GA4GH is the standards body for genomic and health-related data exchange, formed in 2013 by more than 400 institutions. Rather than one specification it publishes a family: htsget for streaming reads and variants, refget for reference sequences, DRS for data repository addressing, WES and TES for remote workflow and task execution, Beacon for variant discovery, and Passports/AAI for federated researcher authorization. Each is a genuine API specification with a defined HTTP surface.
GA4GH
Referenced in API Evangelist papers
This standard shows up in my published research. These reports read the machine-readable evidence provider by provider — and put this standard in the context of a real sector.
The State of Biotechnology APIs
The genomics standards family measured against its own market: 3 of 999 biotechnology companies name GA4GH in a positive context. Purpose-built, technically sound, and eleven years on it is the least-adopted domain standard in this report.
