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How to use the Airlock application to import and export files

The application for transferring data is called either the Airlock or the File Transfer Application. You can use it to import data into the Research Environment (RE) and out of it. Within the RE it is accessible as a desktop application. Outside the RE, you will need to access it on the web.

Required information

For any transfer of files in or out of the RE, you will need to provide:

  • Your User Group (usually Research Network or Discovery Forum)
  • Your Research Registry ID
  • What your files contain:
    • For software and scripts, this includes the programming language and any relevant software licenses
    • For data, this should be a full description of everything you are requesting for export, including a file listing the participant IDs of the participants whose information was used as input to generate the file(s) you are requesting for export where relevant
  • Justification for why you want to transfer these files and your intentions with them, this should be as detailed as possible

The files you're transferring

Your Airlock requests should include everything you intend to work with or publish outside of the RE and only that which you intend to work with or publish outside of the RE.

Everything you want to use should be included in the Airlock request, including data files, graphs and notes. You must not take any screenshots of the RE. If you make any notes long-hand, you should include these as text files in your Airlock request.

Breach of the Airlock (for example by screenshots or copying data long hand), or contravention of the policies of the Airlock (for example, using exported materials for uses other than those within the original request) will be considered a serious breach of the Research Network Rules. Genomics England reserves the right to ban the researcher’s institution, and all their researchers, from access to the 100,000 Genomes Project dataset and pursue legal action against both the individual and the institution.

Only include the data you want to use. Do not copy your whole home directory into the Airlock to export as the Airlock Committee will need to inspect every single file. Include only the files you have described and specifically justified their usage.

We are not currently able to support the import of files over 5 GB in a single transfer. If you need to transfer a file this large into the RE, the way to do this is to break the file up into "chunks" each 4 GB or smaller, upload each of these chunks as a separate file, and then recombine the chunks inside the RE to recreate the original file. We are very sorry for the awkwardness of this setup and we are working hard to create a more streamlined system to allow the bringing in of large files, but for the time being due to the limitations of the current system this is what must be done to get large files into the RE.

If you have trouble doing this or have any questions about this process, please contact the Airlock Team by sending in a Service Desk ticket including "Airlock" in the subject line.

Description and justification

Your application should be simple but clear and must cover all the uses of the data. Be specific and unambiguous, and ensure there is consistency across all the fields. Use only the minimum amount of data required to adequately describe the statistical analysis carried out, or the trend in the data you are presenting. Any Airlock approval granted will only apply to the use cases you have specified in the original application. Please ensure that your application is easy to understand without any specialist knowledge, expanding all acronyms, and can be read in isolation from other documents.

Exporting files from the RE

Making the request

  1. Login to the RE and go to Airlock/File Transfer on the Desktop.
  2. Select Forms > Available forms
  3. Choose the form that best matches the file type you want to import from Analysis scripts and software, Contract Research Organisation, Findings and Invoices. In most cases this will be Findings.
  4. Fill in the form and attach your files.
  5. Submit the form.

Retrieving your files outside the RE

  1. If your request is approved, you will receive an email from the Airlock team.

  2. Go to the Airlock retrieval site:

    Airlock retrieval site

    A different website is used to import data into the RE and to access data that has been exported.

  3. Use the approval email to find the correct folder, then download the file(s).

Video example

Importing files into the RE

Making the request

  1. Start at the Airlock import site:

    Airlock import site

    A different website is used to import data into the RE and to access data that has been exported.

  2. Login to the site using your GEL RE login.

  3. Select Forms > Available forms
  4. Choose the form that best matches the file type you want to import from Phenotypic and/or Genetic Data, Software and scripts and Other files.
  5. Fill in the form and attach your files.
  6. Submit the form.

Accessing your files in the RE

  1. If your request is approved, you will receive an email from the Airlock team.
  2. Login to the RE and go to Airlock/File Transfer on the Desktop.
  3. Go to Files > Home and there you will see folders named for the Airlock request ID.
  4. Use the approval email to find the correct folder, then download the file(s) to your desktop inside the RE.

Video example