PhyloSketch App

PhyloSketch App is for drawing rooted phylogenetic trees and networks. Draw nodes and edges with a finger or pencil, label them, and the app keeps track of what kind of network has been drawn (tree, tree-child, tree-based, and so on) and reports its properties. A photo of a printed tree can be captured and turned into an editable network, including the recognition of its labels. Networks can be imported from and exported to Newick format and laid out automatically.

Paper: Daniel H. Huson. Sketch, capture and layout phylogenies. PLOS Computational Biology 21(12): e1013805 (2025). doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1013805

Desktop program: github.com/husonlab/phylosketch2 (GPL 3).

Beta testing: join through TestFlight at testflight.apple.com/join/aI8AMADo, or scan the code below with your iPhone or iPad. The App Store release follows.

Working with files

Documents are kept in the app’s own folder on the device. The files tab of the app lists them, and the same folder is visible in the Files app under On My iPhone (or On My iPad), where files can be copied, renamed or moved to iCloud Drive. To bring a file into the app, share it from another app, from Mail or from Files and choose the app, or copy its text and use Import > Paste into new file in the files tab. To get data out, use Export in the files tab or the export items in the document itself: they open the system share sheet, from which files and images can be saved, sent or copied.

Support

Questions and bug reports: see the support page. Privacy: the app does not collect any data, see the privacy policy. The third-party software included in the app and its licenses are listed on the licenses page and in the app’s About pane in the files tab.

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