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Nextflow Development

  • 1.7k installs
  • 23.1k repo stars
  • Updated July 28, 2026
  • anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins

Run nf-core bioinformatics pipelines (rnaseq, sarek, atacseq) on sequencing data. Use when analyzing RNA-seq, WGS/WES, or ATAC-seq data—either local FASTQs or public datasets from GEO/SRA. Triggers on

About

The nextflow development skill Run nf-core bioinformatics pipelines (rnaseq, sarek, atacseq) on sequencing data. Use when analyzing RNA-seq, WGS/WES, or ATAC-seq data - either local FASTQs or public datasets from GEO/SRA. Triggers on nf-core, Nextflow, FASTQ analysis, variant calling, gene expression, differential expression, GEO reanalysis, GSE/GSM/SRR accessions, or samplesheet creation. Documentation covers workflows, commands, and guardrails agents should follow when users invoke this capability. Key documented areas include [ ] Step 0: Acquire data (if from GEO/SRA); [ ] Step 1: Environment check (MUST pass); [ ] Step 2: Select pipeline (confirm with user); [ ] Step 3: Run test profile (MUST pass). Reference commands include - [ ] Step 0: Acquire data (if from GEO/SRA); - [ ] Step 1: Environment check (MUST pass). Use when developers or agents need structured guidance for nextflow development tasks with evidence grounded in the bundled SKILL.md rather than generic advice.

  • [ ] Step 0: Acquire data (if from GEO/SRA)
  • [ ] Step 1: Environment check (MUST pass)
  • [ ] Step 2: Select pipeline (confirm with user)
  • [ ] Step 3: Run test profile (MUST pass)
  • [ ] Step 4: Create samplesheet

Nextflow Development by the numbers

  • 1,705 all-time installs (skills.sh)
  • +85 installs in the week ending Jul 28, 2026 (Skillselion tracking)
  • Ranked #98 of 2,066 Data Science & ML skills by installs in the Skillselion catalog
  • Security screen: MEDIUM risk (skills.sh audit)
  • Data as of Jul 28, 2026 (Skillselion catalog sync)
At a glance

nextflow-development capabilities & compatibility

Capabilities
[ ] step 0: acquire data (if from geo/sra) · [ ] step 1: environment check (must pass) · [ ] step 2: select pipeline (confirm with user) · [ ] step 3: run test profile (must pass) · [ ] step 4: create samplesheet
npx skills add https://github.com/anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins --skill nextflow-development

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Installs1.7k
repo stars23.1k
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Last updatedJuly 28, 2026
Repositoryanthropics/knowledge-work-plugins

How do I handle nextflow development tasks with agent guidance?

Run nf-core bioinformatics pipelines (rnaseq, sarek, atacseq) on sequencing data. Use when analyzing RNA-seq, WGS/WES, or ATAC-seq data—either local FASTQs or public datasets from GEO/SRA. Triggers on

Who is it for?

Teams needing documented nextflow development workflows.

Skip if: Simple one-file edits, bioinformatics Nextflow pipeline DSL work, or projects outside the knowledge-work-plugins ecosystem.

When should I use this skill?

Run nf-core bioinformatics pipelines (rnaseq, sarek, atacseq) on sequencing data. Use when analyzing RNA-seq, WGS/WES, or ATAC-seq data—either local FASTQs or public datasets from GEO/SRA. Triggers on

What you get

Structured workflow from nextflow development documentation applied to the user request.

  • Multi-step agent workflow definitions
  • Plugin orchestration plans

Files

SKILL.mdMarkdownGitHub ↗

nf-core Pipeline Deployment

Run nf-core bioinformatics pipelines on local or public sequencing data.

Target users: Bench scientists and researchers without specialized bioinformatics training who need to run large-scale omics analyses—differential expression, variant calling, or chromatin accessibility analysis.

Workflow Checklist

- [ ] Step 0: Acquire data (if from GEO/SRA)
- [ ] Step 1: Environment check (MUST pass)
- [ ] Step 2: Select pipeline (confirm with user)
- [ ] Step 3: Run test profile (MUST pass)
- [ ] Step 4: Create samplesheet
- [ ] Step 5: Configure & run (confirm genome with user)
- [ ] Step 6: Verify outputs

---

Step 0: Acquire Data (GEO/SRA Only)

Skip this step if user has local FASTQ files.

For public datasets, fetch from GEO/SRA first. See references/geo-sra-acquisition.md for the full workflow.

Quick start:

# 1. Get study info
python scripts/sra_geo_fetch.py info GSE110004

# 2. Download (interactive mode)
python scripts/sra_geo_fetch.py download GSE110004 -o ./fastq -i

# 3. Generate samplesheet
python scripts/sra_geo_fetch.py samplesheet GSE110004 --fastq-dir ./fastq -o samplesheet.csv

DECISION POINT: After fetching study info, confirm with user:

  • Which sample subset to download (if multiple data types)
  • Suggested genome and pipeline

Then continue to Step 1.

---

Step 1: Environment Check

Run first. Pipeline will fail without passing environment.

python scripts/check_environment.py

All critical checks must pass. If any fail, provide fix instructions:

Docker issues

ProblemFix
Not installedInstall from https://docs.docker.com/get-docker/
Permission deniedsudo usermod -aG docker $USER then re-login
Daemon not runningsudo systemctl start docker

Nextflow issues

ProblemFix
Not installed`curl -s https://get.nextflow.io \
Version < 23.04nextflow self-update

Java issues

ProblemFix
Not installed / < 11sudo apt install openjdk-11-jdk

Do not proceed until all checks pass. For HPC/Singularity, see references/troubleshooting.md.

---

Step 2: Select Pipeline

DECISION POINT: Confirm with user before proceeding.

Data TypePipelineVersionGoal
RNA-seqrnaseq3.22.2Gene expression
WGS/WESsarek3.7.1Variant calling
ATAC-seqatacseq2.1.2Chromatin accessibility

Auto-detect from data:

python scripts/detect_data_type.py /path/to/data

For pipeline-specific details:

  • references/pipelines/rnaseq.md
  • references/pipelines/sarek.md
  • references/pipelines/atacseq.md

---

Step 3: Run Test Profile

Validates environment with small data. MUST pass before real data.

nextflow run nf-core/<pipeline> -r <version> -profile test,docker --outdir test_output
PipelineCommand
rnaseqnextflow run nf-core/rnaseq -r 3.22.2 -profile test,docker --outdir test_rnaseq
sareknextflow run nf-core/sarek -r 3.7.1 -profile test,docker --outdir test_sarek
atacseqnextflow run nf-core/atacseq -r 2.1.2 -profile test,docker --outdir test_atacseq

Verify:

ls test_output/multiqc/multiqc_report.html
grep "Pipeline completed successfully" .nextflow.log

If test fails, see references/troubleshooting.md.

---

Step 4: Create Samplesheet

Generate automatically

python scripts/generate_samplesheet.py /path/to/data <pipeline> -o samplesheet.csv

The script:

  • Discovers FASTQ/BAM/CRAM files
  • Pairs R1/R2 reads
  • Infers sample metadata
  • Validates before writing

For sarek: Script prompts for tumor/normal status if not auto-detected.

Validate existing samplesheet

python scripts/generate_samplesheet.py --validate samplesheet.csv <pipeline>

Samplesheet formats

rnaseq:

sample,fastq_1,fastq_2,strandedness
SAMPLE1,/abs/path/R1.fq.gz,/abs/path/R2.fq.gz,auto

sarek:

patient,sample,lane,fastq_1,fastq_2,status
patient1,tumor,L001,/abs/path/tumor_R1.fq.gz,/abs/path/tumor_R2.fq.gz,1
patient1,normal,L001,/abs/path/normal_R1.fq.gz,/abs/path/normal_R2.fq.gz,0

atacseq:

sample,fastq_1,fastq_2,replicate
CONTROL,/abs/path/ctrl_R1.fq.gz,/abs/path/ctrl_R2.fq.gz,1

---

Step 5: Configure & Run

5a. Check genome availability

python scripts/manage_genomes.py check <genome>
# If not installed:
python scripts/manage_genomes.py download <genome>

Common genomes: GRCh38 (human), GRCh37 (legacy), GRCm39 (mouse), R64-1-1 (yeast), BDGP6 (fly)

5b. Decision points

DECISION POINT: Confirm with user:

1. Genome: Which reference to use 2. Pipeline-specific options:

  • rnaseq: aligner (star_salmon recommended, hisat2 for low memory)
  • sarek: tools (haplotypecaller for germline, mutect2 for somatic)
  • atacseq: read_length (50, 75, 100, or 150)

5c. Run pipeline

nextflow run nf-core/<pipeline> \
    -r <version> \
    -profile docker \
    --input samplesheet.csv \
    --outdir results \
    --genome <genome> \
    -resume

Key flags:

  • -r: Pin version
  • -profile docker: Use Docker (or singularity for HPC)
  • --genome: iGenomes key
  • -resume: Continue from checkpoint

Resource limits (if needed):

--max_cpus 8 --max_memory '32.GB' --max_time '24.h'

---

Step 6: Verify Outputs

Check completion

ls results/multiqc/multiqc_report.html
grep "Pipeline completed successfully" .nextflow.log

Key outputs by pipeline

rnaseq:

  • results/star_salmon/salmon.merged.gene_counts.tsv - Gene counts
  • results/star_salmon/salmon.merged.gene_tpm.tsv - TPM values

sarek:

  • results/variant_calling/*/ - VCF files
  • results/preprocessing/recalibrated/ - BAM files

atacseq:

  • results/macs2/narrowPeak/ - Peak calls
  • results/bwa/mergedLibrary/bigwig/ - Coverage tracks

---

Quick Reference

For common exit codes and fixes, see references/troubleshooting.md.

Resume failed run

nextflow run nf-core/<pipeline> -resume

---

References

  • references/geo-sra-acquisition.md - Downloading public GEO/SRA data
  • references/troubleshooting.md - Common issues and fixes
  • references/installation.md - Environment setup
  • references/pipelines/rnaseq.md - RNA-seq pipeline details
  • references/pipelines/sarek.md - Variant calling details
  • references/pipelines/atacseq.md - ATAC-seq details

---

Disclaimer

This skill is provided as a prototype example demonstrating how to integrate nf-core bioinformatics pipelines into Claude Code for automated analysis workflows. The current implementation supports three pipelines (rnaseq, sarek, and atacseq), serving as a foundation that enables the community to expand support to the full set of nf-core pipelines.

It is intended for educational and research purposes and should not be considered production-ready without appropriate validation for your specific use case. Users are responsible for ensuring their computing environment meets pipeline requirements and for verifying analysis results.

Anthropic does not guarantee the accuracy of bioinformatics outputs, and users should follow standard practices for validating computational analyses. This integration is not officially endorsed by or affiliated with the nf-core community.

Attribution

When publishing results, cite the appropriate pipeline. Citations are available in each nf-core repository's CITATIONS.md file (e.g., https://github.com/nf-core/rnaseq/blob/3.22.2/CITATIONS.md).

Licenses

  • nf-core pipelines: MIT License (https://nf-co.re/about)
  • Nextflow: Apache License, Version 2.0 (https://www.nextflow.io/about-us.html)
  • NCBI SRA Toolkit: Public Domain (https://github.com/ncbi/sra-tools/blob/master/LICENSE)

Related skills

How it compares

Use for plugin-chained agent workflows rather than single-task generator or checker skills.

FAQ

What does nextflow development do?

Run nf-core bioinformatics pipelines (rnaseq, sarek, atacseq) on sequencing data. Use when analyzing RNA-seq, WGS/WES, or ATAC-seq data—either local FASTQs or public datasets from GEO/SRA. Triggers on

When should I invoke nextflow development?

Run nf-core bioinformatics pipelines (rnaseq, sarek, atacseq) on sequencing data. Use when analyzing RNA-seq, WGS/WES, or ATAC-seq data—either local FASTQs or public datasets from GEO/SRA. Triggers on

What are key capabilities?

[ ] Step 0: Acquire data (if from GEO/SRA)

Is Nextflow Development safe to install?

skills.sh reports 2 of 3 security scanners passed. Review the Security Audits panel on this page before installing in production.

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