Skip to content

Operator handbook

Audience: trained rig operators during an active session. Scope: the single-page lookup for "what does this button do / where do I look / what should I click." Designed to print and tape next to the rig.

Every entry below points at the page that owns the fuller explanation. This page deliberately does not re-explain — when something surprises you, follow the link.

The three tabs — what they're for

Tab Use when
Setup Loading or editing the config. Always between runs, never during.
Run Starting and watching a run. The live console.
Method Authoring a multi-step program. Usually empty for CAPA's common free-run case.

The connection strip (top of Setup tab)

Full reference →

Dot State What you do
○ gray No config loaded Open or pick from Recents.
● green Connected — draft matches rig You're good. Switch to Run.
◐ amber Draft has N unsaved edits Click Apply & Connect.
◐ blue Connecting… Wait — opening hardware.
◐ indigo Verifying connection… Wait — read-only handshake.
✗ red Last apply failed Click Details…; fix; retry.
🔒 purple Run in progress — config locked Edits refused. End the run first.

The state badge (top of Run tab)

Full reference →

Badge Colour Meaning Manual writes?
Idle gray No conductor yes (to pool)
Preparing… warn Opening session, arming workers no
Running green Samples flowing yes (to conductor, recorded)
Draining… warn Workers disarming no
Finalizing… warn Bundle being sealed no
Sealed green Done; bundle ready yes (to pool)
Failed red Preflight refused or finalize crashed yes (to pool)

The four warn states are "write-blocked" — the manual control dock refuses commands.

The status bar (bottom of every tab)

Full reference →

Left to right: state · elapsed · UI overflow · sat · loop · q · safety queue · disk · cam · op · bundle.

Healthy steady state:

RUNNING  00:00:42  UI overflow 0  sat ok  loop 8 ms  q 1/47  disk 87% free

If anything goes yellow or red:

Pill Red means First check
sat Producer blocked ≥ 5 s loop pill next
loop Conductor loop ≥ 200 ms p99 CPU-busy CustomStep
q Bridge near capacity About to saturate
disk < 5% free Free space immediately

The three buttons (Run tab header)

Full reference →

Button Click What happens
Start Once New run begins. Disabled until pool is open.
Stop run Once Graceful abort request → procedure cleanup → disarm → seal. Bundle is aborted + sealed.
⛔ Emergency stop Hold 1 s Immediate abort request → disarm → seal. Bundle is aborted + sealed.

Both abort modes seal the bundle. Neither loses recorded data. See aborting safely.

Manual control cards

Full reference →

  • Available cards depend on which devices declare manual capabilities.
  • During RUNNING, commands route through the conductor and are recorded in the bundle.
  • Between runs, commands go to the pool and are not recorded (they show up as manual_event in the events dock for audit).
  • Destructive operations (internal cal, save-to-EEPROM, totalizer reset) show a confirmation dialog. Hit Yes deliberately.

When to call which stop

Full reference →

Situation Click
Run on schedule, ending early Stop run
Something looks off, rig responding Stop run
Overshoot or leak suspected Emergency stop
GUI unresponsive Kill the process
Actively dangerous Physical e-stop, then kill the process

Reviewing the sealed bundle

Full reference →

  • The Run tab's run-identity line shows run: <id> (<status>).
  • The status bar's bundle: pill shows the path.
  • Help → Open logs folder opens the runs root in your OS file browser.
  • manifest.json is the index card; check run_status, bundle_status, integrity.status first.
  • scalars.parquet is the data; events.sqlite is the log; video/*.mkv is visible video and video/*.csq is FLIR IR.

Expected post-abort manifest: aborted + sealed + ok. Anything else warrants investigation.

Common between-runs sequence

  1. New sample in the holder.
  2. Setup tab → Operator & sample: new sample id.
  3. Setup tab → CAPA Profile: new mass.
  4. Apply && Connect → wait for green.
  5. Run tab → Start.
  6. Watch status bar. Wait.
  7. Run ends (naturally or via Stop). Badge → Sealed.
  8. Repeat.

When in doubt

If a button surprises you, the page you want is on this handbook somewhere. If a concept surprises you, the page you want is the glossary.