A Comprehensive Desktop & Web Platform for RNA-Centric Multimodal Analysis
Click the thumbnail to watch the RBrowser demo on YouTube.
RBrowser is a cross-platform browser purpose-built for RNA-centric multi-omic analysis. It brings interactive genomic and transcriptomic visualization to both the desktop and the web, and is extensible through a first-class plugin system.
RBrowser is available in three complementary forms:
- A web application you can use directly in the browser — no installation required.
- A command-line distribution for running RBrowser locally on any OS.
- A core renderer package and plugin SDK for customizing and extending RBrowser.
The command-line version replaces the previous platform-specific desktop installers, providing a lightweight, stable, and maintainable way to run RBrowser across operating systems. It avoids platform-specific packaging and licensing issues, and lets you launch RBrowser directly from your existing local/remote environment.
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| RNA-centric | Built from the ground up for RNA-centric, multi-omic data exploration. |
| Cross-platform | Runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux. |
| Lightweight CLI | Launch locally with a single command — no heavy installer. |
| Extensible | A plugin API and SDK let you add custom analyses and views. |
| Reusable core | The renderer ships as a standalone npm package. |
| Web + Desktop | Use it online or run it locally. |
| Component | Package / Link | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Web App | www.rbrowser.org | Run RBrowser in your browser. |
| Desktop App | GitHub Releases | Prebuilt installers for Windows, macOS, and Linux (CLI recommended). |
| CLI (npm) | @rbrowser/cli |
Command-line launcher for Node.js. |
| CLI (PyPI) | rbrowser |
Command-line launcher for Python. |
| Core Renderer | @rbrowser/main @rbrowser/main |
Core rendering engine as a reusable package. |
| Plugin SDK | rbrowser-plugin-sdk |
Toolkit for building plugins. |
| Example Plugin | plugin-gtex-expression |
Reference plugin for the workflow. |
Note: Prebuilt desktop installers are published on the Releases page for every version. For the most up-to-date experience and the smoothest cross-platform support, we recommend using the CLI version (
@rbrowser/cliorrbrowser).
RBrowser's command-line version is distributed through both npm and PyPI — choose whichever fits your environment.
Via npm (requires Node.js):
npm install -g @rbrowser/cliVia pip (requires Python):
pip install rbrowserPrefer not to install anything? Just open the web version.
Once installed, launch RBrowser from your terminal:
rbrowserRBrowser starts locally and opens in your environment. For step-by-step guides and configuration options, see the official documentation.
RBrowser is extensible through a documented plugin system. Supported installation methods include local, online, drag-and-drop, and the official Plugin Store.
| Resource | Link |
|---|---|
| Plugin API Guide | https://doc.rbrowser.org/6_rbrowser_plugin_api |
| Plugin SDK | https://github.com/typekey/rbrowser-plugin-sdk |
| Example Plugin | https://github.com/typekey/plugin-gtex-expression |
| Installation Guide | https://doc.rbrowser.org/3_plugins/1_plugin_overview/#32-plugin-install |
| Resource | Link |
|---|---|
| Docs & Tutorials | https://doc.rbrowser.org |
| Issue Tracker | https://github.com/typekey/rbrowser-app/issues |
Contributions, bug reports, and feature requests are welcome. Please open an issue on the issue tracker to get started.
This project is licensed under the MIT License.
Lei Zheng · type.zheng@gmail.com