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PyLabRobot Lab Automation Assistant

Design and review PyLabRobot lab-automation protocols offline, with a hard safety gate before any physical run.

Dev & CodingAdvanced★ 33,030⑂ 3,248AI score 8/10Last updated: Aug 9, 2026

What it does

Helps you author and audit PyLabRobot 0.2.1 code — deck resource trees, liquid-handling protocols, tip/volume tracking — with an offline-first policy.

  • Generates simulations on the software-only LiquidHandlerChatterboxBackend
  • Bundled CLIs validate protocol manifests, statically check deck geometry, plan/verify transfers, and inspect backend names
  • Enforces current API names (STARBackend, VantageBackend, EVOBackend, OpentronsOT2Backend) and flags stale imports
  • Never commands real hardware; requires a trained operator to clear a 6-step pre-run checklist first

Who it's for

  • Automation engineers working with Hamilton STAR/Vantage, Tecan EVO, or Opentrons OT-2
  • Bio/chem researchers who manage pipetting protocols as code
  • Teams validating protocol logic before hardware is available
  • Labs that need documented safety gates and reproducible plans

Examples

  1. "Write a Chatterbox simulation for a serial dilution across a 96-well plate" → full deck layout, tip rack assignment, and async aspirate/dispense flow on a software-only backend.
  2. "Check my transfers.csv against source volumes and tip capacity" → runs plan_transfers.py and reports dead-volume, destination-capacity, and channel-mapping violations as JSON.
  3. "Why does our old script fail to import on 0.2.1?" → rewrites legacy STAR / ChatterboxBackend imports to current names and explains the async frontend rules.

· · · Install guide · · ·

Install in the Claude app (no terminal)
  1. Download the ZIP with the button below.
  2. In Claude, open Settings → Capabilities and turn on 'Code execution and file creation'. (one time)
  3. Go to Customize → Skills → + → 'Upload a skill' and upload the ZIP.
↓ Download ZIP
Install in Claude Code

Let Claude do it — paste this into Claude Code

Install the skill I found on Claude Skill Mart.
Copy the skills/pylabrobot folder from the GitHub repo K-Dense-AI/scientific-agent-skills into my ~/.claude/skills/pylabrobot/.
When it's done, tell me in one line what this skill can do.

Install with a command instead

git clone https://github.com/K-Dense-AI/scientific-agent-skills.git && mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && cp -r scientific-agent-skills/skills/pylabrobot ~/.claude/skills/

⚠ This is a third-party skill. Check the source repository before installing.

  1. Open a terminal and change into the folder where you keep skills.
  2. Clone the repository: git clone https://github.com/K-Dense-AI/scientific-agent-skills.git
  3. Create the skills directory: mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills
  4. Copy the skill: cp -r scientific-agent-skills/skills/pylabrobot ~/.claude/skills/
  5. To use the bundled CLIs and fixtures, launch Claude Code from the cloned repo root (script paths assume skills/pylabrobot/scripts/...).
  6. Create the simulation environment: uv venv --python 3.11 .venv-pylabrobot then uv pip install --python .venv-pylabrobot/bin/python "PyLabRobot==0.2.1" (on Windows use .venv-pylabrobot\Scripts\python.exe).
  7. Restart Claude Code and ask something like "draft a PyLabRobot protocol" to trigger the skill.
  8. Only install hardware extras ([serial], [usb]) after you have named the device model and confirmed your safety procedure.
View source on GitHub ↗License: MIT