Getting Started with WebNWB ​

The NWB:N format is a powerful standard for storing and sharing neurophysiology data. Both users and developers typically interact with the NWB:N format through Python or MATLAB APIs, However, these can be difficult to use for non-programmers and are not well-suited for simple web applications—requiring complicated distribution environments (e.g. NWB Explorer, NWB GUIDE) for simple interactions. This limits the accessibility of NWB:N data and derivative tools.

webnwb is a JavaScript library designed to provide the optimal experience for programmatically exploring and editing NWB file metadata on the web.

• 🔬 Read data from NWB files based on the included specification.
• ⚡ Lazy-load large files (e.g. from the NIH Brain Initiative’s Distributed Archives for Neurophysiology Data Integration (DANDI)).
• 📦 Create NWB files from scratch.
• ⚒️ Use helper functions like addAcquisition, getAcquisition, and createAcquisition to quickly write data to new and existing NWB files.

A Brief History of WebNWB ​

The first version of WebNWB was prototyped during NWB workshops and hackathons in 2022 by Garrett Flynn from Brains@Play.

For most of 2023, WebNWB was generously supported by the Kavli Foundation to bring it from a proof-of-concept to a promising part of the NWB ecosystem.

Ongoing development of WebNWB is occurring on an as-needed basis by Garrett Flynn adjacent to his work as a Neurodata Programmer at Catalyst Neuro. :::

Related Tools ​

Several tools can be used with webnwb to provide a cohesive experience for web developers and users alike:

• nwbwidgets (Python) provides a comprehensive GUI for visualizing the data in NWB files.
• neurosift is an advanced browser-based visualizer for NWB files, integrated into the DANDI Archive.
• easynwb provides an intuitive interface for creating and editing NWB files.
• dandi provides an API for sharing NWB files.
• nwb-inspector provides a way to check the compliance of NWB Files with best practices, identical to the Python version.

Does WebNWB Have An API Reference? ​

As much as possible, webnwb mirrors the PyNWB API.

However, there are a few exceptions to note:

• Methods are implemented in camel case (e.g. nwbfile.add_acquisition becomes nwbfile.addAcquisition)

The Road Ahead ​

The following sections provide a brief overview of the webnwb API in practice.

If you would like to gain a comprehensive understanding of the capabilities of NWB tools, we recommend referring to the PyNWB documentation.