Will Nextflow be subject to Seqera's terms of use with any plugin use ?

[jfouret]

The Nextflow plugins registry (https://registry.nextflow.io/plugins) is currently governed by Seqera's terms of use,

Additionally, I understand that starting with version 26.04, Nextflow will exclusively use the Seqera plugin registry.

• Does this mean that any future use of Nextflow with plugins will be subject to Seqera's terms of use ?
• Will this restricts the free use of open-source Nextflow ?
• Will alternative options for plugin distribution remain available ?

Thank you.

[pditommaso]

Hi, thanks for raising this points. We indeed realised that Seqera general terms does not properly fit the Nextflow community needs for plugins. We're working with our legal team to clarify this.

I can anticipate that there are have no plans to restrict community plugins. These plugins are expected to remain open source, with authors retaining full control and ownership.

The Plugin Registry project goal is to provide a safe, reliable infrastructure to host and serve plugins at scale—for all Nextflow users.

[jfouret]

I am very happy to understand that community developers (publishing open source) will be able to freely publish and use plugins/extensions under open-source licenses and that users will be freely able to use them including commercial use (patent etc...).

For my use (academic context) it's perfect, though I have additional questions out of curiosity:

• What if developers want to publish a plugin with a commercial license ? (potential restrictions by seqera seems fair to me)
• I think that it would be fair as a developer to grant anyway seqera special rights (e.g. for the redistribution, even commercial of the plugins via its plateform)