Incomplete methods sections have made it difficult for researchers to replicate and build on the work of others, contributing to problems in reproducibility. It is important to increase the level of detail in our methods sections and to share step-by-step protocols in protocol repositories or journals. Request a Protocol is a new feature in Molecular Biology of the Cell that allows readers to request detailed protocols directly from the methods section of the research article, with links between the protocols and the research articles, and has the potential to improve research reproducibility and help everyone design and execute robust life science experiments.