journal article·2026-04-09Open access

Reproducible Container Solutions for Codes and Workflows in Materials Science

Dylan Bissuel, Léo Orveillon, Benjamin Arrondeau, João Paulo Almeida de Mendonça, Jonathan Daubin, Irina Piazza, Martin Uhrin, Étienne Polack, Akshay Krishna Ammothum Kandy, David Martin‐Calle, Jonathan Chapignac, Aadhityan Arivazhagan, Lorenzo Paulatto, Pierre‐Antoine Bouttier, Marie‐Ingrid Richard, Thierry Deutsch, David Rodney, A. Marco Saitta, Noel Jakse

Abstract

A computing solution combining the GNU Guix functional package manager with the Apptainer container system is presented. This approach provides fully declarative and reproducible software environments suitable for computational materials science. Its versatility and performance enable the construction of complete frameworks integrating workflow managers such as AiiDA and Ewoks that can be deployed on HPC infrastructures. The efficiency of the solution is illustrated through several examples: (i) AiiDA workflows for automated dataset construction and analysis as well as path‐integral molecular dynamics based on ab initio calculations; (ii) workflows for the training of machine‐learning interatomic potentials; and (iii) an Ewoks workflow for the automated analysis of coherent X‐ray diffraction data in large‐scale synchrotron facilities. These examples demonstrate that the proposed environment provides a reliable and reproducible basis for computational and data‐driven research in materials science.
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Research context

OpenAlex topics: Machine Learning in Materials Science · Scientific Computing and Data Management · Enzyme Structure and Function

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Institut Lumière Matière Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS Villeurbanne France

GRICAD Université Grenoble Alpes Grenoble France

Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, Grenoble INP, SIMaP Grenoble France

CEA DES / ISAS / DM2S / SGLS / LESIM Centre Paris Saclay Gif‐Sur‐Yvette Cedex France

Université Grenoble Alpes, CEA, IRIG, MEM, NRX Grenoble France

Institut de Minéralogie de Physique des Matériaux et de Cosmochimie Sorbonne Université, MNHN, CNRS Paris France

Université Grenoble Alpes, CEA, IRIG, MEM Grenoble France

École Normale Supérieure–PSL Laboratoire de Physique de l’ENS CNRS, Sorbonne Université, Université Paris‐Cité Paris France

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