More about the InChI standard

What is an InChI

Use cases 

Links to further reading 

Updates on InChI development 

Update on new features 

Project working groups 

Events and publications 


Join the community of InChI developers 

Update on new releases 

Code and web demo

Discussion groups 

What support does InChI need?

Why support InChI 

How to support 

The InChI Trust 

How we work

The InChI Trust is a charity that supports the development and promotion of the InChI standard. It works in partnership with IUPAC to update and release new extensions to and applications of InChI. The Trust is a membership organisation, governed by its Board of Trustees which includes representation from IUPAC.

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The scientific design of the various tools and capabilities that comprise the InChI code are defined by the InChI Working Groups which are made up of volunteers from the InChI community with IUPAC oversight. These voluntary groups are each focused on specific areas of chemistry or tools within the InChI code. See Working Groups for details on each group and their membership.

The development of the code is coordinated by the Technical Director of the InChI Trust, together with the working groups, IUPAC and our development partners. Our development partners currently include RWTH Aachen (as part of NFDI4Chem, acknowledging funding from Volkswagen Stiftung and the Data Literacy Alliance – DALIA), and the Beilstein-Institut.

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Latest news

Alan McNaught (19 November 2025)

It is with great sadness that we learned of the death of Alan McNaught - we remember Alan for his contribution to and support for InChI within IUPAC from the beginning, his role in bringing the InChI Trust into being to sustain the standard, and acting as Secretary of the Trust for many years. Alan was always a warm and supportive colleague, and we will miss his kindness and insight.

Photo: Alan, third from the right, at the InChI Trust Board meeting in August 2018

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    Summary of the recent Technical Meeting (14 August 2025)

    Please see our post covering the highlights and outcomes of our recent technical InChI meeting at RWTH Aachen in July. This covers Stereochemistry in Molecular Inorganics, Atropisomers, Polymer-InChI, the InChI Development Philosophy, Governance / Implementation / Communication, and Tools / APIs / Reference Data.

    Thanks to Gerd Blanke and Sonja Herres-Pawlis for writing up this summary.

    https://www.inchi-trust.org/shaping-the-future-of-inchi-technical-meeting-at-rwth-aachen-july-2025/

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      Continuing support of 32-bit InChI components - poll closed (26 June 2025)

      Following the community survey, we will no longer be releasing 32-bit builds in future InChI releases (though you will be able to compile your own if needed). Let us know if this will cause you problems.

      https://github.com/IUPAC-InChI/InChI/discussions/136

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