notebook-linked packages:
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From the Quilt web catalog:
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1. Navigate to a package or file
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2. Click "Get Package" or "Get File"
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3. Select "Open in QuiltSync"
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![Open in QuiltSync](../imgs/quiltsync-open.png)
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### Authentication
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On first use, QuiltSync prompts for authentication via your web browser:
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1. QuiltSync opens your browser to the Quilt Catalog login page
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2. Sign in to your catalog
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3. Copy access token to QuiltSync
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- In Benchling's App Canvas, click the "sync" button next to any package
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- The package or file will open directly in QuiltSync
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- Changes and updates are reflected across both platforms
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The token is tied to your catalog session. No AWS credentials required.
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## Overview
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![QuiltSync auth token](../imgs/quiltsync-auth.png)
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QuiltSync brings the power of Quilt data packages to your desktop, providing
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a local sync solution for cloud-stored data. While datasets may live in
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remote storage (S3), QuiltSync gives you local access so you can work offline
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or interact with datasets as if they're on your machine.
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### Selective Installation
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## Key Features
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When the package is opened, it shows a list of all files (pre-selected for download).
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### Versioned Data Packages
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![QuiltSync download selected paths](../imgs/quiltsync-download.png)
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QuiltSync doesn't just pull files—Quilt packages include version control for
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data, tracking changes and enabling reproducible workflows. Each package has
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a complete version history, allowing you to:
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### Committing Changes
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- Track data changes over time
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- Roll back to previous versions
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- Ensure reproducible analysis and ML workflows
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- Collaborate with confidence that everyone uses the same data version
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After modifying synced files locally, you can commit changes back to Quilt as a
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new package version:
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### Desktop/Local Access
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1. Open the commit page in QuiltSync
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2. Review the auto-generated commit message, which summarizes the changed files
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3. Edit the message if needed
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4. Click **Commit** to create a new revision
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5. Click **Push** to upload that revision and set it as latest
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Even though data lives in cloud storage, QuiltSync provides local sync
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capabilities:
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![QuiltSync auto-generated commit](../imgs/quiltsync-commit.png)
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- Work offline with synced datasets
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- Interact with S3 data as if it's on your local machine
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- Reduce latency for data-intensive operations
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- Control which packages and versions are synced locally
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### Settings and Troubleshooting
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### AI-Ready Format
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Access settings via the gear icon in the lower right:
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The platform targets researchers, machine learning engineers, and data science
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teams who need clean, versioned datasets prepared for AI/ML pipelines:
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![QuiltSync Settings](../imgs/quiltsync-settings.png)
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- **Version**: Current version and release notes
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- **Lineage and cache files**: Opens `.quilt/` directory with package metadata
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- **Logs directory**: Application logs for debugging
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- **Reset state**: "RELOAD PAGE" refreshes UI, "RE-LOGIN" clears authentication
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If QuiltSync fails to start after an upgrade, use **RE-LOGIN** or clear the
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`.quilt/` cache directory. Older cached manifests in Parquet format are
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automatically re-fetched from remote storage.
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### Integration with Benchling
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QuiltSync integrates with the [Benchling Webhook](./benchling.md) to provide
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seamless access to Quilt packages from Benchling notebooks.
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- Datasets formatted for machine learning workflows
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- Metadata and schema validation
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- Integration with data science tools and notebooks
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- Support for large-scale data operations
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![Benchling App Canvas](../imgs/benchling-canvas.png)
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## System Requirements
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When viewing a package in the Benchling App Canvas:
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QuiltSync runs on all major operating systems:
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1. Click the "sync" button next to any package or file
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2. QuiltSync automatically opens with the selected package
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3. Select files to sync locally
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4. Work offline with your data
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- **Operating Systems**: Windows 10+, macOS 10.14+, Linux (modern
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distributions)
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- **Disk Space**: Varies based on package sizes you plan to sync (consider
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storage for large datasets)
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- **Network**: Internet connection required for syncing with S3 (bandwidth
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considerations for large datasets)
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- **AWS Access**: Valid AWS credentials configured for accessing your Quilt
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buckets
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This integration allows scientists to move from notebook entries to local
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datasets without leaving their Benchling workflow. For more details, see
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[Benchling App Canvas](./benchling.md#benchling-app-canvas).

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