| name | hisat2-simulate-reads-py |
| description | Use when simulating RNA-seq or DNA-seq reads from a reference genome and GTF annotation file, optionally incorporating SNP variants and controlling expression profiles. |
| disable-model-invocation | true |
| user-invocable | true |
hisat2-simulate-reads-py
Quick Start
- Command:
hisat2_simulate_reads.py [genome_file] [gtf_file] [snp_file] [base_fname]
- Local executable:
/home/vimalinx/miniforge3/envs/bio/bin/hisat2_simulate_reads.py
- Full reference: See
references/help.md for complete options and usage details
When To Use This Tool
- Use
hisat2_simulate_reads.py when you need synthetic HISAT2-style benchmark reads from a genome, annotation, and SNP set.
- It is appropriate for RNA-seq by default, but can also simulate DNA-seq with
-d.
- Use it when benchmarking alignment settings, validating graph-aware variant handling, or generating controlled test data with fixed read and fragment lengths.
- Reach for it when you need reproducible simulations with explicit random seeds and optional sanity checks.
Common Patterns
hisat2_simulate_reads.py genome.fa annotation.gtf variants.snp sim
hisat2_simulate_reads.py genome.fa annotation.gtf variants.snp sim --single-end -r 75 -n 100000
hisat2_simulate_reads.py genome.fa annotation.gtf variants.snp sim -d --random-seed 42
hisat2_simulate_reads.py genome.fa annotation.gtf variants.snp sim --sanity-check -v
Recommended Workflow
- Prepare a reference genome FASTA file and corresponding GTF annotation file
- Optionally prepare a SNP file if variant incorporation is needed
- Run
hisat2_simulate_reads.py with required positional arguments and desired options (e.g., -n for fragment count, -e for expression profile)
- Validate output using
--sanity-check and review statistics with -v if needed
Guardrails
- Requires both genome FASTA and GTF files as positional inputs
- Defaults to paired-end RNA-seq reads; use
--single-end and/or -d for alternative modes
- Set
--random-seed for reproducible simulations
- The script writes output files based on
base_fname, including base_fname.sam and at least base_fname_1.fa (plus base_fname_2.fa for paired-end mode)
- In the current environment,
-h prints a non-fatal Python SyntaxWarning before the usage text; treat that as a script warning, not a failed invocation