Protein Data Bank (PDB) Archive: a new architecture (beta) for
scalable, PDBx/mmCIF-based data distribution
Zukang Feng, Balakumaran Balasubramaniyan, Gert-Jan Bekker, Jose M.
Duarte, Vladimir Guranovic, Jeremy Henry, Sreenath S. Nair, Ezra
Peisach, Dennis W. Piehl, Aditya Pingale, James Smith, Brinda
Vallat, Reiko Yamashita, Arthur Zalevsky, Kyle Morris,Jeff Hoch,
Genji Kurisu, Sameer Velankar, Stephen K. Burley, and Jasmine Y. Young
(2026) /Acta Cryst/ D82: 982-989 doi: 10.1107/S2059798326006194
<http://doi.org/10.1107/S2059798326006194> 


    Transition Resources

A new publication describes the PDB Beta Archive <https://www.wwpdb.org/ftp/pdb-beta-ftp-sites> which incorporates the new updates, with the goal of supporting PDB users as they transition to the extended PDB ID and PDBx/mmCIF format. On July 21, 2027, the PDB Beta Archive will replace the current PDB Archive when 12-character PDB IDs are issued exclusively. Users are strongly encouraged to adapt to these changes in PDB data layout and content as soon as possible. This PDB Beta Archive contains PDB entries in PDBx/mmCIF and PDBML formats, with extended PDB IDs in the datablock name. It is organized on an entry-level basis (e.g. all associated experimental and validation files for a particular entry are contained within the same directory) with extended PDB IDs used in the file and directory naming. The wwPDB weekly update process was modified to create the PDB Beta Archive alongside the current PDB Archive. Both PDB Beta and the current main archives are updated in parallel each week and made available every Wednesday at 00:00 UTC. Protein Data Bank (PDB) Archive: a new architecture (beta) for scalable, PDBx/mmCIF-based data distribution Zukang Feng, Balakumaran Balasubramaniyan, Gert-Jan Bekker, Jose M. Duarte, Vladimir Guranovic, Jeremy Henry, Sreenath S. Nair, Ezra Peisach, Dennis W. Piehl, Aditya Pingale, James Smith, Brinda Vallat, Reiko Yamashita, Arthur Zalevsky, Kyle Morris,Jeff Hoch, Genji Kurisu, Sameer Velankar, Stephen K. Burley, and Jasmine Y. Young (2026) /Acta Cryst/ D82: 982-989 doi: 10.1107/S2059798326006194 <http://doi.org/10.1107/S2059798326006194> Transition Resources * PDB ID Extension FAQ <https://www.wwpdb.org/documentation/pdb-id-extension-faq> * PDB Beta Archive Overview: includes beta archive access, scripts, shortlink URLs, and other resources <https://www.wwpdb.org/ftp/pdb-beta-ftp-sites> * PDBx/mmCIF software resources <https://mmcif.wwpdb.org/docs/software-resources.html> * Understanding PDBx/mmCIF format <https://pdb101.rcsb.org/learn/guide-to-understanding-pdb-data/beginner%E2%80%99s-guide-to-pdbx-mmcif> * PDBx/mmCIF User Guide <https://mmcif.wwpdb.org/docs/user-guide/guide.html> * PDBx/mmCIF Dictionary <https://mmcif.wwpdb.org/> * PDB -> PDBx/mmCIF correspondences <https://mmcif.wwpdb.org/docs/pdb_to_pdbx_correspondences.html> * An online PDBx/mmCIF Editor <https://pdbj.org/cif-editor/> Please read the full news here: https://www.wwpdb.org/news/news?year=2026#6a7367b43bf5580b84a87d2f On behalf of the wwPDB, -- IRINA PERSIKOVA, Ph.D. Deputy Biocuration Lead, RCSB Protein Data Bank Research Associate, Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey 174 Frelinghuysen Road, Piscataway NJ 08854 P: 848.445.4938 | E: irina.persikova@rcsb.org <mailto:irina.persikova@rcsb.org> rcsb.org <www.rcsb.org> | iqb.rutgers.edu <http://iqb.rutgers.edu> | facebook <https://www.facebook.com/RCSBPDB> | twitter <https://twitter.com/buildmodels>