Benchling Sync is a companion desktop app to Benchling’s web-based Notebook. It allows users to seamlessly open file attachments right from the web-based Notebook, edit those files with a native application on their desktop, and have those edits sync directly back into the notebook.
This document will walk through the technical requirements to roll out this application, the configuration options available, as well as steps to verifying that the application is functioning properly.
Technical Overview
Platforms
The following operating systems are supported:
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✅ Windows 7 / 10
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✅ macOS
🚫 Linux-based operating systems are explicitly not supported.
Benchling Sync works best with Google Chrome. Internet Explorer is explicitly not supported.
Networking
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Benchling Sync only communicates with Benchling’s servers via HTTPS (TCP 443). These servers are addressed by DNS at
*.benchling.comand*-benchling.s3.amazonaws.comwhich notably have Amazon Web Services IPs but do not have static IPs. -
Benchling Sync automatically detects HTTP(S) and SOCKS proxies.
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Benchling Sync automatically trusts SSL certificates stored in the Windows Trusted Root Certification Authorities store or on the macOS Keychain.
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Benchling Sync registers a custom URL scheme (
benchling://)allowing the Benchling Notebook to initiate actions through the Web UI.
Data Access / Files
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What desktop applications are compatible with Benchling Sync?
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Benchling Sync writes temporary files to
%APPDATA%(standard, per-user app directory). These files are stored on disk until the user exits / signs out of the Benchling Sync app. -
The user is securely logged in via a browser-based authentication flow. Session credentials are not persisted, so when the Benchling Sync app is exited, the user must reauthenticate.
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Note that session is independent of the browser session, i.e. signing out of the web application does not sign a user out of the desktop application. However, like our web application, session expiration (configured by default to 90 days) is respected and when the session does expire, the user will be prompted to reauthenticate via a browser-based authentication flow.
Shared computer logins are not recommended. For the above reasons, a user may forget to sign out of the app, exposing their data to other users of that same machine. If a shared login is required, users should be trained to explicitly sign out / quit the desktop app to ensure other users can’t access their data—in the same way that they must sign out of Benchling in the browser.
Using a different browser for Benchling Notebook than the computer’s default browser is not recommended. Benchling Sync launches the default browser to authenticate. To workaround this, the user can either:
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Set the browser they use with Benchling as their default browser, or
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Sign into the Benchling Notebook on their default browser when prompted, or
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Visit https://YOURDOMAIN.benchling.com/desktop directly in the browser they use with Benchling and then click “Launch App”.
Installation Flows
User installation from Benchling Notebook (opt-out)
The first time a user uses the sync feature from the Benchling Notebook, the user will be prompted to download the app, with an option to choose the appropriate installer for their machine (Windows: NSIS installer; macOS: DMG installer). As updates to the app are released, the app will automatically download and apply them when the application / computer is restarted. For more details on the user installation flow, see this user help article.
The installer is code-signed by Benchling, Inc. and all supported Platforms will indicate this during installation for security. Users should be trained to only install software from trusted publishers.
Note: If users are not allowed to install software on their machines, or there is concern that users will have trouble installing the application (esp. if you have many shared devices with a login per user), the Benchling Notebook can be configured to hide the installer download links in favor of your IT installing the software for them, as described below.
IT-managed installation of app (opt-in)
Your Benchling representative or our support team can provide your IT with download links for a 32-bit and 64-bit MSI installer for the app, which is notably only compatible with Windows. Which installer to use is dependent on if your devices are running a 32-bit version of Windows or a 64-bit version of Windows. See 32-bit and 64-bit Windows: Frequently asked questions - Microsoft Support if you need help determining this.
The MSI installer works well with software management systems like Microsoft SCCM, which makes it easy to install / update on multiple machines. The installer is notably configured to be “per-machine,” so it need only be installed once to be available for use by all users that can sign onto that machine.
Note: Because admin escalation is necessary to install / update the app and because it is expected that most users are not admins, the auto-update feature is disabled. New versions of the app will be announced in our monthly release notes. If any support is needed please reach out to support@benchling.com. Your IT can then push the update to all machines that have the older version of the application installed. Only a few updates are expected a year.