Frontend Changelog#

This changelog tracks NexusLIMS-specific changes to the CDCS frontend. It documents only the customizations made on top of the upstream CDCS/MDCS base. Upstream CDCS release notes are available from the MDCS project.

Version numbers for NexusLIMS-CDCS use the format {CDCS base version}-nx{N} (e.g., 3.18.0-nx1), where the base version reflects the upstream CDCS release and nx{N} is an incrementing counter for NexusLIMS-specific releases on that base.

3.20.0-nx0 – 2026-03-29#

This version is intended to be used with NexusLIMS backend versions 2.6.1+.

Added#

  • Annotator app (nexuslims_annotate): Added a new Django app for reviewing and annotating NexusLIMS experiment records directly in the browser

    • Annotation panel accessible from any detail-view record page allows users (with edit rights) to add plain-text descriptions to any dataset

    • Dedicated full-width annotator page for a focused editing experience that also allows moving/reassigning datasets between acquisition activities

    • Help text and tutorials for all the new annotator features

  • GitHub Actions CI: unit test workflow that runs the Django test suite on every push and pull request (also added basic Django tests for certain functions)

Changed#

  • XSLT translator received some updates to better display dataset descriptions in the record view

  • CDCS base upgraded to MDCS 3.20.0 (core packages 2.20.*, Django 5.2)

3.18.0-nx1 – 2026-01-31#

Added#

  • Automatic local TLS certificate provisioning via Caddy, eliminating manual certificate setup for development deployments

  • Improved documentation for local HTTPS deployment workflow

Changed#

  • Simplified docker-compose configuration for local development with HTTPS

3.18.0-nx0 – 2026-01-19#

Initial tagged release of NexusLIMS customizations on the CDCS 3.18.0 base, incorporating a major refactor and a large set of frontend improvements. This version is intended to be used with NexusLIMS backend versions 2.0 through 2.6.0.

Added#

  • Guided tour system: Shepherd.js-based tours for the home, explore, and detail pages; tours can be enabled/disabled per user; mobile-responsive

  • Token authentication: API token support in deployment configurations, enabling programmatic record submission from the NexusLIMS harvester

  • JSON/XML export: one-click export of experiment records from the detail view in both formats

  • XSLT debug mode: configurable flag to expose raw XSLT transformation errors in the browser for easier troubleshooting

  • Configurable instrument badge colors: map instrument names to Bootstrap color classes via INSTRUMENT_BADGE_COLORS setting

  • Configurable dataset display threshold: hide the dataset file list for records with more than DATASET_DISPLAY_THRESHOLD files

  • Bandwidth limit on the Caddy file server image

Changed#

  • Migrated Python dependency management from pip/requirements files to uv with a committed lockfile (uv.lock) for reproducible builds

  • Modernized detail page styling with Bootstrap 5 throughout

  • Upgraded DataTables to 2.3.6 with Bootstrap 5 integration; DataTables initialization extracted into a dedicated JS module

  • Detail view navigation and layout consistency improvements

  • File list modal rebuilt with Bootstrap 5 and improved tooltip styling; fixed header for large file lists

  • Improved responsive layout on the home page

  • Replaced browser-detection guards with feature detection

  • Modernized NexusLIMS logos throughout the UI