BindCraft
AlphaFold2-backpropagation pipeline that designs binders end to end.
Developer: Martin Pacesa / Correia lab, EPFL
Overview
- Developer
- Martin Pacesa / Correia lab, EPFL
- Commercial rights
- Restricted
- Commercial cost
- Paid licence
- Compute
- Single GPU
- Open weights
- Yes
- Last verified
Capabilities
One-command de novo binder design. Input: target PDB, chain and target residues; output: binder sequences plus predicted complex PDBs and filter statistics (iPTM, pAE interaction, ddG, clashes), using AlphaFold2 backpropagation and MPNN redesign.
When to use it
Good one-command route from target PDB to candidate binder sequences with built-in filters. Depends on PyRosetta (commercial license needed) and is GPU-hungry per trajectory.
Input / Output
- Input
- target PDB, chain and target residues
- Output
- binder sequences plus predicted complex PDBs and filter statistics (iPTM, pAE interaction, ddG, clashes), using AlphaFold2 backpropagation and MPNN redesign
Compute
Single GPU. Other tools with this compute profile →
Commercial Licensing
Commercial rights — may a company use it?
RestrictedLicence as writtenMIT License
Code is MIT, but the README states the installer installs PyRosetta, 'which requires a license for commercial purposes'. PyRosetta's own page confirms licensing is free for academic/non-profit and fee-based for commercial users. AlphaFold2 parameters it uses are CC BY 4.0, which does allow commercial use.
Some commercial use is possible, but a component, dependency or condition needs a paid licence or carries obligations.
Commercial cost — is commercial use free of charge?
Paid commercial licenceThe pipeline itself is free, but its installer pulls in PyRosetta, and PyRosetta's licensing page states that commercial users pay a fee (academic and non-profit use is free). Budget for a PyRosetta commercial licence, or replace that dependency.
Price and rights are separate: this panel is about money, the panel above is about permission.
- Commercial OK ≠ Free of charge. A tool can be licensed for company use and still need a paid licence for a dependency (BindCraft → PyRosetta).
- Free download ≠ Commercially licensed. Weights you can download at no cost may still forbid commercial use (AlphaFold 3).
- Unverified ≠ Commercially permitted. If no published statement settles it, treat it as unknown — not as a yes.
- Every component counts. Each status considers the code licence, the model-weights terms, required dependencies and any terms of use.
Model Weights
Open weights. A separate weights licence is Not documented as its own field; where weights carry different terms from the code, that is stated in the licence explanation above.
Dependencies
Not documented as a separate field. Any dependency that affects commercial use (for example a paid PyRosetta licence) is named in the licence and cost explanations above.
Official References
- Official site / repo
- github.com/martinpacesa/BindCraft
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