For many researchers and developers working in molecular modeling, one of the main challenges is integrating custom algorithms or tools with existing visualization and simulation environments. Often, researchers have developed their own code (for structure analysis, energy calculations, or custom visualizations), but adapting it to a graphical platform or sharing it with collaborators can be a time-consuming task.
If you’ve found yourself writing scripts that only a handful of people can run, or if you want to merge your expertise with accessible tools, the SAMSON SDK might be what you need 🎯
What is the SAMSON SDK?
The SAMSON Software Development Kit (SDK) lets you build your own SAMSON Extensions: independent modules (apps, editors, models, controllers, visualizations, etc.) that plug directly into the SAMSON platform. It’s designed to be efficient and extendable, so you can focus on the science instead of building visual or simulation infrastructure from scratch.
The SDK provides code templates, libraries, and prebuilt tools to help researchers build with performance and cross-platform deployment in mind. Once built, your extension can be run by any SAMSON user, making it easier to share methods, visualize results, or create new modeling workflows.
Typical Use Cases
- Algorithm integration: Wrap a custom energy model, structure prediction routine, or analysis plugin into a globally usable module.
- Visualization tools: Add a novel visual representation (e.g., a unique electrostatic field renderer).
- Interactive editors: Create a molecule modifier that enables your modeling method in a click-and-drag GUI.
- Cloud-based services: Connect computations running remotely to an interface in SAMSON.
Getting Started
You can begin by signing in to SAMSON Connect and downloading the SDK from the Download page. The SDK includes:
- Examples and templates for new apps and editors
- Documentation to guide development
- Cross-platform support (Windows, macOS, Linux)
The SDK abstracts away many of the details related to visualization, event handling, and document management. It enables you to focus on the logic of your model while the backend takes care of integration into the full SAMSON environment.
Want to Make It Public (or Private)?
Once your extension is ready, you can deploy and distribute it through SAMSON Connect – Marketplace. You can either:
- Make it free for all users
- Offer it with subscription options for academic or industry users
SAMSON supports multiple subscription tiers, managed using Stripe, which makes distribution of your tools and services easier and more customizable. This allows you to share your innovations while potentially supporting future development work.
Final Thoughts
Being able to design, deploy, and distribute your own tools in SAMSON can help address a key hurdle in computational science: moving custom, valuable work from private use into collaborative and reusable environments.
To get started or learn more about the development process and how to publish your extension, visit the full documentation here: SAMSON Extension Guide.
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can download SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net