Command line interface (CLI)

Nextflow provides a robust command line interface for the management and execution pipelines.

Simply run nextflow with no options or nextflow -h to see the list of available top-level options and commands.

Options

The top-level options are meant to be invoked in relation to the core Nextflow application and are applied to all commands. For options specific to any command, refer the CLI Commands section.

Note

Nextflow options use a single dash prefix, e.g. -foo. Do not confuse with double dash notation, e.g. --foo, which is instead used for Pipeline parameters.

Available options:

-C

Use the specified configuration file(s) overriding any defaults.

-D

Set JVM properties.

-bg

Execute nextflow in background.

-c, -config

Add the specified file to configuration set.

-d, -dockerize

Deprecated since version 23.09.0-edge.

Launch nextflow via Docker (experimental).

-h

Print this help.

-log

Set nextflow log file path.

-q, -quiet

Do not print information messages.

-remote-debug

Enable JVM interactive remote debugging (experimental).

-syslog

Send logs to syslog server (e.g. localhost:514).

-trace

Enable trace level logging for the specified packages. Multiple packages can be provided separating them with a comma, e.g. -trace nextflow,io.seqera.

-v, -version

Print the program version.

Hard configuration override

Use the specified configuration file(s) overriding any defaults.

$ nextflow -C my.config COMMAND [arg...]

The -C option is used to override all settings specified in the default config file. For soft override, please refer the -c option.

  • Override any default configuration with a custom configuration file:

    $ nextflow -C my.config run nextflow-io/hello
    

JVM properties

Set JVM properties.

$ nextflow -Dkey=value COMMAND [arg...]

This options allows the definition of custom Java system properties that can be used to properly configure or fine tuning the JVM instance used by the Nextflow runtime.

For specifying other JVM level options, please refer to the Environment variables section.

  • Add JVM properties to the invoked pipeline:

    $ nextflow -Dfile.encoding=UTF-8 run nextflow-io/hello
    

Execution as a background job

Execute nextflow in the background.

$ nextflow -bg COMMAND [arg...]

The -bg option is used to invoke the nextflow execution in the background and allows the user to continue interacting with the terminal. This option is similar to nohup in behavior.

  • Invoke any execution as a background job:

    $ nextflow -bg run nextflow-io/hello
    

Soft configuration override

Add the specified file to configuration set.

$ nextflow -c nxf.config COMMAND [arg...]

The -c option is used to append a new configuration to the default configuration. The -c option allows us to update the config in an additive manner. For hard override, refer to the -C option.

  • Update some fields of the default config for any pipeline:

    $ nextflow -c nxf.config run nextflow-io/hello
    

Docker driven execution

Deprecated since version 23.09.0-edge.

Launch Nextflow via Docker.

$ nextflow -dockerize COMMAND [arg...]

The -dockerize option is used to invoke the execution of Nextflow within a Docker container itself without installing a Java VM in the hosting environment.

This option is not needed to run containerised pipeline jobs. For invoking a pipeline with the docker profile or executor, please refer to the -with-docker options in the run command. When using the -dockerize option in combination with containerized tasks, Nextflow will launch the tasks as sibling containers in the host environment (i.e. no Docker-in-Docker).

  • Invoke nextflow as a Docker container to execute a pipeline:

    $ nextflow -dockerize run nextflow-io/hello
    

Help

Print the help message.

$ nextflow -h

The -h option prints out the overview of the CLI interface and enumerates the top-level options and commands.

Execution logs

Sets the path of the nextflow log file.

$ nextflow -log custom.log COMMAND [arg...]

The -log option takes a path of the new log file which to be used instead of the default .nextflow.log or to save logs files to another directory.

  • Save all execution logs to the custom /var/log/nextflow.log file:

    $ nextflow -log /var/log/nextflow.log run nextflow-io/hello
    

Quiet execution

Disable the printing of information to the terminal.

$ nextflow -q COMMAND [arg...]

The -q option suppresses the banner and process-related info, and exits once the execution is completed. Please note that it does not affect any explicit print statement within a pipeline.

  • Invoke the pipeline execution without the banner and pipeline information:

    $ nextflow -q run nextflow-io/hello
    

Logging to a syslog server

Send logs to Syslog server endpoint.

$ nextflow -syslog localhost:1234 COMMAND [arg...]

The -syslog option is used to send logs to a Syslog logging server at the specified endpoint.

  • Send the logs to a Syslog server at specific endpoint:

    $ nextflow -syslog localhost:1234 run nextflow-io/hello
    

Version

Print the Nextflow version information.

$ nextflow -v

The -v option prints out information about Nextflow, such as the version and build. The -version option in addition prints out the citation reference and official website.

  • The short version:

    $ nextflow -v
    nextflow version 20.07.1.5412
    
  • The full version info with citation and website link:

    $ nextflow -version
    N E X T F L O W
    version 20.07.1 build 5412
    created 24-07-2020 15:18 UTC (20:48 IDT)
    cite doi:10.1038/nbt.3820
    http://nextflow.io
    

Commands

clean

Clean up cache and work directories.

Usage

$ nextflow clean [run_name|session_id] [options]

Description

Upon invocation within a directory, nextflow creates a project specific .nextflow.log file, .nextflow cache directory as well as a work directory. The clean command is designed to facilitate removal of these files from previous executions. A list of run names and session ids can be generated by invoking nextflow log -q.

If no run name or session id is provided, it will clean the latest run.

Options

-after

Clean up runs executed after the specified one.

-before

Clean up runs executed before the specified one.

-but

Clean up all runs except the specified one.

-n, -dry-run

Print names of files to be removed without deleting them.

-f, -force

Force clean command.

-h, -help

Print the command usage.

-k, -keep-logs

Removes only temporary files but retains execution log entries and metadata.

-q, -quiet

Do not print names of files removed.

Examples

Dry run to remove work directories for the run name boring_euler:

$ nextflow clean boring_euler -n

Would remove work/92/c1a9cd9a96e0531d81ca69f5dc3bb7
Would remove work/3f/70944c7a549b6221e1ccc7b4b21b62
Would remove work/0e/2ebdba85f76f6068b21a1bcbf10cab

Remove work directories for the run name boring_euler.

$ nextflow clean boring_euler -f

Removed work/92/c1a9cd9a96e0531d81ca69f5dc3bb7
Removed work/3f/70944c7a549b6221e1ccc7b4b21b62
Removed work/0e/2ebdba85f76f6068b21a1bcbf10cab

Remove the execution entries except for a specific execution.

$ nextflow clean -but tiny_leavitt -f

Removed work/1f/f1ea9158fb23b53d5083953121d6b6
Removed work/bf/334115deec60929dc18edf0010032a
Removed work/a3/06521d75da296d4dd7f4f8caaddad8

Dry run to remove the execution data before a specific execution.

$ nextflow clean -before tiny_leavitt -n

Would remove work/5d/ad76f7b7ab3500cf616814ef644b61
Would remove work/c4/69a82b080a477612ba8d8e4c27b579
Would remove work/be/a4fa2aa38f76fd324958c81c2e4603
Would remove work/54/39116773891c47a91e3c1733aad4de

Dry run to remove the execution data after a specific execution.

$ nextflow clean -after focused_payne -n

Would remove work/1f/f1ea9158fb23b53d5083953121d6b6
Would remove work/bf/334115deec60929dc18edf0010032a
Would remove work/a3/06521d75da296d4dd7f4f8caaddad8

Dry run to remove the temporary execution data for a specific execution, while keeping the log files.

$ nextflow clean -keep-logs tiny_leavitt -n

Would remove temp files from work/1f/f1ea9158fb23b53d5083953121d6b6
Would remove temp files from work/bf/334115deec60929dc18edf0010032a
Would remove temp files from work/a3/06521d75da296d4dd7f4f8caaddad8

clone

Clone a remote project into a folder.

Usage

$ nextflow clone [options] [project]

Description

The clone command downloads a pipeline from a Git-hosting platform into the current directory and modifies it accordingly. For downloading a pipeline into the global cache ~/.nextflow/assets, please refer to the nextflow pull command.

Options

-d, -deep

Create a shallow clone of the specified depth.

-h, -help

Print the command usage.

-hub (github)

Service hub where the project is hosted. Options: gitlab or bitbucket.

-r (master)

Revision to clone - It can be a git branch, tag, or revision number.

-user

Private repository user name.

Examples

Clone the latest revision of a pipeline.

$ nextflow clone nextflow-io/hello
nextflow-io/hello cloned to: hello

Clone a specific revision of a pipeline.

$ nextflow clone nextflow-io/hello -r v1.1
nextflow-io/hello cloned to: hello

config

Print the resolved pipeline configuration.

Usage

$ nextflow config [options] [project name or path]

Description

The config command is used for printing the project’s configuration i.e. the nextflow.config and is especially useful for understanding the resolved profiles and parameters that Nextflow will use run a pipeline. For in-depth information, please refer the Config profiles section.

Options

-flat

Print config using flat notation.

-h, -help

Print the command usage.

-profile

Choose a configuration profile.

-properties

Print config using Java properties notation.

-a, -show-profiles

Show all configuration profiles.

-sort

Sort config attributes.

-value

New in version 23.08.0-edge.

Print the value of a config option, or fail if the option is not defined.

Examples

Print out the inferred config using a the default group key-value notation.

$ nextflow config

docker {
    enabled = true
}

process {
    executor = 'local'
}

Print out the config using a flat notation.

$ nextflow config -flat

docker.enabled = true
process.executor = 'local'

Print out the config using the Java properties notation.

$ nextflow config -properties

docker.enabled = true
process.executor = local

Print out the value of a specific configuration property.

$ nextflow config -value process.executor
local

Print out all profiles from the project’s configuration.

$ nextflow config -show-profiles

docker {
    enabled = true
}

profiles {
    standard {
        process {
            executor = 'local'
        }
    }
    cloud {
        process {
            executor = 'cirrus'
            container = 'cbcrg/imagex'
        }
    }
}

console

Launch the Nextflow interactive console.

Usage

$ nextflow console

Description

The console command provides a Graphical User Interface (GUI) and an interactive REPL (Read-Eval-Print-Loop) for quick experimentation.

Options

None available

Examples

Launch the console GUI.

$ nextflow console

drop

Delete the local copy of a project.

Usage

$ nextflow drop [options] [project]

Description

The drop command is used to remove the projects which have been downloaded into the global cache. Please refer the list command for generating a list of downloaded pipelines.

Options

-f

Delete the repository without taking care of local changes.

-h, -help

Print the command usage.

Examples

Drop the nextflow-io/hello project.

$ nextflow drop nextflow-io/hello

Forcefully drop the nextflow-io/hello pipeline, ignoring any local changes.

$ nextflow drop nextflow-io/hello -f

fs

Perform basic filesystem operations.

Usage

$ nextflow fs [subcommands]

Description

The fs command is used to perform filesystem operations like copy, move, delete, list directory, etc. Like the file() method, it can work with local files, remote URLs, and remote object storage. Storage credentials can be provided through the same manner as launching a pipeline (Nextflow config, environment vars, etc).

Options

-h, -help

Print the command usage.

Examples

List a directory.

$ nextflow fs list <directory>

Print the contents of a file to standard output.

$ nextflow fs cat <file>

Copy a file or directory.

$ nextflow fs cp <source> <target>

Move a file or directory.

$ nextflow fs mv <source> <target>

Delete a file or directory.

$ nextflow fs rm <path>

New in version 23.10.0.

Print file or directory attributes.

$ nextflow fs stat <path>

help

Print the top-level help or specific help for a command.

Usage

$ nextflow help [options] [command]

Description

The help command prints out the overview of the CLI interface and enumerates the top-level options and commands. Note that this command is equivalent to simply invoking nextflow at the command line.

Options

-h, -help

Print the command usage.

Examples

Invoke the help option for the drop command.

$ nextflow help drop

Delete the local copy of a project
Usage: drop [options] name of the project to drop
   Options:
     -f
          Delete the repository without taking care of local changes
          Default: false
     -h, -help
          Print the command usage
          Default: false

info

Print project or system runtime information.

Usage

$ nextflow info [options] [project]

Description

The info command prints out the nextflow runtime information about the hardware as well as the software versions of the Nextflow version and build, operating system, and Groovy and Java runtime. It can also be used to display information about a specific project.

If no run name or session id is provided, it will clean the latest run.

Options

-u, -check-updates

Check for remote updates.

-d

Show detailed information.

-h, -help

Print the command usage.

-o (text)

Output format, either text, json or yaml.

Examples

Display Nextflow runtime and system info:

$ nextflow info

  Version: 20.07.1 build 5412
  Created: 24-07-2020 15:18 UTC (20:48 IDT)
  System: Mac OS X 10.15.6
  Runtime: Groovy 2.5.11 on OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM 1.8.0_192-b01
  Encoding: UTF-8 (UTF-8)

Display information about a specific project:

$ nextflow info nextflow-io/hello

  project name: nextflow-io/hello
  repository  : https://github.com/nextflow-io/hello
  local path  : /Users/evanfloden/.nextflow/assets/nextflow-io/hello
  main script : main.nf
  revisions   :
  * master (default)
    mybranch
    testing
    v1.1 [t]
    v1.2 [t]

inspect

New in version 23.09.0-edge.

Inspect process settings in a pipeline project. Currently only supports the container directive.

Usage

$ nextflow inspect [options] [project]

Description

The inspect command allows you to determine the container for each process in a pipeline without running the pipeline. It prints to stdout a listing of containers for each process, formatted either as JSON or Nextflow configuration.

Options

-concretize

Build the container images resolved by the inspect command.

-format (json)

Inspect output format. Can be json or config.

-i, -ignore-errors

Ignore errors while inspecting the pipeline.

-params-file

Load script parameters from a JSON/YAML file.

-profile

Use the given configuration profile(s).

-r, revision

Revision of the project to inspect (either a git branch, tag or commit SHA number).

Examples

Get the list of containers used by a pipeline.

$ nextflow inspect nextflow-io/hello

Specify parameters as with the run command:

$ nextflow inspect main.nf --alpha 1 --beta foo

kuberun

Launch a Nextflow pipeline on a Kubernetes cluster.

Usage

$ nextflow kuberun [options] [project]

Description

The kuberun command builds upon the run command and offers a deep integration with the Kubernetes execution environment. This command deploys the Nextflow runtime as a Kubernetes pod and assumes that you’ve already installed the kubectl CLI. The kuberun command does not allow the execution of local Nextflow scripts. For more information please refer to the Kubernetes page.

Options

The kuberun command supports the following options from run:

  • -cache

  • -disable-jobs-cancellation

  • -dsl1

  • -dsl2

  • -dump-channels

  • -dump-hashes

  • -e.<key>=<value>

  • -entry

  • -h, -help

  • -hub

  • -latest

  • -main-script

  • -name

  • -offline

  • -params-file

  • -plugins

  • -preview

  • -process.<key>=<value>

  • -profile

  • -qs, -queue-size

  • -resume

  • -r, -revision

  • -stub, -stub-run

  • -user

  • -with-conda

  • -with-dag

  • -N, -with-notification

  • -with-report

  • -with-spack

  • -with-timeline

  • -with-tower

  • -with-trace

  • -with-wave

  • -with-weblog

  • -without-spack

  • -without-wave

  • -w, -work-dir

The following new options are also available:

-head-cpus

New in version 22.01.0-edge.

Specify number of CPUs requested for the Nextflow pod.

-head-image

New in version 22.07.1-edge.

Specify the container image for the Nextflow driver pod.

-head-memory

New in version 22.01.0-edge.

Specify amount of memory requested for the Nextflow pod.

-head-prescript

New in version 22.05.0-edge.

Specify script to be run before the Nextflow pod starts.

-n, -namespace

Specify the K8s namespace to use.

-remoteConfig

Add the specified file from the K8s cluster to configuration set.

-remoteProfile

Choose a configuration profile in the remoteConfig.

-v, -volume-mount

Volume claim mounts, e.g. my-pvc:/mnt/path.

Examples

Execute a pipeline into a Kubernetes cluster.

$ nextflow kuberun nextflow-io/hello

list

List all downloaded projects.

Usage

$ nextflow list [options]

Description

The list commands prints a list of the projects which are already downloaded into the global cache ~/.nextflow/assets.

Options

-h, -help

Print the command usage.

Examples

List the downloaded pipelines.

$ nextflow list

nextflow-io/hello
nextflow-hub/fastqc

log

Print the execution history and log information.

Usage

$ nextflow log [options] [run_name | session_id]

Description

The log command is used to query the execution metadata associated with pipelines executed by Nextflow. The list of executed pipelines can be generated by running nextflow log. Instead of run name, it’s also possible to use a session id. Moreover, this command contains multiple options to facilitate the queries and is especially useful while debugging a pipeline and while inspecting pipeline execution metadata.

Options

-after

Show log entries for runs executed after the specified one.

-before

Show log entries for runs executed before the specified one.

-but

Show log entries for runs executed but the specified one.

-f, -fields

Comma-separated list of fields to include in the printed log. Use the -l option to see the list of available fields.

-F, -filter

Filter log entries by a custom expression, e.g. process =~ /foo.*/ && status == 'COMPLETED'.

-h, -help

Print the command usage.

-l, -list-fields

Show all available fields.

-quiet

Show only run names.

-s

Character used to separate column values.

-t, -template

Text template used to each record in the log.

Examples

Listing the execution logs of previous invocations of all pipelines in a project.

$ nextflow log

TIMESTAMP           DURATION        RUN NAME        STATUS  REVISION ID     SESSION ID                              COMMAND
2020-10-07 11:52:24 2.1s            focused_payne   OK      96eb04d6a4      af6adaaa-ad4f-48a2-9f6a-b121e789adf5    nextflow run nextflow-io/hello -r master
2020-10-07 11:53:00 3.1s            tiny_leavitt    OK      e3b475a61b      4d3b95c5-4385-42b6-b430-c865a70d56a4    nextflow run ./tutorial.nf
2020-10-07 11:53:29 2.5s            boring_euler    OK      e3b475a61b      a6276975-7173-4208-ae09-ab9d6dce8737    nextflow run tutorial.nf

Listing only the run names of the execution logs of all pipelines invocations in a project.

$ nextflow log -quiet

focused_payne
tiny_leavitt
boring_euler

List the execution entries only a specific execution.

$ nextflow log tiny_leavitt

work/1f/f1ea9158fb23b53d5083953121d6b6
work/bf/334115deec60929dc18edf0010032a
work/a3/06521d75da296d4dd7f4f8caaddad8

List the execution entries after a specific execution.

$ nextflow log -after tiny_leavitt

work/92/c1a9cd9a96e0531d81ca69f5dc3bb7
work/3f/70944c7a549b6221e1ccc7b4b21b62
work/0e/2ebdba85f76f6068b21a1bcbf10cab

List the execution entries before a specific execution.

$ nextflow log -before tiny_leavitt

work/5d/ad76f7b7ab3500cf616814ef644b61
work/c4/69a82b080a477612ba8d8e4c27b579
work/be/a4fa2aa38f76fd324958c81c2e4603
work/54/39116773891c47a91e3c1733aad4de

List the execution entries except for a specific execution.

$ nextflow log -but tiny_leavitt

work/5d/ad76f7b7ab3500cf616814ef644b61
work/c4/69a82b080a477612ba8d8e4c27b579
work/be/a4fa2aa38f76fd324958c81c2e4603
work/54/39116773891c47a91e3c1733aad4de

Filter specific fields from the execution log of a process.

$ nextflow log tiny_leavitt -f 'process,exit,hash,duration'

splitLetters        0       1f/f1ea91       112ms
convertToUpper      0       bf/334115       144ms
convertToUpper      0       a3/06521d       139ms

Filter fields from the execution log of a process based on a criteria.

$ nextflow log tiny_leavitt -F 'process =~ /splitLetters/'

work/1f/f1ea9158fb23b53d5083953121d6b6

plugin

Manage plugins and run plugin-specific commands.

$ nextflow plugin <subcommand> [options]

The plugin command provides several subcommands for managing and using plugins:

install <plugin[@version],..>

Install a plugin. Multiple plugins can be specified as a comma-separated list. Each plugin id consists of a name and optional version separated by a @.

<plugin>:<subcommand> [options]

Execute a plugin-specific command.

pull

Download or update a project.

Usage

$ nextflow pull [options] [project]

Description

The pull command downloads a pipeline from a Git-hosting platform into the global cache ~/.nextflow/assets and modifies it accordingly. For downloading a pipeline into a local directory, please refer to the nextflow clone command.

Options

-all

Update all downloaded projects.

-d, -deep

Create a shallow clone of the specified depth.

-h, -help

Print the command usage.

-hub (github)

Service hub where the project is hosted. Options: gitlab or bitbucket

-r, -revision

Revision of the project to run (either a git branch, tag or commit hash).

When passing a git tag or branch, the workflow.revision and workflow.commitId fields are populated. When passing only the commit hash, workflow.revision is not defined.

-user

Private repository user name.

Examples

Download a new pipeline or pull the latest revision for a specific project.

$ nextflow pull nextflow-io/hello

Checking nextflow-io/hello ...
done - revision: 96eb04d6a4 [master]

Pull the latest revision for all downloaded projects.

$ nextflow pull -all

Checking nextflow-io/hello ...
done - revision: 96eb04d6a4 [master]
Checking nextflow-hub/fastqc ...
done - revision: 087659b18e [master]

Download a specific revision of a new project or pull the latest revision for a specific project.

$ nextflow pull nextflow-io/hello -r v1.1

Checking nextflow-io/hello ...
checkout-out at AnyObjectId[1c3e9e7404127514d69369cd87f8036830f5cf64] - revision: 1c3e9e7404 [v1.1]

run

Execute a pipeline.

Usage

$ nextflow run [options] [project]

Description

The run command is used to execute a local pipeline script or remote pipeline project.

Options

-E

Exports all current system environment.

-ansi-log

Enable/disable ANSI console logging.

-bucket-dir

Remote bucket where intermediate result files are stored. When running a hybrid workflow, -bucket-dir and -work-dir should define separate work directories for remote tasks and local tasks, respectively.

-cache

Enable/disable processes caching.

-d, -deep

Create a shallow clone of the specified depth.

-disable-jobs-cancellation

Prevent the cancellation of child jobs on execution termination

-dsl1

Deprecated since version 23.09.0-edge.

Execute the workflow using DSL1 syntax.

-dsl2

Deprecated since version 23.09.0-edge.

Execute the workflow using DSL2 syntax.

-dump-channels

Dump channels for debugging purpose.

-dump-hashes

Dump task hash keys for debugging purposes.

New in version 23.10.0: You can use -dump-hashes json to dump the task hash keys as JSON for easier post-processing. See the caching and resuming tips for more details.

-e.<key>=<value>

Add the specified variable to execution environment.

-entry

Entry workflow to be executed.

-h, -help

Print the command usage.

-hub (github)

Service hub where the project is hosted. Options: gitlab or bitbucket

-latest

Pull latest changes before run.

-lib

Library extension path.

-main-script (main.nf)

New in version 20.09.1-edge.

The script file to be executed when launching a project directory or repository.

-name

Assign a mnemonic name to the a pipeline run.

-offline

Do not check for remote project updates.

-params-file

Load script parameters from a JSON/YAML file.

-plugins

Comma separated list of plugin ids to be applied in the pipeline execution.

-preview

New in version 22.06.0-edge.

Run the workflow script skipping the execution of all processes.

-process.<key>=<value>

Set process config options.

-profile

Choose a configuration profile.

-qs, -queue-size

Max number of processes that can be executed in parallel by each executor.

-resume

Execute the script using the cached results, useful to continue executions that was stopped by an error.

-r, -revision

Revision of the project to run (either a git branch, tag or commit hash).

When passing a git tag or branch, the workflow.revision and workflow.commitId fields are populated. When passing only the commit hash, workflow.revision is not defined.

-stub-run, -stub

Execute the workflow replacing process scripts with command stubs

-test

Test a script function with the name specified.

-user

Private repository user name.

-with-apptainer

Enable process execution in an Apptainer container.

-with-charliecloud

Enable process execution in a Charliecloud container.

-with-cloudcache

Enable the use of the Cloud cache plugin for storing cache metadata to an object storage bucket.

-with-conda

Use the specified Conda environment package or file (must end with .yml or .yaml)

-with-dag (dag-<timestamp>.html)

Create pipeline DAG file.

Changed in version 23.10.0: The default format was changed from dot to html.

-with-docker

Enable process execution in a Docker container.

-N, -with-notification

Send a notification email on workflow completion to the specified recipients.

-with-podman

Enable process execution in a Podman container.

-with-report (report-<timestamp>.html)

Create workflow execution HTML report.

-with-singularity

Enable process execution in a Singularity container.

-with-spack

Use the specified Spack environment package or file (must end with .yaml)

-with-timeline (timeline-<timestamp>.html)

Create workflow execution timeline.

-with-tower (https://api.tower.nf)

Monitor workflow execution with Seqera Platform (formerly Tower Cloud).

-with-trace (trace-<timestamp>.txt)

Create workflow execution trace file.

-with-wave (https://wave.seqera.io)

Enable the use of Wave containers.

-with-weblog (http://localhost)

Send workflow status messages via HTTP to target URL.

-without-conda

Disable process execution with Conda.

-without-docker

Disable process execution with Docker.

-without-podman

Disable process execution in a Podman container.

-without-spack

Disable process execution with Spack.

-without-wave

Disable the use of Wave containers.

-w, -work-dir (work)

Directory where intermediate result files are stored.

Examples

  • Run a specific revision of a remote pipeline.

    $ nextflow run nextflow-io/hello -r v1.1
    
    N E X T F L O W  ~  version 20.07.1
    Launching `nextflow-io/hello` [grave_cajal] - revision: 1c3e9e7404 [v1.1]
    
  • Choose a profile for running the project. Assumes that a profile named docker has already been defined in the config file.

    $ nextflow run main.nf -profile docker
    
  • Execute a pipeline and generate the summary HTML report. For more information on the metrics, please refer the Reports section:

    $ nextflow run main.nf -with-report
    
  • Execute a pipeline with a custom queue size. By default, the queue size is the number of available CPUs.

    $ nextflow run nextflow-io/hello -qs 4
    
  • Invoke the pipeline with a specific workflow as the entry-point.

    $ nextflow run main.nf -entry workflow_A
    
  • Execute a pipeline with integrated monitoring in Seqera Platform.

    $ nextflow run nextflow-io/hello -with-tower
    
  • Execute a pipeline with a custom parameters file (YAML or JSON).

    $ nextflow run main.nf -params-file pipeline_params.yml
    

    For example, the following params file in YAML format:

    alpha: 1
    beta: 'foo'
    

    Or in JSON format:

    {
      "alpha": 1,
      "beta": "foo"
    }
    

    Is equivalent to the following command line:

    $ nextflow run main.nf --alpha 1 --beta foo
    

    The parameters specified with this mechanism are merged with the resolved configuration (base configuration and profiles). The values provided via a params file overwrite those of the same name in the Nextflow configuration file.

self-update

Update the nextflow runtime to the latest available version.

Usage

$ nextflow self-update

Description

The self-update command directs the nextflow CLI to update itself to the latest stable release.

Examples

Update Nextflow.

$ nextflow self-update

      N E X T F L O W
      version 20.07.1 build 5412
      created 24-07-2020 15:18 UTC (20:48 IDT)
      cite doi:10.1038/nbt.3820
      http://nextflow.io


Nextflow installation completed. Please note:
- the executable file `nextflow` has been created in the folder: /usr/local/bin

view

View a project’s script file(s).

Usage

$ nextflow view [options] [project]

Description

The view command is used to inspect the pipelines that are already stored in the global nextflow cache. For downloading a pipeline into the global cache ~/.nextflow/assets, refer to the pull command.

Options

-h, -help

Print the command usage.

-l

List repository content.

-q

Hide header line.

Examples

Viewing the contents of a downloaded pipeline.

$ nextflow view nextflow-io/hello

== content of file: .nextflow/assets/nextflow-io/hello/main.nf
#!/usr/bin/env nextflow
nextflow.enable.dsl=2

process sayHello {
  input:
    val x
  output:
    stdout
  script:
    """
    echo '$x world!'
    """
}

workflow {
  Channel.of('Bonjour', 'Ciao', 'Hello', 'Hola') | sayHello | view
}

List the folder structure of the downloaded pipeline:

$ nextflow view -l nextflow-io/hello

== content of path: .nextflow/assets/nextflow-io/hello
LICENSE
README.md
nextflow.config
.gitignore
circle.yml
foo.nf
.git
.travis.yml
main.nf

View the contents of a downloaded pipeline without omitting the header:

$ nextflow view -q nextflow-io/hello

#!/usr/bin/env nextflow
nextflow.enable.dsl=2

process sayHello {
  input:
    val x
  output:
    stdout
  script:
    """
    echo '$x world!'
    """
}

workflow {
  Channel.of('Bonjour', 'Ciao', 'Hello', 'Hola') | sayHello | view
}

Pipeline parameters

Pipeline scripts can use an arbitrary number of parameters that can be overridden, either using the command line or the Nextflow configuration file. Any script parameter can be specified on the command line, prefixing the parameter name with double dash characters, e.g.:

nextflow run <my script> --foo Hello

Then, the parameter can be accessed in the pipeline script using the params.foo identifier.

Note

When the parameter name is formatted using camelCase, a second parameter is created with the same value using kebab-case, and vice versa.

Warning

When a command line parameter includes one or more glob characters, i.e. wildcards like * or ?, the parameter value must be enclosed in quotes to prevent Bash expansion and preserve the glob characters. For example:

nextflow run <my script> --files "*.fasta"