Getting Started

1. Dependencies
2. Nextflow Basics
   1. Specifying the workflow version
   2. Specifying resource limits
   3. Resuming a run
3. Testing BigBacter
4. Basic Usage

Dependencies

BigBacter is built using Nextflow. Nextflow simplifies the development and execution of complex, scalable data analysis workflows by enabling reproducibility, portability across computing environments, and seamless integration with container technologies like Docker and Singularity.

The following are required to run BigBacter:

• Nextflow (version 23.04.0 or higher)
• One of the following container engines:
  • Podman (recommended)
  • Docker
  • Apptainer
  • Singularity.

BigBacter does not support Conda / Mamba. Please submit a feature request if this is essential for your lab.

Nextflow Basics

Below are some general pointers for how to run Nextflow workflows.

Specifying the workflow version

There are two general ways you can specify which version of BigBacter you want to run:

1. Tell Nextflow which version you want to use

    nextflow run NW-PaGe/BigBacter \
        -r v1.0 \
        -profile docker \
        --input samplesheet.csv \
        --outdir results
   

2. Clone the workflow version manually

    git clone https://github.com/NW-PaGe/BigBacter.git -b v1.0 
   

    nextflow run BigBacter/main.nf \
        -profile docker \
        --input samplesheet.csv \
        --outdir results
   

Nextflow caches repos in ~/.nextflow/assets/ by default. Removing this cache can be helpful when running into version-related issues.

Specifying resource limits

We recommend adjusting the maximum resource limits that Nextflow can use. Setting these limits too high will cause the workflow to fail. This can be accomplished in the config file supplied via the -c paramater (see below).

Nextflow no longer allows resource limits to be specified from command line (e.g., --max_cpus or --max_memory).

custom.config

process {
    resourceLimits = [
        cpus: 8,
        memory: 14.GB
    ]
}

nextflow run NW-PaGe/BigBacter \
    -r v2.0 \
    -c custom.config \
    -profile docker \
    --input samplesheet.csv \
    --outdir results

---

Resuming a run

Nextflow can resume a run. This comes in handy when a workflow fails or when you need to make small parameter adjustments. Below is an example of how you can resume a workflow run:

nextflow run NW-PaGe/BigBacter \
    -r v2.0 \
    -profile docker \
    --input samplesheet.csv \
    --outdir results \
    -resume

Testing BigBacter

Verify that BigBacter is running properly using the command below. Update -profile to your preferred container engine.

nextflow run NW-PaGe/BigBacter \
    -r v2.0 \
    -profile (docker|podman|apptainer|singularity),test \
    --outdir BigBacter_test

You can learn more about how the test configuration here

Basic Usage

In-depth overviews of inputs and outputs are available. All other questions / issues should be submitted via the BigBacter GitHub issues page or by email.