add-bactopia-tool

name

add-bactopia-tool

description

Scaffold a complete Bactopia Tool across all three tiers -- module, subworkflow, and workflow entry point under workflows/bactopia-tools/. Creates all files (main.nf, module.config, schema.json, nextflow.config, tests) for the common single-tool pattern. Use when asked to add a new bactopia tool, create a bactopia tool, scaffold a complete tool, add a new analysis tool to bactopia-tools, or wire up a bioconda package as a bactopia-tool. This skill handles the full pipeline from package lookup through file generation -- do not use add-module or add-subworkflow separately when the goal is a complete bactopia-tool.

Add Bactopia Tool

Scaffold a complete Bactopia Tool pipeline from a bioconda/conda-forge package. This creates all three tiers in one shot:

1. Module (modules/{tool}/) -- the Nextflow process that runs the tool
2. Subworkflow (subworkflows/{tool}/) -- orchestrates the module + aggregation
3. Workflow (workflows/bactopia-tools/{tool}/) -- user-facing entry point

This skill handles the common single-tool pattern which covers ~80% of bactopia-tools (abricate, mlst, bakta, quast, sistr, etc.). Multi-stage pipelines like snippy and pangenome should be hand-built.

Prerequisites

Before using this skill, read:

• .claude/docs/standards/05-module-documentation.md -- Module GroovyDoc standards
• .claude/docs/standards/04-subworkflow-documentation.md -- Subworkflow GroovyDoc standards

Interactive Questioning

This skill is interactive -- ask the user early and often, especially before creating files.

• Multiple questions at once: Use AskUserQuestion popups (up to 4 questions per batch). Mark the recommended option with "(Recommended)" at the end of its label and place it first.
• Single simple question: Just ask in chat, no popup needed.
• When in doubt: Ask. It's cheaper to clarify upfront than to regenerate files.

Phased Workflow

Follow these phases in order. When unsure about ANYTHING, ask the user rather than guess.

---

Phase 1: Package Verification

Goal: Confirm the package exists on bioconda and retrieve version/container information.

1. Ask the user for the bioconda package name (e.g., mlst, bakta, ssuissero).

2. Run the lookup command:

   bash .claude/skills/add-bactopia-tool/scripts/run-bactopia-scaffold.sh lookup {package_name} --bactopia-path . --pretty
   

3. The output includes:

   • package, channel, version, build -- package identity
   • summary, home -- tool description and documentation URL
   • container_refs -- toolName, docker, image strings
   • existing_components -- which of module/subworkflow/workflow already exist

4. Present findings to the user and ask them to confirm before proceeding. If any existing components are found, warn the user. If the package is not found, ask the user to verify the name. If the package does not exist on bioconda, inform the user you cannot proceed until a valid bioconda package is provided.

---

Phase 2: Tool Design

Goal: Gather all design decisions using interactive prompts so files can be generated coherently.

Important: Use the AskUserQuestion tool for structured choices throughout this phase. Present up to 4 questions per batch. Mark the recommended option (based on WebFetch findings) with "(Recommended)" at the end of its label and place it first in the options list.

1. Fetch the tool's documentation using WebFetch on the home URL from Phase 1.

   • Extract: command-line options, input file types, output files, version command
   • If WebFetch fails, ask the user directly

2. Batch 1: Core design choices (AskUserQuestion, up to 4 questions)

   Based on WebFetch findings, ask these structured questions:

   Question 1 -- Input type: Determines which BACTOPIATOOL_INIT channel to use.

   Input Type	Channel	params.workflow.ext	Module record input
   Assembly	assembly	['fna']	record(meta: Record, fna: Path)
   Reads	reads	['fastq']	record(meta: Record, r1: Path?, r2: Path?, se: Path?, lr: Path?)
   Assembly + reads	assembly_reads	['fna', 'fastq']	record(meta: Record, fna: Path, r1: Path?, r2: Path?, se: Path?, lr: Path?)
   Proteins	proteins	['faa']	record(meta: Record, faa: Path)
   GFF	gff	['gff']	record(meta: Record, gff: Path)
   GenBank	gbff	['gbk']	record(meta: Record, gbff: Path)

   Options (pick top 3 most relevant, "Other" is auto-added for the rest):

   • Assembly -- takes FASTA assembly files
   • Reads -- takes FASTQ read files
   • Assembly + Reads -- takes both FASTA and FASTQ

   Question 2 -- Database requirement:

   • No database needed
   • Yes, requires a user-provided database

   Question 3 -- Resource label:

   • process_low -- 4 CPU, 8GB, 4h (default for most tools)
   • process_medium -- 8 CPU, 32GB, 12h (BLAST-based, database searches)
   • process_high -- 12 CPU, 64GB, 24h (memory-intensive)
   • process_single -- 1 CPU, 4GB, 2h (single-threaded only)

   Question 4 -- Compressed input:

   • Yes, handles .gz natively
   • No, needs decompression first

3. Run test-data discovery based on the input type selected in Batch 1:

   bash .claude/skills/add-bactopia-tool/scripts/run-bactopia-scaffold.sh test-data --input-type {input_type} --bactopia-path . --pretty
   

   This returns species/accession combinations already used by similar modules, with pre-computed test_data_path, test_uncompressed_path, test_species, and test_sample_id values. Use the returned paths directly in the scaffold config (Phase 3) -- do NOT construct paths manually.

4. Batch 2: Aggregation and test data (AskUserQuestion, up to 2 questions)

   Question 1 -- Aggregation strategy:

   • CSVTK_CONCAT -- concatenate per-sample tabular output (most common)
   • Dedicated summary module -- tool has its own aggregation command (rare)
   • No aggregation -- tool doesn't produce per-sample tabular output

   Question 2 -- Test data species: Present top 3-4 species from the test-data discovery results. Recommend species that exercise the tool's functionality (e.g., species with multiple MLST schemes for typing tools, species with known resistance genes for AMR tools). Include the accession in each option's description.

5. Present auto-detected details for confirmation.

   After the structured choices, present these findings from WebFetch in a summary and ask the user to confirm or request changes:

   • Tool identity: name (snake_case), display name, one-sentence description
   • Output files: extensions, descriptions, aggregation field
   • User parameters: only flags representing user-meaningful analysis choices (identity thresholds, scheme selection, algorithm toggles). Exclude infrastructure params (see below).
   • Version command: how the tool reports its version
   • Citation: key, name, URL, description, citation text
   • Keywords: for GroovyDoc

   Infrastructure vs. user parameters (do NOT expose these):

   Tool flag	Wired to	Where
   --prefix, --label, --sample-name, etc.	prefix variable (task.ext.prefix ?: "${_meta.name}")	Shell block
   --threads, --cpus, -t, -p, etc.	${task.cpus}	Shell block or ext.args in module.config
   --output, --outdir, -o, etc.	Usually . or ${prefix}	Shell block

   These are written directly in the module's shell block (e.g., --prefix ${prefix}, --threads ${task.cpus}). The prefix variable is set in every module's script block as prefix = task.ext.prefix ?: "${_meta.name}" and carries the sample name.

   Only expose flags that represent user-meaningful analysis choices.

   Every user parameter MUST be prefixed with the tool name: {tool}_{param}.

   Parameter defaults:

   • Do NOT assume a default is needed. Ask the user whether each parameter should have a specific default value.
   • If a string parameter needs a default, use an empty string "", never null.
   • Only include a parameter in the config's "parameters" array if the user confirms it should be exposed.

6. Final confirmation (AskUserQuestion, 1 question)

   After presenting the summary, ask:

   • Looks good, proceed to file generation
   • I need to make changes (user provides details via "Other" or notes)

---

Phase 3: File Generation

Goal: Generate all 16 files across the three tiers using bactopia-scaffold.

1. Construct the JSON config from the design decisions. Write it to /tmp/scaffold-config.json:

   {
       "tool": "{tool_name}",
       "display_name": "{DisplayName}",
       "description": "{One-sentence description}",
       "process_name": "{TOOL_NAME}",
       "package": "{package_name}",
       "version": "{version}",
       "build": "{build}",
       "home_url": "{github_url}",
       "input_type": "{assembly|reads|assembly_reads|proteins|gff|genbank}",
       "has_database": false,
       "handles_gz": false,
       "layout": "flat",
       "resource_label": "{process_low|process_medium|process_high|process_single}",
       "version_command": "{version_command}",
       "citation_key": "{citation_key}",
       "keywords": ["{keyword1}", "{keyword2}"],
       "aggregation": {
           "strategy": "{csvtk_concat|dedicated_summary|none}",
           "field": "{output_field}",
           "format": "{tsv|csv}"
       },
       "outputs": [
           {"name": "{field}", "extension": "{ext}", "description": "{desc}"}
       ],
       "parameters": [
           {"name": "{tool}_{param}", "type": "{type}", "default": "{default}", "description": "{desc}", "flag": "{--flag}"}
       ],
       "container_refs": {
           "toolName": "{from lookup}",
           "docker": "{from lookup}",
           "image": "{from lookup}"
       },
       "test_species": "{species}",
       "test_sample_id": "{sample_id}",
       "test_data_path": "{compressed_path}",
       "test_uncompressed_path": "{uncompressed_path}",
       "test_dataset": "{dataset_path_or_empty}",
       "test_dataset2": "",
       "test_dataset3": ""
   }
   

   For database-dependent tools, also include:

   {
       "database": {
           "param_name": "{tool}_db",
           "test_path": "datasets/{tool}/{db_file}"
       }
   }
   

2. Run the scaffold command:

   bash .claude/skills/add-bactopia-tool/scripts/run-bactopia-scaffold.sh tool --config /tmp/scaffold-config.json --bactopia-path . --pretty
   

3. The command creates all 16 files. Review the output to confirm which files were created.

---

Phase 4: Review & Customize

Goal: Review generated files and make tool-specific adjustments.

The templates produce correct scaffolds but many tools need customization:

1. Module main.nf -- the shell script block is a placeholder. Customize:

   • The actual tool command, flags, and I/O handling
   • Input decompression logic (if the tool doesn't handle .gz) -- use the standard is_compressed pattern (see below)
   • Database extraction logic (if database-dependent)
   • Always preserve the # Cleanup comment line -- even if empty, it marks where cleanup steps go and keeps the shell block structure consistent across all modules
   • Version extraction command

   Standard decompression pattern (for tools that don't handle .gz natively):

   In the Groovy script block, before the shell heredoc:

   def is_compressed = fna.getName().endsWith(".gz") ? true : false
   def fna_name = fna.getName().replace(".gz", "")
   

   In the shell block:

   if [ "${is_compressed}" == "true" ]; then
       gzip -c -d ${fna} > ${fna_name}
   else
       cp -L ${fna} ${fna_name}
   fi
   

   Then use ${fna_name} as the input filename for the tool command. This pattern is used consistently across modules (e.g., staphopiasccmec, traitar). Do NOT use alternative approaches like fna.getName()[0..-4] or inline gunzip -c with if [[ ... == *.gz ]] shell tests.

2. Module module.config -- review the ext.args construction:

   • Verify boolean/string/integer flag handling is correct for each parameter
   • Add any fixed flags (e.g., --threads ${task.cpus})

3. Subworkflow main.nf -- usually correct as-is for CSVTK_CONCAT pattern. Check:

   • The @input GroovyDoc matches the subworkflow's input name (may differ from module input)
   • The @output field descriptions are accurate

4. Workflow main.nf -- check GroovyDoc @publish sections match actual outputs

5. Run the linter to catch structural issues before proceeding:

   bash .claude/skills/add-bactopia-tool/scripts/run-bactopia-lint.sh {tool} --bactopia-path .
   

   This runs bactopia-lint scoped to the new module, subworkflow, and workflow. Fix any FAILs before moving to Phase 5. Common issues:

   • JS005: type/default mismatch in schema.json (e.g., type=string but default=null)
   • S011: misaligned include braces in subworkflow
   • M035/S019: citation key not found in data/citations.yml

---

Phase 5: Integration & Next Steps

Goal: Wire up citations and inform the user about remaining steps.

1. Update data/citations.yml -- add the tool citation entry in alphabetical order:

   {tool}:
     name: "{ToolName}"
     link: "{github_url}"
     description: "{One-sentence description}"
     cite: "{Full citation text}"
   

2. List all created files with full paths.

3. Remind the user to run these follow-up skills in order:

   1. /run-tests {tool} module and subworkflow --generate -- generate snapshots and verify tests pass (new tools have no existing snapshots)
   2. /update-catalog -- regenerate catalog.json and llms.txt (only after tests pass)
   3. /merge-schemas on the new workflow -- generate nextflow_schema.json
   4. /run-tests {tool} workflow --generate -- generate snapshots and verify the workflow test passes

   The --generate flag is required because newly scaffolded tools have no snapshot files yet. Without it, nf-test will fail immediately on missing snapshots.

   There is no point running /update-catalog or /merge-schemas if the module/subworkflow tests are failing.

4. Note: nextflow_schema.json is NOT generated by this skill -- /merge-schemas handles it automatically from the module schema.json files.

---

Edge Cases

1. Package not found: The lookup command tries bioconda first, then conda-forge. If both fail, ask the user for version/build manually.

2. No build string: Container URLs will contain TODO_BUILD placeholders. Flag for manual review.

3. No --version CLI support: Use hardcoded VERSION pattern in the module main.nf.

4. Multi-package tools (mulled containers): Warn the user that container URLs cannot be auto-constructed. Flag for manual review.

5. Component already exists: The lookup output includes existing_components. Warn before proceeding.

Test Data Discovery

Test data paths are discovered dynamically from existing module tests using:

bash .claude/skills/add-bactopia-tool/scripts/run-bactopia-scaffold.sh test-data --input-type {type} --bactopia-path . --pretty

This scans modules/*/tests/main.nf.test for paths matching the input type and returns pre-computed template variables. Always use the discovered paths -- never construct test data paths manually. The output includes test_data_path (compressed, for subworkflow tests), test_uncompressed_path (for module tests), test_species, and test_sample_id.

Supported input types: assembly, reads, assembly_reads, proteins, gff, genbank.