Agent skill
vcf-statistics
Install this agent skill to your Project
npx add-skill https://github.com/FreedomIntelligence/OpenClaw-Medical-Skills/tree/main/skills/variant-interpretation-acmg/bioSkills/vcf-statistics
SKILL.md
name: bio-vcf-statistics description: Generate variant statistics, sample concordance, and quality metrics using bcftools stats and gtcheck. Use when evaluating variant quality, comparing samples, or summarizing VCF contents. tool_type: cli primary_tool: bcftools measurable_outcome: Execute skill workflow successfully with valid output within 15 minutes. allowed-tools:
- read_file
- run_shell_command
VCF Statistics
Generate statistics and quality metrics using bcftools.
Statistics Tools
| Command | Purpose |
|---|---|
bcftools stats |
Comprehensive variant statistics |
bcftools gtcheck |
Sample concordance and relatedness |
bcftools query |
Custom summaries |
bcftools stats
Basic Statistics
bcftools stats input.vcf.gz > stats.txt
View Key Metrics
bcftools stats input.vcf.gz | grep "^SN"
Output sections:
SN- Summary numbersTSTV- Transitions/transversionsSiS- Singleton statsAF- Allele frequency distributionQUAL- Quality distributionIDD- Indel distributionST- Substitution typesDP- Depth distribution
Summary Numbers (SN)
bcftools stats input.vcf.gz | grep "^SN" | cut -f3-
Reports:
- Number of samples
- Number of records
- Number of SNPs
- Number of indels
- Number of multiallelic sites
- Number of multiallelic SNPs
Transition/Transversion Ratio
bcftools stats input.vcf.gz | grep "^TSTV"
Expected Ti/Tv ratio:
- Whole genome: ~2.0-2.1
- Exome: ~2.8-3.3
Per-Sample Statistics
bcftools stats -s - input.vcf.gz > per_sample.txt
Compare Two VCFs
bcftools stats input1.vcf.gz input2.vcf.gz > comparison.txt
Region-Specific Stats
bcftools stats -r chr1:1000000-2000000 input.vcf.gz > region_stats.txt
Exome Statistics
bcftools stats -R exome.bed input.vcf.gz > exome_stats.txt
Plotting Statistics
Generate Plots
bcftools stats input.vcf.gz > stats.txt
plot-vcfstats -p output_dir stats.txt
Creates:
output_dir/summary.pdf- Individual PNG files
Comparison Plots
bcftools stats file1.vcf.gz file2.vcf.gz > comparison.txt
plot-vcfstats -p comparison_dir comparison.txt
bcftools gtcheck
Check Sample Identity
bcftools gtcheck -g reference.vcf.gz query.vcf.gz
Reports concordance between samples.
Detect Sample Swaps
bcftools gtcheck -G 1 input.vcf.gz > relatedness.txt
Compares all samples pairwise.
Output Format
DC 0 sample1 sample2 0.95 1234 1200
Fields:
- DC: Data type (discordance)
- Index
- Sample 1
- Sample 2
- Discordance rate
- Sites compared
- Discordant sites
Check Against Reference Panel
bcftools gtcheck -g 1000genomes.vcf.gz unknown_sample.vcf.gz
Quick Statistics with Query
Count Variants
bcftools view -H input.vcf.gz | wc -l
Count by Type
# SNPs
bcftools view -v snps -H input.vcf.gz | wc -l
# Indels
bcftools view -v indels -H input.vcf.gz | wc -l
Count PASS Variants
bcftools view -f PASS -H input.vcf.gz | wc -l
Quality Distribution
bcftools query -f '%QUAL\n' input.vcf.gz | \
awk '{sum+=$1; count++} END {print "Mean QUAL:", sum/count}'
Depth Distribution
bcftools query -f '%INFO/DP\n' input.vcf.gz | \
awk '{sum+=$1; count++} END {print "Mean DP:", sum/count}'
Genotype Counts
# Count heterozygous sites per sample
bcftools query -f '[%GT\t]\n' input.vcf.gz | \
awk -F'\t' '{for(i=1;i<=NF;i++) if($i=="0/1" || $i=="0|1") het[i]++}
END {for(i in het) print "Sample", i, "het:", het[i]}'
Allele Frequency Spectrum
bcftools query -f '%INFO/AF\n' input.vcf.gz | \
awk '{
if($1<0.01) rare++
else if($1<0.05) low++
else if($1<0.5) common++
else freq++
} END {
print "Rare (<1%):", rare
print "Low (1-5%):", low
print "Common (5-50%):", common
print "Frequent (>50%):", freq
}'
Sample Statistics
List Samples
bcftools query -l input.vcf.gz
Count Samples
bcftools query -l input.vcf.gz | wc -l
Per-Sample Variant Counts
for sample in $(bcftools query -l input.vcf.gz); do
count=$(bcftools view -s "$sample" -H input.vcf.gz | \
bcftools view -c 1 -H | wc -l)
echo "$sample: $count"
done
Missing Genotypes per Sample
bcftools stats -s - input.vcf.gz | grep "^PSC"
cyvcf2 Statistics
Basic Counts
from cyvcf2 import VCF
stats = {'snps': 0, 'indels': 0, 'other': 0}
for variant in VCF('input.vcf.gz'):
if variant.is_snp:
stats['snps'] += 1
elif variant.is_indel:
stats['indels'] += 1
else:
stats['other'] += 1
print(f'SNPs: {stats["snps"]}')
print(f'Indels: {stats["indels"]}')
print(f'Other: {stats["other"]}')
Quality Statistics
from cyvcf2 import VCF
import numpy as np
quals = []
for variant in VCF('input.vcf.gz'):
if variant.QUAL:
quals.append(variant.QUAL)
quals = np.array(quals)
print(f'Mean QUAL: {np.mean(quals):.1f}')
print(f'Median QUAL: {np.median(quals):.1f}')
print(f'Min QUAL: {np.min(quals):.1f}')
print(f'Max QUAL: {np.max(quals):.1f}')
Genotype Distribution
from cyvcf2 import VCF
vcf = VCF('input.vcf.gz')
samples = vcf.samples
hom_ref = [0] * len(samples)
het = [0] * len(samples)
hom_alt = [0] * len(samples)
missing = [0] * len(samples)
for variant in vcf:
for i, gt in enumerate(variant.gt_types):
if gt == 0:
hom_ref[i] += 1
elif gt == 1:
het[i] += 1
elif gt == 3:
hom_alt[i] += 1
else:
missing[i] += 1
for i, sample in enumerate(samples):
print(f'{sample}: HOM_REF={hom_ref[i]}, HET={het[i]}, HOM_ALT={hom_alt[i]}, MISS={missing[i]}')
Transition/Transversion Calculation
from cyvcf2 import VCF
transitions = 0
transversions = 0
ti_pairs = {('A', 'G'), ('G', 'A'), ('C', 'T'), ('T', 'C')}
for variant in VCF('input.vcf.gz'):
if not variant.is_snp:
continue
ref = variant.REF
alt = variant.ALT[0]
if (ref, alt) in ti_pairs:
transitions += 1
else:
transversions += 1
ratio = transitions / transversions if transversions > 0 else 0
print(f'Transitions: {transitions}')
print(f'Transversions: {transversions}')
print(f'Ti/Tv ratio: {ratio:.2f}')
Common Workflows
Quality Control Report
# Generate stats
bcftools stats input.vcf.gz > stats.txt
# Extract key metrics
echo "=== VCF Summary ==="
grep "^SN" stats.txt | cut -f3-
echo ""
echo "=== Ti/Tv Ratio ==="
grep "^TSTV" stats.txt | cut -f5
# Generate plots
plot-vcfstats -p qc_plots stats.txt
Compare Before/After Filtering
bcftools stats raw.vcf.gz filtered.vcf.gz > comparison.txt
echo "=== Before Filtering ==="
grep "^SN.*raw" comparison.txt | cut -f3-
echo ""
echo "=== After Filtering ==="
grep "^SN.*filtered" comparison.txt | cut -f3-
Sample Relatedness Check
bcftools gtcheck -G 1 cohort.vcf.gz > relatedness.txt
cat relatedness.txt
Quick Reference
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
| Full stats | bcftools stats input.vcf.gz |
| Summary only | bcftools stats input.vcf.gz | grep "^SN" |
| Ti/Tv ratio | bcftools stats input.vcf.gz | grep "^TSTV" |
| Per-sample | bcftools stats -s - input.vcf.gz |
| Compare VCFs | bcftools stats file1.vcf.gz file2.vcf.gz |
| Sample check | bcftools gtcheck -G 1 input.vcf.gz |
| Plot stats | plot-vcfstats -p dir stats.txt |
Common Errors
| Error | Cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|
No data |
Empty VCF | Check if VCF has variants |
plot-vcfstats not found |
Not installed | Install with bcftools |
Cannot open |
Invalid VCF | Check file format |
Related Skills
- vcf-basics - View and query VCF files
- filtering-best-practices - Evaluate filter impact
- vcf-manipulation - Compare call sets
- variant-calling - Assess calling quality
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