Ensembl Versions

This page uses release 54 as a version example. We recommend always using the latest versions of code and data.

Ensembl Versioning Scheme

Each Ensembl release has an integer version number associated with it which is used to identify the correct versions of the API, web code and databases that make up that release. The idea is that components with the same release version should work together - i.e. any web site built with 'version 54' API and web code, and 'version 54' databases should work correctly.

The BioMart code has its own versioning scheme, since it is independent of the Ensembl code - see the BioMart website for information on using the code separately, e.g. with the MartJ Java interface.

Archive! sites

Some previous releases of Ensembl have been archived. For more information about the Archive! sites and past assemblies, see the list of current archives.

Ensembl Code Versioning

For the APIs and the web code, a CVS branch (essentially a named snapshot of the code) is made for each release and named with the release version number. The Perl API and web code can be checked out of CVS with the tag "branch-ensembl-versionnumber", e.g. branch-ensembl-54.

Ensembl Data Versioning

The Ensembl database names have the format:

<species><database type><release number><data version>

As an example, the name of the Human Core database for the Ensembl 32 release would be:

homo_sapiens_core_32_35e

A letter suffix to the data version indicates a change in data without a change in assembly; e.g. a new gene build.

BioMart Versioning

BioMart will branch less frequently than Ensembl, and the release number bears no relation to that of Ensembl.

The code can be checked out of CVS - see the installation instructions for the CVS tag format.