Data model
Habitat works with a few core concepts you reference across the API.
| Concept | What it is | Where it appears |
|---|---|---|
| Reagent | A media, drug, or solution loaded into a reservoir on a pump valve port. | Listed via GET /reagents; referenced by reagent_id on a media port in the port map. |
| Chip | A microfluidic chip instance connected to a pump port. | Referenced by chip_id on a chip port in the port map, and as the chip_id argument to fluidic operations. |
| Protocol | A sequenced workflow that runs operations over time. | Managed via /protocols — library protocols plus your own. See Protocols. |
How they relate
- Reagents sit on
mediaports; chips sit onchipports. Which reservoir or chip is on which port is your device's port map. - Fluidic operations (atomics and
routines) act on these by role or identifier — a dispense
draws from a
mediaport (its reagent) and delivers to achipport (itschip_id). - Protocols schedule those operations over time — a drug study, a feeding cycle — so you don't issue each step by hand.
Reading them
Chips aren't a standalone endpoint — a chip is identified by its chip_id, which
you'll see in the port map and pass to operations that target it.