Welcome to the portal for the Systems Biology Markup Language (SBML), a free and open data format for computational systems biology that’s used by thousands of people worldwide.


What is SBML?
SBML is a software data format for describing models in biology. It’s a little like HTML, but for formal models instead of web pages. It’s independent of any particular software tool and not limited to any particular field of the life sciences. It’s open and free.
How do you use it?
Many software tools and databases support SBML directly. You don’t write in SBML yourself—your software does it for you. And in the BioModels Database, you can find hundreds of published models in SBML format.
Where do you get more information?
The Documents section of this site contains the SBML specifications as well as other information such as publications, the SBML Development, and the SBML FAQ. The Community section has info about discussion groups and upcoming events.
How can you support SBML in your own software?
If you’re developing software for biological modeling, simulation, visualization, databasing, or other purposes, libraries such as libSBML and JSBML can help you support SBML. Make sure to read the SBML specifications, and ask questions in the relevant discussion groups!
Who’s involved in SBML?
SBML has been in development in a community-driven fashion since its creation in the year 2000. It has been made possible thanks to support from many agencies and organizations, as well as contributions from many motivated individuals.

No matter how you use SBML, we invite you to sign up for the SBML discussion group, sbml-discuss.