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bigbio/quantmsdiann: Parameters

This document lists every pipeline parameter organised by category. Default values come from nextflow.config; types and constraints come from nextflow_schema.json.

1. Input/Output Options

Parameter Type Default Description
--input string (file-path) required URI/path to an SDRF file with .sdrf, .tsv, or .csv extension. Parameters such as enzyme, fixed modifications, and acquisition method are read from the SDRF.
--database string (file-path) required Path to a FASTA protein database. Must not contain decoys for DIA data.
--outdir string (directory-path) ./results The output directory where results will be saved.
--publish_dir_mode string copy Method used to save pipeline results. One of: symlink, rellink, link, copy, copyNoFollow, move.
--root_folder string null Root folder in which spectrum files specified in the SDRF are searched. Used when you have a local copy of the experiment.
--local_input_type string mzML Overwrite the file type/extension of filenames in the SDRF when using --root_folder. One of: mzML, raw, d, dia. Compressed variants (.gz, .tar, .tar.gz, .zip) are supported for mzML, raw, and d.
--email string null Email address for completion summary.

2. SDRF Validation

Parameter Type Default Description
--use_ols_cache_only boolean true Use only the cached Ontology Lookup Service (OLS) for ontology term validation. Set to false to allow network requests.

3. File Preparation (Spectrum Preprocessing)

Parameter Type Default Description
--reindex_mzml boolean true Force re-indexing of input mzML files at the start of the pipeline for safety.
--mzml_statistics boolean false Compute MS1/MS2 statistics from mzML files. Generates *_ms_info.parquet files for QC. Bruker .d files are always skipped.
--mzml_features boolean false Compute MS1-level features during the mzML statistics step. Only available for mzML files.

4. Search Parameters

Parameter Type Default Description
--met_excision boolean true Account for N-terminal methionine excision during database search.
--allowed_missed_cleavages integer 2 Maximum number of allowed missed enzyme cleavages per peptide.
--precursor_mass_tolerance integer 5 Precursor mass tolerance for database search (see --precursor_mass_tolerance_unit). Can be overridden; falls back to SDRF value.
--precursor_mass_tolerance_unit string ppm Precursor mass tolerance unit. One of: ppm, Da.
--fragment_mass_tolerance number 0.03 Fragment mass tolerance for database search (see --fragment_mass_tolerance_unit).
--fragment_mass_tolerance_unit string Da Fragment mass tolerance unit. One of: ppm, Da.
--variable_mods string Oxidation (M) Comma-separated variable modifications in Unimod format (e.g. Oxidation (M),Carbamidomethyl (C)). Can be overridden; falls back to SDRF.
--min_precursor_charge integer 2 Minimum precursor ion charge.
--max_precursor_charge integer 4 Maximum precursor ion charge.
--min_peptide_length integer 6 Minimum peptide length to consider.
--max_peptide_length integer 40 Maximum peptide length to consider.
--max_mods integer 3 Maximum number of variable modifications per peptide.
--min_pr_mz number 400 Minimum precursor m/z for in-silico library generation or library-free search.
--max_pr_mz number 2400 Maximum precursor m/z for in-silico library generation or library-free search.
--min_fr_mz number 100 Minimum fragment m/z for in-silico library generation or library-free search.
--max_fr_mz number 1800 Maximum fragment m/z for in-silico library generation or library-free search.

5. DIA-NN General

Parameter Type Default Description
--diann_version string 1.8.1 DIA-NN version used by the workflow. Controls version-dependent flags (e.g. --monitor-mod for 1.8.x). See DIA-NN Version Selection.
--diann_debug integer 3 DIA-NN debug/verbosity level (0-4). Higher values produce more verbose logs.
--diann_speclib string null Path to an external spectral library. If provided, the in-silico library generation step is skipped.
--diann_extra_args string null Extra arguments appended to all DIA-NN steps. Flags incompatible with a step are automatically stripped with a warning. See Passing Extra Arguments to DIA-NN.

6. Mass Accuracy & Calibration

Parameter Type Default Description
--mass_acc_automatic boolean true Automatically determine MS2 mass accuracy. When true, --mass_acc_ms2 is ignored during preliminary analysis.
--mass_acc_ms1 number 15 MS1 mass accuracy in ppm. Overrides automatic calibration when --mass_acc_automatic false. Maps to DIA-NN --mass-acc-ms1.
--mass_acc_ms2 number 15 MS2 mass accuracy in ppm. Overrides automatic calibration when --mass_acc_automatic false. Maps to DIA-NN --mass-acc.
--scan_window integer 8 Scan window radius. Should approximate the average number of data points per peak.
--scan_window_automatic boolean true Automatically determine the scan window. When true, --scan_window is ignored.
--quick_mass_acc boolean true Use a fast heuristic algorithm for mass accuracy calibration instead of ID-number optimisation.
--performance_mode boolean true Enable low-RAM, high-speed mode. Adds --min-corr 2 --corr-diff 1 --time-corr-only to DIA-NN.

7. Bruker/timsTOF

Parameter Type Default Description
--diann_tims_sum boolean false Enable --quant-tims-sum for slice/scanning timsTOF methods (highly recommended for Synchro-PASEF).
--diann_im_window number null Set --im-window to ensure the IM extraction window is not smaller than the specified value.

8. PTM Localization

Parameter Type Default Description
--enable_mod_localization boolean false Enable modification localization scoring in DIA-NN via --monitor-mod (DIA-NN 1.8.x only; automatic in 2.0+).
--mod_localization string Phospho (S),Phospho (T),Phospho (Y) Comma-separated modification names or UniMod accessions for PTM localization (e.g. UniMod:21).

9. Library Generation

Parameter Type Default Description
--save_speclib_tsv boolean false Publish the TSV spectral library from in-silico library generation to library_generation/.

10. Preliminary Analysis

Parameter Type Default Description
--skip_preliminary_analysis boolean false Skip preliminary analysis. Use the provided spectral library as-is instead of generating a local consensus library.
--random_preanalysis boolean false Enable random selection of spectrum files for empirical library generation.
--random_preanalysis_seed integer 42 Random seed for file selection when --random_preanalysis is enabled.
--empirical_assembly_ms_n integer 200 Number of randomly selected spectrum files when --random_preanalysis is enabled.

11. Quantification & Output

Parameter Type Default Description
--pg_level integer 2 Protein inference mode. 0 = isoforms, 1 = protein names (from FASTA), 2 = genes (default).
--species_genes boolean false Add the organism identifier to gene names in DIA-NN output.
--diann_normalize boolean true Enable cross-run normalisation in DIA-NN. Set to false to add --no-norm.
--diann_report_decoys boolean false Include decoy PSMs in the main .parquet report (DIA-NN 2.0+ only).
--diann_export_xic boolean false Extract MS1/fragment chromatograms for identified precursors (equivalent to the XICs option in the DIA-NN GUI).
--diann_no_peptidoforms boolean false Disable automatic peptidoform scoring when variable modifications are declared (not recommended by DIA-NN).
--diann_use_quant boolean true Reuse existing .quant files if available (--use-quant).
--quantums boolean false Enable QuantUMS quantification (requires DIA-NN >= 1.9.2). When false, the pipeline passes --direct-quant to use legacy quantification (only for DIA-NN >= 1.9.2; silently skipped for 1.8.x where direct quant is the only mode).
--quantums_train_runs string null Run index range for QuantUMS training (e.g. 0:5). Maps to --quant-train-runs. Requires DIA-NN >= 1.9.2.
--quantums_sel_runs integer null Number of automatically selected runs for QuantUMS training. Must be >= 6. Maps to --quant-sel-runs. Requires DIA-NN >= 1.9.2.
--quantums_params string null Pre-calculated QuantUMS parameters. Maps to --quant-params. Requires DIA-NN >= 1.9.2.

12. Quality Control

Parameter Type Default Description
--enable_pmultiqc boolean true Generate the pmultiqc QC report.
--pmultiqc_idxml_skip boolean true Skip idXML files (do not generate search engine score plots) in the pmultiqc report.
--contaminant_string string CONT Contaminant affix string for pmultiqc. Maps to --contaminant_affix in pmultiqc.
--protein_level_fdr_cutoff number 0.01 Experiment-wide protein (group)-level FDR cutoff.

13. MultiQC & Reporting

Parameter Type Default Description
--multiqc_config string (file-path) null Custom config file to supply to MultiQC.
--multiqc_title string null MultiQC report title. Used as page header and filename.
--multiqc_logo string null Custom logo file for MultiQC. Must also be referenced in the MultiQC config file.
--skip_table_plots boolean false Skip protein/peptide table plots in pmultiqc for large datasets.
--max_multiqc_email_size string 25.MB File size limit when attaching MultiQC reports to summary emails.
--multiqc_methods_description string null Custom MultiQC YAML file containing an HTML methods description.