18 Getting Started

18.1 Account Login

If you don’t have an AnVIL account, you will need to create one using the steps below in the AnVIL Account Creation Dropdown section.

Expand for AnVIL account creation instructions

In order to run your analyses, you will use the AnVIL cloud computing platform. The AnVIL (Analysis Visualization and Informatics Lab-space) platform is specially designed for analyzing biological data, and is used by scientists doing all sorts of biological research.

AnVIL in a nutshell

  • Behind the scenes, AnVIL relies on Google Cloud Platform to provide computing infrastructure. Basically, AnVIL lets you “rent” computers through the internet. The analysis is run on the rented computer. AnVIL lets you see the results in your browser.
  • AnVIL uses Terra to provide many computational tools useful for biological data analysis, such as RStudio, Galaxy, and Jupyter Notebooks. Terra takes care of installing these tools so you can use them right away.

18.1.1 Create Google Account

First, you will need to set up a (free) Google account.

A Google account usually looks like “myname@gmail.com”. Alternatively, you can enable Google for an existing non-Gmail email address using these instructions.

If you do not already have a Google account that you would like to use for accessing AnVIL, create one now.

18.1.2 Log In to Terra

Next, make sure you can log in to Terra – you will use Terra to perform computations on AnVIL.

You can access Terra by going to anvil.terra.bio. Open Terra, and you should be prompted to sign in with your Google account.

18.1.3 Share Username

Make sure your instructor has your Google account username (e.g. myname@gmail.com), so they can give you access to everything you need.

  • Make sure there are no typos!
  • If you have multiple Google accounts, make sure you give them the username that you will be using to log in to anvil.terra.bio.

It is very important that you share the Google account you will be using to access AnVIL with with your instructor! Otherwise, the instructor cannot add you to Billing Projects or Workspaces, and you will be unable to proceed with your assignments.


Once you have an account, you can login and access Terra by going to anvil.terra.bio. Open Terra, and you should be prompted to sign in with your Google account.

18.2 Workspace Set Up

Workspaces are the building blocks of projects in Terra. Inside a Workspace, you can run analyses, launch interactive tools like RStudio and Galaxy, store data, and share results.

Cloning an existing Workspace allows you to copy existing documentation, code, and/or data into your own experimental space. The data for this activity is already available on AnVIL, specifically the demos-galaxy-fastqc workspace, so you’ll want to clone the repository.

When cloning, AnVIL makes a copy of notebooks and code for you to modify. Data however, is linked back to the original Workspace through Data Tables, which saves space!

The screenshots included below show a different workspace than what this tutorial will be using. For this tutorial, you want to clone the demos-galaxy-fastqc workspace

Be sure to name the cloned workspace a unique name in step 6. We recommend adding _yourfirstname_yourlastname to the workspace name.

This will not work until your instructor has given you permission to spend money to “rent” the computers that will power your analyses (by adding you to a “Billing Project”).

On AnVIL, you access files and computers through Workspaces. Each Workspace functions almost like a mini code laboratory - it is a place where data can be examined, stored, and analyzed. The first thing we want to do is to copy or “clone” a Workspace to create a space for you to experiment. This will give you access to

  • the files you will need (data, code)
  • the computing environment you will use

Tip At this point, it might make things easier to open up a new window in your browser and split your screen. That way, you can follow along with this guide on one side and execute the steps on the other.

To clone an AnVIL Workspace:

  1. Open Terra - use a web browser to go to anvil.terra.bio

  2. In the drop-down menu on the left, navigate to “Workspaces”. Click the triple bar in the top left corner to access the menu. Click “Workspaces”.

    Screenshot of Terra drop-down menu. The "hamburger" button to extend the drop-down menu is highlighted, and the menu item "Workspaces" is highlighted.

  3. You are automatically directed to the “MY WORKSPACES” tab. Here you can see any Workspaces that have been shared with you, along with your permission level. Depending on how your instructor has set things up, you may or may not see any Workspaces in this tab.

    Screenshot of Terra Workspaces page with the "MY WORKSPACES" tab selected. The "MY WORKSPACES" tab and the column showing permission level are highlighted.

  4. Locate the Workspace demos-galaxy-fastqc. (The images below show the SARS-CoV-2-Genome Workspace as an example, but you should look for the Workspace demos-galaxy-fastqc.)

    1. If it has been shared with you ahead of time, it will appear in “MY WORKSPACES”.

    Screenshot of Terra Workspaces page with the "MY WORKSPACES" tab selected. The "MY WORKSPACES" tab and a Workspace name are highlighted.

    1. Otherwise, select the “PUBLIC” tab. In the top search bar, type the Workspace name demos-galaxy-fastqc.

    Screenshot of Terra Workspaces page with the "PUBLIC" tab selected. The "PUBLIC" tab and search box are highlighted. The the user has typed in the term "sars". A Workspace related to SARS appears in the results.

    1. You can also go directly to the Workspace by clicking this link: https://anvil.terra.bio/#workspaces/anvil-outreach/demos-galaxy-fastqc.

  5. Clone the workspace by clicking the teardrop button (teardrop button). Select “Clone”. Or, if you have opened the Workspace, you can find the teardrop button on the top right of the Workspace.

    Screenshot showing the teardrop button. The button has been clicked revealing the "clone" option. The Clone option and the teardrop button are highlighted. Screenshot of the Dashboard for the Workspace that we want to clone. The teardrop button has been clicked to bring up the options. The "Clone" option from the list is highlighted.

  6. You will see a popup box appear, asking you to configure your Workspace

    1. Give your Workspace clone a name by adding an underscore (“_“) and your name. For example, "demos-galaxy-fastqc_Firstname_Lastname".
    2. Select the Billing Project sri-lanka-2025.
    3. Leave the bottom two boxes as-is.
    4. Click “CLONE WORKSPACE”.

    Screenshot showing the "clone a workspace" popout. The Workspace name, Billing Project, and Clone Workspace button have been filled in and highlighted.

  7. The new Workspace should now show up under “MY WORKSPACES”. You now have your own copy of the Workspace to work in.

All illustrations CC-BY.
All other materials CC-BY unless noted otherwise.