CollectMultipleMetrics (Picard)

Collect multiple classes of metrics. This 'meta-metrics' tool runs one or more of the metrics collection modules at the same time to cut down on the time spent reading in data from input files. For each PROGRAM, the tool produces outputs. The valid values for PROGRAM and the output that would be generated by it are listed in the documentation of the PROGRAM argument.

Currently all programs are run with default options and fixed output extensions, but this may become more flexible in future. Specifying a reference sequence file is required.

Note: Metrics labeled as percentages (PCT_*) are actually expressed as fractions!

Usage example (all modules on by default):

java -jar picard.jar CollectMultipleMetrics \
      I=input.bam \
      O=multiple_metrics \
      R=reference_sequence.fasta

Usage example (two modules only):

java -jar picard.jar CollectMultipleMetrics \
I=input.bam \
O=multiple_metrics \
R=reference_sequence.fasta \
PROGRAM=null \
PROGRAM=QualityScoreDistribution \
PROGRAM=MeanQualityByCycle

Category Diagnostics and Quality Control

Overview

Class that is designed to instantiate and execute multiple metrics programs that extend SinglePassSamProgram while making only a single pass through the SAM file and supplying each program with the records as it goes. @author Tim Fennell

CollectMultipleMetrics (Picard) specific arguments

This table summarizes the command-line arguments that are specific to this tool. For more details on each argument, see the list further down below the table or click on an argument name to jump directly to that entry in the list.

Argument name(s)	Default value	Summary
Required Arguments
--INPUT -I		Input SAM or BAM file.
--OUTPUT -O		Base name of output files.
Optional Tool Arguments
--arguments_file		read one or more arguments files and add them to the command line
--ASSUME_SORTED -AS	true	If true (default), then the sort order in the header file will be ignored.
--DB_SNP		VCF format dbSNP file, used to exclude regions around known polymorphisms from analysis by some PROGRAMs; PROGRAMs whose CLP doesn't allow for this argument will quietly ignore it.
--EXTRA_ARGUMENT		extra arguments to the various tools can be specified using the following format::: where is one of the programs specified in PROGRAM, and are the argument and value that you'd like to specify as you would on the command line. For example, to change the HISTOGRAM_WIDTH in CollectInsertSizeMetrics to 200, use: "EXTRA_ARGUMENT=CollectInsertSizeMetrics::HISTOGRAM_WIDTH=200" or, in the new parser:--EXTRA_ARGUMENT "CollectInsertSizeMetrics::--HISTOGRAM_WIDTH 200" (Quotes are required to avoid the shell from separating this into two arguments.) Note that the following arguments cannot be modified on a per-program level: INPUT, REFERENCE_SEQUENCE, ASSUME_SORTED, and STOP_AFTER. Providing them in an EXTRA_ARGUMENT will _not_ result in an error, but they will be silently ignored.
--FILE_EXTENSION -EXT		Append the given file extension to all metric file names (ex. OUTPUT.insert_size_metrics.EXT). None if null
--help -h	false	display the help message
--IGNORE_SEQUENCE		If a read maps to a sequence specified with this option, all the bases in the read are counted as ignored bases.
--INCLUDE_UNPAIRED -UNPAIRED	false	Include unpaired reads in CollectSequencingArtifactMetrics. If set to true then all paired reads will be included as well - MINIMUM_INSERT_SIZE and MAXIMUM_INSERT_SIZE will be ignored in CollectSequencingArtifactMetrics.
--INTERVALS		An optional list of intervals to restrict analysis to. Only pertains to some of the PROGRAMs. Programs whose stand-alone CLP does not have an INTERVALS argument will silently ignore this argument.
--METRIC_ACCUMULATION_LEVEL -LEVEL	[ALL_READS]	The level(s) at which to accumulate metrics.
--PROGRAM	[CollectAlignmentSummaryMetrics, CollectBaseDistributionByCycle, CollectInsertSizeMetrics, MeanQualityByCycle, QualityScoreDistribution]	Set of metrics programs to apply during the pass through the SAM file.
--REF_FLAT		Gene annotations in refFlat form. Format described here: http://genome.ucsc.edu/goldenPath/gbdDescriptionsOld.html#RefFlat
--STOP_AFTER	0	Stop after processing N reads, mainly for debugging.
--version	false	display the version number for this tool
Optional Common Arguments
--COMPRESSION_LEVEL	5	Compression level for all compressed files created (e.g. BAM and VCF).
--CREATE_INDEX	false	Whether to create an index when writing VCF or coordinate sorted BAM output.
--CREATE_MD5_FILE	false	Whether to create an MD5 digest for any BAM or FASTQ files created.
--MAX_RECORDS_IN_RAM	500000	When writing files that need to be sorted, this will specify the number of records stored in RAM before spilling to disk. Increasing this number reduces the number of file handles needed to sort the file, and increases the amount of RAM needed.
--QUIET	false	Whether to suppress job-summary info on System.err.
--REFERENCE_SEQUENCE -R		Reference sequence file.
--TMP_DIR		One or more directories with space available to be used by this program for temporary storage of working files
--USE_JDK_DEFLATER -use_jdk_deflater	false	Use the JDK Deflater instead of the Intel Deflater for writing compressed output
--USE_JDK_INFLATER -use_jdk_inflater	false	Use the JDK Inflater instead of the Intel Inflater for reading compressed input
--VALIDATION_STRINGENCY	STRICT	Validation stringency for all SAM files read by this program. Setting stringency to SILENT can improve performance when processing a BAM file in which variable-length data (read, qualities, tags) do not otherwise need to be decoded.
--VERBOSITY	INFO	Control verbosity of logging.
Advanced Arguments
--showHidden	false	display hidden arguments

Argument details

Arguments in this list are specific to this tool. Keep in mind that other arguments are available that are shared with other tools (e.g. command-line GATK arguments); see Inherited arguments above.

--arguments_file

read one or more arguments files and add them to the command line

List[File] []

--ASSUME_SORTED / -AS

If true (default), then the sort order in the header file will be ignored.

boolean true

--COMPRESSION_LEVEL

Compression level for all compressed files created (e.g. BAM and VCF).

int 5 [ [ -∞ ∞ ] ]

--CREATE_INDEX

Whether to create an index when writing VCF or coordinate sorted BAM output.

Boolean false

--CREATE_MD5_FILE

Whether to create an MD5 digest for any BAM or FASTQ files created.

boolean false

--DB_SNP

VCF format dbSNP file, used to exclude regions around known polymorphisms from analysis by some PROGRAMs; PROGRAMs whose CLP doesn't allow for this argument will quietly ignore it.

File null

--EXTRA_ARGUMENT

extra arguments to the various tools can be specified using the following format::: where is one of the programs specified in PROGRAM, and are the argument and value that you'd like to specify as you would on the command line. For example, to change the HISTOGRAM_WIDTH in CollectInsertSizeMetrics to 200, use: "EXTRA_ARGUMENT=CollectInsertSizeMetrics::HISTOGRAM_WIDTH=200" or, in the new parser:--EXTRA_ARGUMENT "CollectInsertSizeMetrics::--HISTOGRAM_WIDTH 200" (Quotes are required to avoid the shell from separating this into two arguments.) Note that the following arguments cannot be modified on a per-program level: INPUT, REFERENCE_SEQUENCE, ASSUME_SORTED, and STOP_AFTER. Providing them in an EXTRA_ARGUMENT will _not_ result in an error, but they will be silently ignored.

List[String] []

--FILE_EXTENSION / -EXT

Append the given file extension to all metric file names (ex. OUTPUT.insert_size_metrics.EXT). None if null

String null

--help / -h

display the help message

boolean false

--IGNORE_SEQUENCE

If a read maps to a sequence specified with this option, all the bases in the read are counted as ignored bases.

Set[String] []

--INCLUDE_UNPAIRED / -UNPAIRED

Include unpaired reads in CollectSequencingArtifactMetrics. If set to true then all paired reads will be included as well - MINIMUM_INSERT_SIZE and MAXIMUM_INSERT_SIZE will be ignored in CollectSequencingArtifactMetrics.

boolean false

--INPUT / -I

Input SAM or BAM file.

R File null

--INTERVALS

An optional list of intervals to restrict analysis to. Only pertains to some of the PROGRAMs. Programs whose stand-alone CLP does not have an INTERVALS argument will silently ignore this argument.

File null

--MAX_RECORDS_IN_RAM

When writing files that need to be sorted, this will specify the number of records stored in RAM before spilling to disk. Increasing this number reduces the number of file handles needed to sort the file, and increases the amount of RAM needed.

Integer 500000 [ [ -∞ ∞ ] ]

--METRIC_ACCUMULATION_LEVEL / -LEVEL

The level(s) at which to accumulate metrics.

The --METRIC_ACCUMULATION_LEVEL argument is an enumerated type (Set[MetricAccumulationLevel]), which can have one of the following values:

ALL_READS
SAMPLE
LIBRARY
READ_GROUP

Set[MetricAccumulationLevel] [ALL_READS]

--OUTPUT / -O

Base name of output files.

R String null

--PROGRAM

Set of metrics programs to apply during the pass through the SAM file.

The --PROGRAM argument is an enumerated type (Set[Program]), which can have one of the following values:

CollectAlignmentSummaryMetrics: Produces a summary of alignment metrics from a SAM or BAM file. Creates output with ".alignment_summary_metrics, .read_length_histogram.pdf" appended to OUTPUT.
CollectInsertSizeMetrics: Collect metrics about the insert size distribution of a paired-end library. Creates output with ".insert_size_metrics, .insert_size_histogram.pdf" appended to OUTPUT.
QualityScoreDistribution: Chart the distribution of quality scores. Creates output with ".quality_distribution_metrics, .quality_distribution.pdf" appended to OUTPUT.
MeanQualityByCycle: Collect mean quality by cycle.Creates output with ".quality_by_cycle_metrics, .quality_by_cycle.pdf" appended to OUTPUT.
CollectBaseDistributionByCycle: Chart the nucleotide distribution per cycle in a SAM or BAM fileCreates output with ".base_distribution_by_cycle_metrics, .base_distribution_by_cycle.pdf" appended to OUTPUT.
CollectGcBiasMetrics: Collect metrics regarding GC bias. Creates output with ".gc_bias.detail_metrics, .gc_bias.summary_metrics, .gc_bias.pdf" appended to OUTPUT.
RnaSeqMetrics: Produces RNA alignment metrics for a SAM or BAM file. Creates output with ".rna_metrics, .rna_coverage.pdf" appended to OUTPUT.
CollectSequencingArtifactMetrics: Collect metrics to quantify single-base sequencing artifacts. Creates output with ".bait_bias_detail_metrics, .bait_bias_summary_metrics, .pre_adapter_detail_metrics, .pre_adapter_summary_metrics, .error_summary_metrics" appended to OUTPUT.
CollectQualityYieldMetrics: Collect metrics about reads that pass quality thresholds and Illumina-specific filters. Creates output with ".quality_yield_metrics" appended to OUTPUT.

Set[Program] [CollectAlignmentSummaryMetrics, CollectBaseDistributionByCycle, CollectInsertSizeMetrics, MeanQualityByCycle, QualityScoreDistribution]

--QUIET

Whether to suppress job-summary info on System.err.

Boolean false

--REF_FLAT

Gene annotations in refFlat form. Format described here: http://genome.ucsc.edu/goldenPath/gbdDescriptionsOld.html#RefFlat

File null

--REFERENCE_SEQUENCE / -R

Reference sequence file.

PicardHtsPath null

--showHidden / -showHidden

display hidden arguments

boolean false

--STOP_AFTER

Stop after processing N reads, mainly for debugging.

int 0 [ [ -∞ ∞ ] ]

--TMP_DIR

One or more directories with space available to be used by this program for temporary storage of working files

List[File] []

--USE_JDK_DEFLATER / -use_jdk_deflater

Use the JDK Deflater instead of the Intel Deflater for writing compressed output

Boolean false

--USE_JDK_INFLATER / -use_jdk_inflater

Use the JDK Inflater instead of the Intel Inflater for reading compressed input

Boolean false

--VALIDATION_STRINGENCY

Validation stringency for all SAM files read by this program. Setting stringency to SILENT can improve performance when processing a BAM file in which variable-length data (read, qualities, tags) do not otherwise need to be decoded.

The --VALIDATION_STRINGENCY argument is an enumerated type (ValidationStringency), which can have one of the following values:

STRICT
LENIENT
SILENT

ValidationStringency STRICT

--VERBOSITY

Control verbosity of logging.

The --VERBOSITY argument is an enumerated type (LogLevel), which can have one of the following values:

ERROR
WARNING
INFO
DEBUG

LogLevel INFO

--version

display the version number for this tool

boolean false

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GATK version 4.6.2.0 built at Sun, 13 Apr 2025 13:21:43 -0400.