dtool and dserver: A flexible ecosystem for findable data

by Johannes L. Hörmann, Luis Yanes, Ashwin Vazhappilly, Antoine Sanner, Hannes Holey, Lars Pastewka, Matthew Hartley, Tjelvar S. G. Olsson

Making data FAIR—findable, accessible, interoperable, reproducible—has become the recurring theme behind many research data management efforts. dtool is a lightweight data management tool that packages metadata with immutable data to promote accessibility, interoperability, and reproducibility. Each dataset is self-contained and does not require metadata to be stored in a centralised system. This decentralised approach means that finding datasets can be difficult. dtool’s lookup server, short dserver, as defined by a REST API, makes dtool datasets findable, hence rendering the dtool ecosystem fit for a FAIR data management world. Its simplicity, modularity, accessibility and standardisation via API distinguish dtool and dserver from other solutions and enable it to serve as a common denominator for cross-disciplinary research data management. The dtool ecosystem bridges the gap between standardisation-free data management by individuals and FAIR platform solutions with rigid metadata requirements.