Questions

Your data

Where is my notebook stored?

In a folder you choose. Each entry is a markdown file, attachments sit beside it, and Prem's history lives in a hidden .prem folder inside the notebook. On a lab server, the folder is on the server's disk. You can open the files in any text editor, back them up like any other folder, or keep them in git.

Does Prem send anything to you?

No. There's no account, no analytics and no crash reporting. The app talks only to the lab server you connect it to.

Does it work offline?

A notebook on your own computer works entirely offline. A shared notebook needs to reach the lab server, which can be on your lab's network rather than the internet.

What happens to my data if Prem stops being developed?

Nothing. The notebook is plain markdown and ordinary files, readable without Prem, and the source code is Apache-2.0 licensed, so anyone can keep building it.

Records and signing

How does signing work?

Signing records who signed, when, and an optional statement for the exact saved content, and locks the entry. A colleague can then witness it. A locked entry can only be changed through an amendment with a reason; the signed version stays in the history.

Can someone change a signed entry without anyone knowing?

Every version and every signature is stored in a hash chain, so changing or removing a past entry breaks the chain and Prem reports it. Prem also notices when a signed entry's file was edited outside the app, even while Prem was closed, and flags it.

Is Prem compliant with 21 CFR Part 11 or GLP?

No. Prem's signatures are recorded, tamper-evident attestations tied to a person's lab-server login. They aren't cryptographic signatures yet, and Prem hasn't been validated for any regulation. It's aimed at academic and early-stage research labs whose notebooks don't need to meet those rules.

Labs and teams

How does a whole lab share a notebook?

Someone runs the Prem server on a machine everyone can reach: a lab workstation, a small cloud server, or a department VM. Each person gets a token, and folders can be set to no access, read-only or read-write per person. Changes appear in everyone's window as they're saved, and two people editing the same entry can't overwrite each other.

What does it cost?

Nothing. Prem is free and open source. If you run a lab server, you pay for whatever machine it runs on.

Which computers does it run on?

Recent versions of macOS (Apple silicon and Intel), Windows 10 and 11, and 64-bit Linux. The lab server runs anywhere Docker or Node.js 20 or later runs.

Compared with other tools

How is Prem different from Benchling?

Benchling is a commercial cloud platform with molecular biology design tools, registries and enterprise workflows. Prem is a notebook first, and it runs on your machines, with your data as files you own. It doesn't have sequence design tools, and isn't trying to replace them.

And eLabFTW?

eLabFTW is a mature, open-source ELN that runs as a web application with a database, and it's a good choice if you want that. Prem is a desktop app that also works with no server at all, keeps entries as plain files, and makes protocol runs and signed records central.

Why not just use Obsidian?

Prem looks familiar to Obsidian users: markdown, links, backlinks, a graph. It adds what a lab notebook needs and a general notes app doesn't: protocols and runs, a kept history of every save, signing and witnessing, and a shared lab server with per-person permissions. Prem is also open source.

Analysis

Can I use Prem with Jupyter or Python?

Not directly yet. You can attach notebooks, scripts and data files to an entry today. Next on the roadmap is a prem Python package that saves figures and results from Jupyter into an entry, followed by Python cells that run inside entries, with outputs kept as part of the record.

Getting help

Ask in GitHub Discussions, report bugs in Issues, and report security problems privately as described in the security policy.