Speaker
Description
NeXusCreator is a Python tool developed at HZB for converting experimental data into standards-compliant NeXus/HDF5 files. Its central design principle — separating instrument definition from data conversion — allows Data Stewards to encode NeXus structure in a concise definition file (.nxd) without programming. The NeXusCreator Assistant, a ChatGPT based tool in testing phase, supports users with CLI usage, .nxd syntax, plugin development, and correct use of the NeXus standard. Since NOBUGS 2024, the tool has evolved across three areas.
Format and plugin support. A formal plugin architecture with automatic discovery allows user-provided plugins to be registered without modifying the core codebase. New built-in plugins cover JSON files, YAML datasets, and ASCII/NeXus files from Diamond Light Source beamline B18. SchemaPlacer automatically maps parsed variables to canonical NeXus paths. JSON-LD descriptors can drive parser behaviour for schema.org/CDI-annotated text sources.
Richer workflows. The electrochemical workflow derives State of Charge, current–voltage, and EIS datasets during conversion. Batch processing gained dry-run and summary modes. Dataset values can be exported from existing .nxs files. YAML is a fully interchangeable alternative to .nxd. A public Python API is available for integration into acquisition pipelines. Output is automatically validated via punx and can be organised into ICAT-compatible folder structures for ingestion.
Multi-facility collaboration. The Helmholtz project Operando4NeXus (launched 2026) is developing NeXus standards for operando instruments, including catalytic reactor beamlines (ROCK-IT) and battery research facilities, using NeXusCreator as the conversion tool. The OSCARS-funded CDIF-4-XAS project (STFC, Cardiff University, CODATA) is exploring NeXusCreator for interoperable XAS pipelines at Diamond Light Source. NeXusCreator is released under Apache 2.0, with Read the Docs documentation and automated tests.
