Seqcolyte
Seqcolyte is an open-source, protocol-aware platform for sequencing quality control and root-cause diagnosis.
Core trick
Derives expected barcode, UMI, and oligo layout from the protocol, then runs spec-driven QC on FASTQ or BAM reads against it.
Description
Seqcolyte is an open-source, protocol-aware platform for sequencing quality control and root-cause diagnosis. I built a workflow in which Claude Code agents convert protocols and laboratory context into structured, validated assay specifications—including oligos, barcode and UMI layouts, and expected molecules — then compare raw FASTQ or BAM data against those expectations using deterministic QC tools. When an initial report flags any issue, the agent can propose a falsifiable hypothesis, write and run a targeted diagnostic script, and feed the resulting metrics back into an evidence-backed report.
The project was motivated by single-cell experiment runs where a standard report flags a symptom, such as recovering about 2,000 cells instead of 45,000, but leaves several competing explanations. I found that grounding the analysis in the protocol makes it possible to connect abnormal read/cell signatures to specific library-preparation steps, candidate root causes, confirmatory tests, and recovery actions. The current prototype supports Illumina and Oxford Nanopore single-cell workflows, with reproducible simulations and labeled failures for evaluation.
This matters because failed sequencing runs cost precious samples, time, and money. Seqcolyte helps bench scientists, sequencing cores, and computational teams move from a generic QC alert to a testable, reproducible diagnosis and a concrete next action for experiment and technology optimization. Next, I’m expanding assay and platform coverage and benchmarking Seqcolyte on more real failures. The goal is to move from a QC alert to an evidence-backed, reproducible and accurate diagnosis.
README excerpt
# Seqcolyte
seqcolyte = sequencing acolyte
**Seqcolyte Studio**: https://huggingface.co/spaces/seqmachines/seqcolyte
Please try the 'sc-Nanopore 3′ — TSO concatemers (try it)' example!
## What it does
Most quality control (QC) tools run a fixed battery of checks. Seqcolyte instead **derives the checks from your assay**:
it infers the expected read/library structure (oligos, barcode/UMI layout, adapters, anchors) from a
protocol or description, then runs spec-driven QC against *that*. So the same engine works across
chemistries and platforms for short and long reads.
The agentic loop, end to end:
1. **Describe the assay**
2. **QC the reads**
3. **Diagnose**
4. **Fix + re-score**
## Next steps
- **Collect more technologies**
- More modalities: spatial, RNA modification, ...
- More platforms: ONT, PacBio, Ultima Genomics, ...
- **Collect more issues from failure sequencing runs**
- Agent knowledgebase building with these technologies and issues
- More benchmarks and engineering to increase agent accuracy
---
### CLI
```bash
pip install -e .
```
Only `seqcolyte fetch` (downloading the real 10x control) needs an extra tool, `seqkit`.
```bash
seqcolyte core # build the qc-core Rust binary (needs cargo)
# protocol parsing (input is a protocol document: PDF / text / Excel)
seqcolyte extract --doc protocol.pdf # Claude Code reads it 🔶
# raw data QC
seqcolyte qc --r1 R1.fastq.gz --r2 R2.fastq.gz --json-out qc_report.json