API

The server exposes a RESTful API, with the following endpoints (defined in explorer.py):

GET:
/api  # get info about the api endpoints
/trees  # get info about all the existing trees
/trees/<name>  # get info about the given tree
/trees/<name>/draw  # get graphical commands to draw the tree
/trees/<name>/layouts  # get available layouts for the tree
/trees/<name>/style  # get tree style
/trees/<name>/newick  # get newick representation
/trees/<name>/size  # get inner width and height of the full tree
/trees/<name>/properties  # names of extra ones defined in any node
/trees/<name>/nodecount  # total count of nodes and leaves
/trees/<name>/search  # search for nodes

PUT:
/trees/<name>/sort  # sort branches
/trees/<name>/set_outgroup  # set node as outgroup (1st child of root)
/trees/<name>/move  # move branch
/trees/<name>/remove  # prune branch
/trees/<name>/rename  # change the name of a node
/trees/<name>/edit  # edit any node property
/trees/<name>/clear_searches  # clear stored searches (free server memory)
/trees/<name>/to_dendrogram  # convert tree to dendogram (no distances)
/trees/<name>/to_ultrametric  # convert tree to ultrametric (equidistant leaves)

POST:
/trees  # add a new tree

DELETE:
/trees/<name>  # remove tree

In addition to the api endpoints, the server has these other ones:

/  # redirects to /static/gui.html?tree=<name>
/help  # gives some pointers for using ete
/static/<path>  # all the static content, including javascript like gui.js

The api can be directly queried with the browser (for some endpoints that accept a GET request), or with tools such as curl or httpie.

The frontend uses those endpoints to draw and manipulate the trees. It works as a web application, which mainly translates the list of graphical commands coming from /trees/<name>/draw into svgs.

It is possible to use the same backend and write a different frontend (as a desktop application, or in a different language, or using a different graphics library), while still taking advantage of all the optimizations done for the drawing.