Quick Start
This guide takes you from zero to a visible Snakemake run in FlowO: deploy (or use a demo server), sign in, configure flowo login, run Snakemake with --logger flowo, and confirm the run on the Dashboard and Runs pages.
Option A — Use an existing deployment (optional)
Tip
If your team publishes a public evaluation host, use that URL in the steps below and obtain any shared demo credentials from the maintainers. Do not run confidential pipelines on shared sandboxes; credentials and URLs may change without notice.
- Open the deployment URL in a browser and sign in (or register if allowed).
- On your workstation, install the logger plugin (see Option B) and run:
flowo login --host https://your-flowo-host
- Complete the browser approval flow; the CLI stores the token under
~/.config/flowo/config.toml(mode0600).

Typical terminal output after a successful login (no token is printed):
$ flowo login --host https://your-flowo-host
Opening browser for authentication…
Waiting for you to approve this device in the browser…
Login successful. Configuration saved to ~/.config/flowo/config.toml
- Run Snakemake from any project directory:
snakemake --logger flowo --logger-flowo-name "demo-quickstart" --logger-flowo-tags demo,qc
- In the UI, open Dashboard and Runs (
/runs) to see the new run.

Option B — Local Docker Compose
1. Deploy FlowO
- Fetch configuration (adjust URLs if you mirror the repo):
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/zhanghaomiao/flowo/main/compose.yml
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/zhanghaomiao/flowo/main/env.example
cp env.example .env
- Edit
.env - Set
FLOWO_WORKING_PATHto a host directory that will contain (or parent) your Snakemake working directories so logs and previews resolve. - Set
SECRET_KEYand database passwords for anything beyond local trials. -
Optionally set
DOMAIN/FLOWO_HOSTwhen serving behind HTTPS. -
Start services
docker compose up -d
- Open the app — default http://localhost:3100, register the first user (if enabled), then sign in.
2. Install the plugin and CLI login
pip install snakemake-logger-plugin-flowo
flowo login --host http://localhost:3100
Use the same flow as Option A: run flowo login, approve in the browser, confirm the token is saved under ~/.config/flowo/config.toml.
3. Run Snakemake with FlowO
cd /path/to/your/snakemake/project
snakemake --logger flowo \
--logger-flowo-name "My first run" \
--logger-flowo-tags "demo,quickstart"
What happens next?
- Runs — Open Runs in the top navigation (
/runs). The new execution appears with status, tags, and progress. - Detail — Click the run name to open
/runs/{id}: DAG on the left; Jobs, Timeline, Code, and Result tabs on the right. - Dashboard — Aggregate cards and charts update as events arrive (SSE).
Next steps
- Installation — ports,
.env, HTTPS, and path alignment. - Run Snakemake with FlowO — name, tags, catalog slug, config keys.
- Catalog and templates — browse and link runs to catalog workflows.
- Architecture overview — how components fit together.