Dataset card: no-login starter pack section and gallery

README.md

@@ -27,13 +27,50 @@ workflow (7,777 samples, each checked by an independent scorer) and by the earli
 samples, each reviewed by eye). The atlas is described in the
 [bioRxiv preprint](https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.05.27.727615).
 
-This repository holds **metadata only** and needs no account. The expression matrices (H5AD), images (TIFF) and
-per-sample JSON are in the [full dataset](https://huggingface.co/datasets/Biogod/SpatialDataAgent-DB), about
-1.8 TB in total. Every file of the release has passed content verification. To get the files:
+This repository needs **no account**. It holds the catalog of all 12,163 samples and the complete files of 88
+starter samples (below). The files of every sample are in the
+[full dataset](https://huggingface.co/datasets/Biogod/SpatialDataAgent-DB), about 1.8 TB, where access is
+approved manually.
 
-1. Request access on that page with your Hugging Face account and an institutional e-mail; requests are reviewed
-   manually.
-2. After approval, run `hf auth login` (or set `HF_TOKEN`).
+## Try it now, without an account: the starter pack
+
+![24 of the starter pack's samples with a tissue image](assets/dataset-card/v3/08-starter-gallery.png)
+
+88 samples of the release are in this repository and need **no login**. Each has the full three files:
+`spatial.h5ad`, `sample.json` and, for 60 of them, `image.tif`. The pack covers:
+
+- 12 platforms, 20 organ groups and 8 species;
+- 46 H&E images and 14 DAPI or CosMx images;
+- 42 samples with a reported disease and 79 from published studies;
+- 3.9 GB in total.
+
+The files are byte-identical to the full dataset, and each is checked against its SHA256 when downloaded.
+`starter/starter.json` lists the samples.
+
+[Open the five-minute notebook in Colab](https://colab.research.google.com/github/Biogod2020/spatial-data-agent-db/blob/main/examples/starter_pack.ipynb),
+or:
+
+```bash
+pip install "spatial-data-agent-db[analysis] @ git+https://github.com/Biogod2020/spatial-data-agent-db"
+sda-db starter --has-image                                   # list the pack
+sda-db download GSM4284327 --release starter --include-image  # human skin cancer, H&E at 0.76 µm per pixel
+```
+
+```python
+import sda_db
+adata = sda_db.load("GSM4284327", release="starter", include_image=True)
+```
+
+From R, or any tool, download a starter sample's files directly, for example
+`https://huggingface.co/datasets/Biogod/SpatialDataAgent-DB-Catalog/resolve/main/samples/GSE144239/GSM4284327/spatial.h5ad`
+(also `sample.json` and `image.tif`), and read the H5AD with `zellkonverter::readH5AD`.
+
+**All 12,163 samples.** Every file of the release has passed content verification. To download any sample:
+
+1. Request access on the [full dataset page](https://huggingface.co/datasets/Biogod/SpatialDataAgent-DB) with
+   your Hugging Face account and an institutional e-mail; requests are reviewed manually.
+2. After approval, run `hf auth login` (or set `HF_TOKEN`). The same commands then work without
+   `--release starter`.
 
 ## Is my tissue here?
 
@@ -130,7 +167,7 @@ checks every file against its SHA256, and reads samples as AnnData. Streaming-re
 planned follow-up. AI agents can use the same tools through its
 MCP server (`sda-db mcp`).
 
-With approved access, load a sample and cut an image patch paired with a spot:
+Load a starter sample (no login) and cut an image patch paired with one spot:
 
 ```python
 import json
@@ -138,7 +175,7 @@ import sda_db
 from sda_db.io import image_coordinates
 from sda_db.image import read_patch
 
-adata = sda_db.load("GSM8915497", include_image=True)    # verified download, then AnnData with release metadata
+adata = sda_db.load("GSM4284327", release="starter", include_image=True)   # verified download, then AnnData
 meta = json.loads(adata.uns["sda_db"]["sample_json"])
 pixels = image_coordinates(adata, meta)                  # image pixel position of every spot
 patch, _ = read_patch(adata.uns["sda_db"]["directory"], pixels[0], 224)   # H&E patch paired with adata.X[0]