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Welcome to the 12 Days of OpenCRAVAT! 🎄 Each day, we’ll explore a different feature or tool that makes OpenCRAVAT an essential platform for genomic variant analysis. Whether you’re a seasoned researcher or just beginning your journey, our adventurer’s guide will help you unlock the full potential of OpenCRAVAT.

On Day 1, we’re spotlighting the Single Variant Tool—a quick and powerful feature for annotating one variant at a time. Perfect for small-scale queries or rapid testing, this tool delivers fast, reliable results to help you understand the impact and context of a single variant. It’s intuitive, efficient, and now more accessible than ever through our updated website. Start your analysis today with the Single Variant Tool!

This tool is especially useful for those working on clinical or exploratory research, where rapid answers about variant significance can make a big difference. With just a few clicks, you can uncover detailed information about pathogenicity, population frequency, and more, all presented in an easy-to-read report.

Welcome to the world of OpenCRAVAT! Whether you’re a seasoned researcher or just dipping your toes into genomic variant analysis, there’s a place for you in our growing OpenCRAVAT community. By joining us, you’re not just using a tool—you’re becoming part of a dynamic, collaborative ecosystem that’s shaping the future of variant interpretation. In this post, we’ll dive into how you can contribute to OpenCRAVAT, collaborate with others, and connect with a community that’s passionate about accelerating discovery in genomics. Let’s explore what makes the OpenCRAVAT community special and how you can get involved!

Why Community Matters in Genomic Variant Analysis

The volume and complexity of genetic data require not only powerful tools but also a supportive community where researchers can exchange insights, troubleshoot challenges, and share resources. That’s what OpenCRAVAT aims to be—a collaborative space that bridges expertise and experience, all in the spirit of open science.

Our community members are at the heart of OpenCRAVAT’s success. They help make the platform more robust, versatile, and accessible to all, regardless of expertise level. And that’s why we’re always looking for ways to bring new voices, ideas, and talents to our ecosystem.

Ways to Get Involved: Contribute, Collaborate, and Connect

Here are some exciting ways you can join and actively contribute to OpenCRAVAT!

 1. Contribute Your Skills and Ideas

There are countless ways to make a meaningful contribution, even if you’re not a coder! Here are a few paths to get started:

   – Documentation and Tutorials: Clear, helpful documentation is key for users at all experience levels. By improving the OpenCRAVAT docs, creating tutorials, or sharing examples of your own analysis workflow, you can make the platform easier to use and more accessible to others.

   – Suggest New Features: Have an idea for a feature that would streamline your work or add value to the community? We’re all ears! Submit your feature requests or ideas on our GitHub page or community forum, where our team and other users can discuss and prioritize them.

   – Report Bugs and Enhance Stability: If you encounter a bug or issue, your feedback helps us fix it faster and improve the user experience. You can submit bug reports through GitHub, where our team and other contributors can track and address them.

 2. Collaborate on Annotators and Packages

One of OpenCRAVAT’s most powerful features is its annotators, which allows users to extend the platform’s functionality. Annotators include a database of annotations for fast high-throughput analysis of large variant files. Annotators can add new data sources, analysis capabilities or custom workflows tailored to specific needs. Whether you’re an experienced developer or just learning the ropes, creating or contributing to annotators is a fantastic way to give back to the community.

   – Become a developer: Want to create an annotator for your favorite data source or analysis tool? Our annotator developer tutorial has everything you need to get started. 

   – Showcase Your Work: Created an annotator you’re proud of? Share it with the community! Each month, we feature an “Annotator of the Month” created by community members, giving you the chance to showcase your work and inspire others.

 3. Connect and Learn Through Our Community Forum

The OpenCRAVAT community forum is your go-to place to connect with other users, get help, and share insights. It’s a friendly, welcoming space where everyone from beginners to experts can participate. You’ll find discussions on everything from troubleshooting and feature requests to case studies and success stories.

   – Ask Questions and Share Solutions: Have a question or run into a challenge? Post it in the forum! Not only will you likely find a solution, but you may also help others who encounter the same issue.

   – Attend Webinars and Community Calls: We host quarterly webinars to showcase new features, discuss updates, and answer community questions. Keep an eye on our announcements to stay up-to-date and join in!

   – Research Spotlights: Interested in seeing how others use OpenCRAVAT? We often feature community research projects, case studies, and success stories, offering valuable insights into practical applications and inspiring ideas for your own work.

Recognition of Contributions

Your contributions won’t go unnoticed. We believe in celebrating our community members’ hard work, whether you’re improving documentation, creating plugins, or helping others in the forum. Each month, we feature outstanding contributors in our “Contributor Spotlight” to recognize the valuable role they play in OpenCRAVAT’s growth and success. 

By contributing to OpenCRAVAT, you’re not only advancing your own research but also helping to build a stronger, more capable platform for everyone. And who knows—you might even discover a new collaborator along the way!

How to Get Started

Ready to jump in? Here’s how to take your first steps as a member of the OpenCRAVAT community:

1. Join the Forum: Head over to our community forum and introduce yourself! Let us know about your research and how you use OpenCRAVAT. https://github.com/KarchinLab/open-cravat/discussions
2. Explore Contribution Opportunities: Check out our GitHub page for current issues, feature requests, and annotator ideas.
3. Join a Webinar: Stay tuned for announcements on upcoming events where you can learn, contribute, and connect with others.

The OpenCRAVAT community is more than just users—it’s a collective of researchers, bioinformaticians, developers, and enthusiasts who are passionate about advancing variant interpretation and making it accessible to all. Whether you’re contributing code, ideas, documentation, or simply sharing your experience, your involvement strengthens the platform and benefits everyone who uses it.

So, what are you waiting for? Join us, and let’s build something amazing together!