Product Features#
Backup Center#
BenchVault checks credentials, notebook index, backup folder access, disk space, archive tools, read-only LabArchives access, search settings, and schedule state before backup. The backup run keeps per-notebook outcomes so one skipped notebook does not hide successful copies.
Read-Only Viewer#
The viewer is built for offline review. It shows notebook structure, readable page content, comments, attachment cards, preservation evidence, and Copy Original actions without offering LabArchives write-back.
Attachment Preservation#
BenchVault keeps the original LabArchives archive and verifies reported original attachments by byte size. The viewer recognizes LabArchives-viewable attachment families and adds local previews for additional research formats: Sanger trace chromatograms, molecule sketches, worksheet tables, archive file lists, PDF/Office/TIFF/media thumbnails or fallback cards, molecular biology files, chemical files, and instrument-style exports.
Demo Backup#
The app includes a synthetic NICHD-style backup that opens before LabArchives setup. It shows the enhanced viewer with CSV, FASTA, Sanger trace, SnapGene-style DNA, SDF chemistry, PDF, Office, Jupyter, TIFF, PNG, ZIP, and media attachments. The demo copy is integrity sealed, so Certify Copy and audit export can be tried on the same surfaces used for real local backups.
Search#
Local search covers notebook names, page paths, rendered text, comments, attachment names, metadata, and backup dates. If the user saves an AI API key locally, BenchVault can use selected excerpts for AI-assisted answers with links back to source pages. Without an AI key, local word, phrase, and typo-tolerant matching remains available.
Integrity And Audit#
Each successful backup receives an integrity_manifest.json with SHA-256
fingerprints for protected files. Audit export writes Markdown, JSON, CSV, and a
portable hash-anchor text file.
Scheduling#
BenchVault supports manual backup plus daily or weekly automatic backup while the app is open. A packaged background helper remains future work.