Public code around one GA4GH-oriented stack. Conformance tooling, reproducible demos, source-available infrastructure—and a clear license story.
For decision makers
Why this page matters if you are not deep in the stack
Short plain-language context. GA4GH in one sentence. How inclusion fits us. The rest of this page keeps the full technical depth.
Our public repositories and the white paper are how we show serious engineering before a long customer reference list exists: reproducible demos, conformance tooling, and clear licensing.
What is GA4GH?
The Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (GA4GH) is an international initiative that defines shared technical interfaces for genomic data and analyses. Partners connect under clear contracts instead of rebuilding bespoke integrations for every link.
Synaptic Four combines rigorous engineering with an explicit, lived commitment to neurodiversity and autism inclusion. That is part of who we are—not an add-on to the tech story. More: About us Autism
We distinguish between licenses that match the common Open Source Definition (OSI) and models where code is public but use is restricted.
Licences such as Apache-2.0 or MIT are what many people mean by true open source: public source, reuse and modification within the licence terms, and alignment with the OSI definition. Our HelixTest, Ferrum GA4GH Demo, SecureCollab, and HELIOS repositories use Apache-2.0.
The Business Source License is not “open source” in the OSI sense: code is visible and often free for defined uses (e.g. non-commercial research), while commercial use is restricted or only unlocked after a set period. We publish Ferrum Lab Kit under BUSL-1.1 – transparent and inspectable, but strategically different from Apache-2.0.
Commercial products (e.g. Ferrum, BioResearch Assistant) may use BUSL or other models; the LICENSE file in each repository and the product page are authoritative.
Many stacks implement only part of the GA4GH surface. Ferrum is meant to run TRS, DRS, WES, TES, htsget, Beacon v2, Passports, and Crypt4GH under one gateway. Cross-service flows (e.g. TRS → DRS → WES → TES → Beacon) are first-class, not patched together later. HelixTest checks that in CI; the Ferrum GA4GH Demo repo ships reproducible benchmark bundles.
Standalone Rust conformance and integration suite for GA4GH-style platforms: API contracts (WES, TES, DRS, TRS, Beacon v2, htsget), workflow execution, cross-service E2E (TRS → DRS → WES → TES → Beacon), Passports, and Crypt4GH-oriented checks. Usable by any compatible stack—not only Ferrum. Results are a technical signal, not official GA4GH certification.
GitHub →Reproducible demonstration and benchmark: one command runs Ferrum TRS · DRS · WES · TES on a small GIAB-style subset, then hap.py vs truth. Outputs include structured JSON (e.g. DRS micro-benchmarks: plain vs Crypt4GH-at-rest, optional client header timing). This repository is Apache-2.0; Ferrum upstream remains BUSL-1.1.
GitHub →Multi-party clinical statistics with homomorphic encryption (CKKS via TenSEAL): each institution encrypts locally and uploads ciphertext; the server runs computations on encrypted vectors and returns encrypted results—raw patient data from other sites is never visible to peers, and the server does not decrypt to plaintext in normal operation. Threshold key shares stay local. Open source under Apache-2.0. Hobby project / proof of concept with a working web UI—not production-ready for real patient data; no formal security audit or legal review.
GitHub →Open research prototype: adaptive, non-diagnostic questionnaire with ten continuous routing dimensions (F–V), consent-first flows, multi-locale copy, optional Supabase logging for studies, and optional research-oriented exports (e.g. session bundles, paper/CSV replay, offline-friendly static bank). The repository also ships larger optional item banks (~200 prompts) with regional stem bundles where configured; operators set an explicit adaptive policy, and a documented research mode steers studies toward full-session artefacts rather than compressed URL shares. Public instance: map.synapticfour.com. Personal project—not a Synaptic Four commercial product; see the research note under Publications.
GitHub →Genomics pipeline audit and validation: signed run records, compliance-oriented checks, JSON/PDF/RO-Crate exports. Core OSS under Apache-2.0; Synaptic Four sells support and optional dashboard hosting separately—see the product page.
GitHub →On-ramp to Ferrum: deployment and integration layer for labs, ELIXIR node candidates, and GDI-style participants – selective GA4GH services against your storage, scheduler, and identity stack. Complements the main Ferrum repo; JSON conformance reports are open, licensed PDF output see repository.
GitHub →Additional repositories will follow. GitHub remains the central index of our public work.
Ferrum: building GA4GH-compliant infrastructure as a first-principles practice—motivation, architecture, HelixTest conformance checks, GA4GH demo benchmarks, and how we work (incl. transparent AI-assisted engineering).
All publications →