# QIIME 2 2021.8 is now available! **URL:** https://forum.qiime2.org/t/qiime-2-2021-8-is-now-available/20702 **Category:** Announcements **Tags:** release **Created:** [September 10, 2021, 8:30pm UTC](https://forum.qiime2.org/t/qiime-2-2021-8-is-now-available/20702 "2021-09-10T20:30:12Z") **Posts on this page:** 2 **Page:** 1
### Author: ![q2d2](https://forum.qiime2.org/user_avatar/forum.qiime2.org/q2d2/32/613_2.png) [@q2d2](https://forum.qiime2.org/u/q2d2) #### Post date: [September 10, 2021, 8:30pm UTC](https://forum.qiime2.org/t/qiime-2-2021-8-is-now-available/20702/1 "2021-09-10T20:30:12Z")
The QIIME 2 2021.8 release is now available! Thanks to everyone involved for their hard work! As a reminder, our next planned QIIME 2 release is scheduled for October, 2021 (QIIME 2 2021.10), but please stay tuned for updates. Check out the [QIIME 2 2021.8 docs](https://docs.qiime2.org/2021.8/) for details on installing the latest QIIME 2 release, as well as tutorials and other resources. Get in touch on the QIIME 2 Forum if you run into any issues! Virtual machine builds will be available sometime within the next week - watch this topic thread for an update! * * * ### ❗ BREAKING CHANGES - [q2-sample-classifier](https://docs.qiime2.org/2021.8/plugins/q2-sample-classifier) - @adamova created the `SampleData[TrueTargets]` Semantic Type, allowing for the output of target metadata from `split_data` and `classify_samples`. Please update scripts, workflows, etc. as appropriate. Stuck? Reach out here on the forum for help. * * * Here’s the highlights of the release: - [QIIME 2 Framework](https://github.com/qiime2/qiime2) - @lizgehret updated the `.save()` method on the Artifact, Visualization and Metadata classes, that now contains the `ext` argument, which takes string values as input. Default values (if left blank) for each class are as follows: ```auto Metadata: blank Artifact: .qza Visualization: .qzv ``` Additionally, `Metadata.save()` will now return the filepath (including optional extension), just as Artifact and Visualization classes currently do. - @Keegan-Evans, @lizgehret, and @ebolyen have added functionality that allows for Semantic Validation in addition to the current format validation. This allows for the validation of data based on the content and expected use of the data. It should help prevent the proliferation of formats (and maybe even allow for future reduction in formats πŸ˜‰). - @Keegan-Evans found and fixed a little bug in the normalization routine for `Union`s πŸ’ƒ - @Oddant1 and @ebolyen added support for async action execution to the Usage API - sweet! πŸ’ - @ebolyen fixed a πŸͺ² in `method.signature.decode_parameters`. Thanks for catching this one @John_Chase! 😁 - @ChrisKeefe added confirmation for how `from_checksum_format()` handles leading-backslash filepaths. - [library](https://library.qiime2.org) - @thermokarst, @lizgehret, @Keegan-Evans, and @ebolyen rolled out v1 of our new Library-based build system! Please keep an eye on a more detailed announcement about this in the future. - [docs](https://docs.qiime2.org/2021.8) - @lizgehret updated the OTU Clustering tutorial segment regarding 'Closed Reference Clustering' to accurately reflect the file outputs (one artifact of data type: `FeatureTable[Frequency]` and two artifacts of data type: `FeatureData[Sequence]`). - @lizgehret updated the q2studio installation guide to resolve an `npm install` package dependency issue that was reported on the QIIME 2 forum. - @Nicholas_Bokulich updated the Data References page to include the RESCRIPt pre-print citation, slightly adjusted the description and references for the weighted classifiers, and cited the references listed for the unweighted classifiers. - @lizgehret and @Oddant1 updated the Metadata page to include details on `qiime tools cast-metadata` for casting metadata column types directly from the q2cli command line. They also added a full length tutorial on how to use this tool under the Utilities page. - @andrewsanchez fixed up a few misc typos in the PD 🐁 tutorial! πŸ‘¨ - @thermokarst added a new command to allow for command block errors: `allow-error`. This will be a helpful addition for any docs that should display a command block with an associated error (rather than running a command successfully). - [dev-docs](https://dev.qiime2.org) - @ChrisKeefe documented QIIME 2's decentralized provenance tracking and changes to the format of QIIME 2 archives over time - [workshops](https://workshops.qiime2.org/) - @thermokarst updated the details on our workshop request contact information πŸ“‘. - [q2cli](https://docs.qiime2.org/2021.8/interfaces/q2cli/) - @lizgehret and @Oddant1 implemented a new πŸ›  : `qiime tools cast-metadata`, which allows users to cast metadata columns to new q2:types (either categorical or numeric) directly through the command line. This will allow users to programmatically override the automatically selected q2:types without resorting to tools like `sed`. - [q2-feature-table](https://docs.qiime2.org/2021.8/plugins/available/feature-table/) - @antgonza updated the logic for the `summarize` viz to limit the number of bins when generating histogram plots. This helps reduce the runtime of the viz and memory requirements 🧠. - [q2-diversity](https://docs.qiime2.org/2021.8/plugins/available/q2-diversity) - @crusher083 made an update to beta correlation: `mantel()` in `_visualizer.py` previously opened up an instance of `plt.Figure()` and doesn't close it, consuming memory. They added a line to close the instance and free up memory after saving. πŸ€“ - @ChrisKeefe fixed the _for more information_ πŸ”— within the Adonis docs that was previously broken. - [q2-diversity-lib](https://docs.qiime2.org/2021.8/plugins/available/q2-diversity-lib) - @lizgehret updated the Conda recipe with Python under the run requirements, to ensure compatibility when installing directly through `conda install`. - [q2-phylogeny](https://docs.qiime2.org/2021.8/plugins/q2-phylogeny) - @lizgehret fixed a πŸ› within the `align_to_tree_mafft_fasttree` method. Previously, when the `n_threads` argument was set to '_auto_', the **OMP\_NUM\_THREADS** environment variable would be set to 1 (rather than the max number of threads available on a user's machine). This has been resolved, and now when `n_threads` is set to '_auto_', the max number of 🧡s are used. - @jwdebelius added a method to filter a phylogenetic 🌲 so a set of tips match an input feature table. πŸ₯³ The syntax and outputs are pretty much a cognate of `filter-table`. - [q2-sample-classifier](https://docs.qiime2.org/2021.8/plugins/q2-sample-classifier) - @adamova added the ability to allow for training against the full dataset! πŸ§€ - [q2-types](https://docs.qiime2.org/2021.8/plugins/q2-types) - @qiyunzhu added a new Semantic Type: `FeatureData[BLAST6]`. The support for BLAST search result format will be useful to several potential functions within the :qiime2: framework. Many sequence aligners such as BLAST, DIAMOND, VSEARCH, use this layout. Happy QIIMEing! β›΅ ---
### Author: ![q2d2](https://forum.qiime2.org/user_avatar/forum.qiime2.org/q2d2/32/613_2.png) [@q2d2](https://forum.qiime2.org/u/q2d2) #### Post date: [September 16, 2021, 9:42pm UTC](https://forum.qiime2.org/t/qiime-2-2021-8-is-now-available/20702/3 "2021-09-16T21:42:40Z")
Yahoo! Virtual machines for the new release are all set! πŸŽ‰ πŸ§€ Please try them out and let us know how you fare! 🍡 🚠 πŸ”­ [https://docs.qiime2.org/2021.8/install/virtual/](https://docs.qiime2.org/2021.8/install/virtual/) Cheers! :qiime2: