nf-core pipeline ·
nf-core/spinningjenny
Simulates the first industrial revolution using agent-based models for economic and historical research.
What nf-core/spinningjenny is
nf-core/spinningjenny is a computational pipeline designed to simulate the first industrial revolution using agent-based models. It was originally written by Nicola Visonà and Luca Cozzuto. Agent-based modelling simulates the actions and interactions of autonomous individuals to evaluate how macroeconomic phenomena emerge over time.
The workflow coordinates the setup, parallel execution, and analysis of history-friendly economic simulations. Built using Nextflow DSL2, it encapsulates individual pipeline tasks within software containers to ensure computational portability and reproducible simulation results.
What the pipeline does
The pipeline executes in three primary stages. In the first stage, the xlmMod utility generates XML configuration files required to run agent-based models concurrently. In the second stage, the model simulations are executed in parallel using the NetLogo environment.
In the final stage, scripts written in the R statistical language collect simulation results and generate plots that illustrate various economic parameters across the simulated timeframes.
Key facts
- Workflow manager
- Nextflow (DSL2)
- Simulation software
- NetLogo
- Analysis environment
- R
- Input preparation tool
- xlmMod
- Container support
- Docker, Singularity
What you can use it for
- Industrial revolution modelling
- Runs history-friendly simulations using NetLogo to explore dynamics and structural changes during the first industrial revolution.
- Parallel simulation sweeps
- Uses xlmMod to generate multiple XML configuration files, enabling concurrent execution of agent-based model replicates.
- Economic trajectory plotting
- Generates visual plots of simulated economic indicators over time using automated R scripts.
Run it here
The research agent runs nf-core/spinningjenny with Nextflow on its own machine — up to 32 cores, 256 GiB of memory and 24 hours per run, which covers the test profile and real single-sample runs. It builds the samplesheet, checks it against the pipeline's schema and reads the results back. When a run is too big for one machine, it gives you the exact command for your own cluster instead.
Strengths and limits
Good at
- Generates XML configuration files automatically to allow agent-based simulations to run in parallel.
- Maintains reproducibility across compute infrastructures using dedicated containers per process.
- Automates post-simulation analysis to generate economic plots directly via R.
Watch out for
- Designed specifically for agent-based model implementations executed via NetLogo.
- Requires parameters to be specified via command-line arguments or parameter files rather than custom configuration files alone.
Questions
Can I run nf-core/spinningjenny without my own cluster?
The research agent runs nf-core/spinningjenny with Nextflow on its own machine — up to 32 cores, 256 GiB of memory and 24 hours per run, which covers the test profile and real single-sample runs. It builds the samplesheet, checks it against the pipeline's schema and reads the results back. When a run is too big for one machine, it gives you the exact command for your own cluster instead.
What licence is nf-core/spinningjenny under?
MIT, like every nf-core pipeline.
Which software executes the agent-based models?
The models are executed using the NetLogo simulation platform.
What outputs are generated by the workflow?
The pipeline outputs simulation results and graphical plots depicting various economic parameters generated with R.
How are simulation runs parallelised?
The xlmMod step creates XML input files configured to run multiple model instances concurrently across available infrastructure.
How to cite it
Nicola Visonà and Luca Riccetti. Simulating the Industrial Revolution: A History-Friendly Model. January 31, 2023. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4418148
Written from nf-core/spinningjenny's own README. Statements citing a figure that does not appear there are removed before publication. Licence and running details come from our registry.