Experiments in Labsistant are split in two: a template describes a procedure and what it needs, and a scheduled experiment is one actual run of it. Write the template once, run it as often as you like.
The point is that a run pulls its materials from your real inventory, so stock goes down as work happens rather than in a guilty catch-up session on Friday.
Experiments need the Team plan or higher. If Experiments and Schedule are missing from your sidebar, that is why.
Create a template
- Go to Experiments in the sidebar.
- Click Create Experiment. A three-step dialog opens.
Step 1: Basic Info
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Experiment Name | Yes | |
| Description | No | Describe the protocol. |
| Method | No | Assign it to a method, which is a way of grouping related templates. |
Manage the list of methods from Manage Methods on the Experiments page.
Step 2: Requirements
List what a run of this experiment needs. Search for and Add each one. You can add reagents, supplies, and samples, and the picker tags each result so you can tell them apart.
For samples there is an extra option: Variable sample. Use it when the procedure always needs a sample of some kind but the specific one changes every run. You pick the actual sample when you run the experiment, not now. Each variable gets a name so a template can have more than one.
Step 3: Review
Check the name, description, method, and required sources, then click Create Experiment.
Schedule a run
From a template:
- Click Schedule Experiment, from the top bar or from the template.
- Choose the Date.
- Optionally choose a Target Zone, if the run happens in a particular storage zone.
- Optionally add Notes for this run.
- Click Schedule, or Schedule for today and start now to begin immediately.
Scheduled runs appear under Schedule in the sidebar, with a calendar view.
Run statuses
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Scheduled | Booked for a date, not started. |
| In Progress | Started. |
| Overdue | Its date has passed and it has not been completed. |
| Completed | Finished. |
| Cancelled | Called off. |
Start a run
Opening a scheduled experiment gives you a Start Experiment view that reviews where to collect the materials from.
The Reagents to Collect list shows which specific items to take, and you can re-sort it by strategy:
| Strategy | What it prioritises |
|---|---|
| Nearest to Expire | Items expiring soonest, so stock gets used before it lapses. |
| FIFO (First In First Out) | Oldest received items first. |
| LIFO (Last In First Out) | Newest received items first. |
| Personal First | Your own items, then group, then lab. |
Nearest to Expire is the sensible default for most labs, since it is the one that stops things quietly expiring on a shelf.
Click Mark as Started to begin. Until an experiment is started, it prompts you to start it before you can pull materials.
Pulling materials during a run
Once running, you pull each item as you use it, and your inventory goes down accordingly.
Frozen samples
If you pull from a frozen sample, Labsistant asks what happened to it, with three answers:
- Keep it frozen. You took some out and the sample stays frozen.
- Mark it thawed. Record the pulled amount as thawed under the same name. The rest stays frozen.
- Thaw into a new aliquot. Split the portion into a new, separately named sample.
Answer honestly at the moment it happens. See Samples: collection, thawing and biohazard.
Containment zones
If the run is in a containment zone, the page says so and tells you that reagents in other containment zones are not accessible. That is Labsistant enforcing the zone rules you set up in Storage. See Create a storage location.
Complete a run
Click Mark as Complete. You are asked to confirm, with a reminder to make sure all materials have been accounted for.
Do the accounting before confirming. A completed experiment whose pulls were never recorded leaves your stock overstated, which is exactly the problem this is meant to solve.
Finding templates
The Experiments page has a search box, a filter by method, sorting by name or date, and a Show archived toggle for templates no longer in active use.
What this does not do
Labsistant does not tell you how to run an experiment, does not validate a protocol, and does not check whether the materials you listed are appropriate for it. It tracks what a run consumes and when it happened. The science is yours.
Tying consumption back to the run that caused it is part of what the inventory is for, and it only works if the stock the template draws on is in there to begin with.