Service Unavailable: DeepCell.org/predict inaccessible and API key registration broken

[19862202121]

Bug Description

DeepCell online services are currently inaccessible:

1. Prediction Tool: https://www.deepcell.org/predict returns error/timeout
2. API Registration: https://deepcell.readthedocs.io/en/master/API-key.html registration not working
3. Service Status: Uncertain if services are temporarily down or permanently discontinued

Steps to Reproduce

1. Visit https://www.deepcell.org/predict
2. Try to upload an image or access the interface
3. Visit https://deepcell.readthedocs.io/en/master/API-key.html
4. Attempt to register for an API key

Expected Behavior

• Prediction tool should be accessible
• API key registration should work
• Clear service status indication

Actual Behavior

• Connection timeouts or errors
• No response from the service
• No error messages or maintenance notices

Additional Context

• User: Academic researcher from China
• Use Case: Spatial biology analysis of TMA images
• Workaround Attempted: Local installation via pip install deepcell
• Observation: Copyright notice shows "© 2016-2026"

Questions

1. Is DeepCell online service temporarily down or permanently discontinued?
2. Are there alternative access methods for academic users?
3. Will there be service maintenance/updates in the near future?

Environment

• Location: China
• Browser: Chrome/Firefox/Edge (all tested)
• Network: Multiple networks tested
• Time: [Date and time of testing]

[rossbar]

Thanks for reporting - yes, the deepcell.org batch prediction system may currently be down; I don't have a timeline for when it can be brought back up. In the meantime, consider running the model on your own compute instances

Re: the API key registration - the users.deepcell.org portal is up and running; however, non-.edu domains often have to be manually verified for license compliance, which takes time. See vanvalenlab/cellSAM#90 for further details/discussion

[19862202121]

Thank you very much for your prompt and clear response. It’s helpful to know the status of the prediction system.
Regarding the API key registration, I have attempted to register using my institutional email (25110880007@m.fudan.edu.cn). I can access the registration portal at https://users.deepcell.org/register, but upon clicking the register button, I encounter a “Server Error (500)”. I couldn’t register a account. I’ve confirmed my network is functioning and had a peer try as well, with the same result.
Given this, your suggestion to run the model locally seems to be the best path forward. Could you please point me to any recommended for using this model? Any guidance on the optimal workflow would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you again for your time and for maintaining this valuable resource.

[yuexuan211]

I am a user from MD Anderson and ran into a similar issue: DeepCell Mesmer API Returning Empty/Broken Job Responses (Impacting ark Segmentation Workflow). Thanks for your efforts about maintaining these valuable tools.

[rossbar]

Indeed after several years of stability, underlying changes to the cloud hosting platform we were relying on has broken the workflow, and redeploying has not fixed it. We're investigating alternatives now - hopefully we can have something more stable up soon. Will ping here when we do!

[alex-l-kong]

@rossbar any updates on this? We have a mission-critical Mesmer inference we need to run and would like to use the portal.

[rossbar]

@alex-l-kong unfortunately I don't have any updates on timeline - we're working through underlying deployment issues but haven't landed on a sustainable recipe to bring the system back online in its previous form.

In the meantime, if you have local compute available I'd be happy to help you get set up to run inference locally with Mesmer.