ColabFold
Fast AlphaFold2 with MMseqs2-based MSAs, runnable in Colab.
Developer: Mirdita, Ovchinnikov, Steinegger et al.
Overview
- Developer
- Mirdita, Ovchinnikov, Steinegger et al.
- Category
- Structure and complex prediction
- Commercial rights
- Commercial OK
- Commercial cost
- Free commercially
- Compute
- Single GPU
- Open weights
- Yes
- Last verified
Capabilities
AlphaFold2/multimer with fast MSAs. Input: FASTA (or a Colab notebook cell); output: ranked predicted structures with pLDDT/PAE plots, using MMseqs2 remote MSA search instead of a local database.
When to use it
The cheapest practical way to get AF2 predictions, including on free Colab GPUs. MSA depth from the public server is lower than full AF2 databases, and the server is rate-limited.
Input / Output
- Input
- FASTA (or a Colab notebook cell)
- Output
- ranked predicted structures with pLDDT/PAE plots, using MMseqs2 remote MSA search instead of a local database
Compute
Single GPU. Other tools with this compute profile →
Commercial Licensing
Commercial rights — may a company use it?
Commercial use OKLicence as writtenMIT License
MIT LICENSE file in the repo. The AlphaFold2 parameters it downloads are CC BY 4.0 per the AlphaFold README. Note the free public MSA server is intended for modest academic-scale use; heavy or commercial batch use should run a local MMseqs2 server.
The licence read at the source allows use by a company. Attribution or copyleft conditions may still apply — read the note.
Commercial cost — is commercial use free of charge?
Free for commercial useThe software is free (MIT) and the public MSA server costs nothing, though it is rate-limited and fair-use. Heavy or production use means running your own MSA server or paying for your own compute, not a licence fee.
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/sokrypton/ColabFold
From the makers of FoldScout
From AI Design to Wet-Lab Validation
Designed a promising protein or antibody? Seq2Study helps translate AI-generated sequences into experimental data.
- Protein Expression
- Protein Purification
- Binding Affinity
- Aggregation Assessment
- Stability Evaluation
- Developability Assessment
Get told when a licence changes
Licences on these tools do change. One short email when a status flips or a tool is added. No other use of your address.