variant-calling

Execute germline and somatic variant-calling pipelines with GATK4 and BWA-MEM2.

13|5|Updated May 4, 2026
One-click install
npx skills add https://github.com/awslabs/hcls-agent-skills --skill variant-calling-awslabs
Or copy as Structured Prompt for Agent▼
Please help me install this Agent Skill.
Skill: variant-calling
Source: https://github.com/awslabs/hcls-agent-skills/tree/main/skills/variant-calling
Command: npx skills add https://github.com/awslabs/hcls-agent-skills --skill variant-calling-awslabs

SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION & REQUIREMENTS

💡 This Skill requires pysam, gatk, bwa-mem2, samtools, bcftools, vep, and includes scripts (resource) components.

What problem does it solve?

This skill addresses the complexity of genomic variant calling by providing standardized, best-practice decision logic for GATK4 pipelines, preventing common errors in parameter selection, filtering, and reference consistency.

Core Features & Use Cases

  • Pipeline Orchestration: Automates the end-to-end execution of BWA-MEM2 alignment, BQSR, and GATK4 HaplotypeCaller or Mutect2.
  • Clinical Filtering: Includes a specialized script to filter VCFs based on ACMG/AMP criteria, population frequency, and pathogenicity scores.
  • Use Case: A researcher can use this skill to process raw FASTQ files from a clinical sample, perform variant calling, and generate a prioritized TSV of candidate variants for clinical review.

Quick Start

Use the variant-calling skill to run the germline pipeline on the provided FASTQ files for sample NA12878 using the GRCh38 reference genome.

Frequently Asked Questions about variant-calling

High-intent search queries and answers about installing and using this skill.

FAQPage Schema
How do I automate a GATK4 germline variant calling pipeline from FASTQ files?▼

You can automate a GATK4 germline pipeline by orchestrating BWA-MEM2 alignment, BQSR, and HaplotypeCaller using standardized best-practice decision logic to process raw FASTQ files into variant calls.

What is the best way to filter VCF files based on ACMG criteria for clinical genomics?▼

Filtering VCF files based on ACMG criteria involves applying clinical filtering scripts that evaluate population frequency and pathogenicity scores to generate a prioritized TSV of candidate variants for clinical review.

Does this pipeline support somatic short variant calling with Mutect2 and VEP annotation?▼

Yes, the somatic short variant calling pipeline supports Mutect2 for variant detection and utilizes VEP for production-grade variant annotation, running end-to-end alongside standard bioinformatics toolsets like samtools and bcftools.

Can I perform cohort-based joint genotyping and VQSR filtering with GATK4?▼

Cohort-based joint genotyping and VQSR filtering are fully supported to aggregate individual sample variant calls and apply variant quality score recalibration for high-confidence genomic analysis.

Do I need BWA-MEM2 and samtools installed to run GATK4 variant calling pipelines?▼

Yes, you need BWA-MEM2 for alignment and samtools for BAM file manipulation, alongside bcftools, pysam, VEP, and GATK4, to execute the end-to-end germline and somatic short-variant calling pipelines.

Why does my GATK4 variant calling fail due to reference inconsistency and parameter selection?▼

Variant calling fails due to reference inconsistency and parameter selection errors when pipelines lack standardized decision logic, which this approach prevents by enforcing best-practice parameters and reference consistency for GATK4.