Pegasus Wrapper Script Generator

VerifiedSafe

Generates a standardized wrapper script for a single step in a Pegasus pipeline. It automates the creation of Python or shell scripts following predefined templates, handling arguments, inputs/outputs, logging, and exit code propagation. Useful when building Pegasus workflows to ensure consistency and reduce manual errors.

Sby Skills Guide Bot
DevelopmentIntermediate
406/2/2026
Claude Code
#pegasus#wrapper-script#pipeline#code-generation

Recommended for

Our review

Generates a custom wrapper script for a single Pegasus pipeline step.

Strengths

  • Automates generation of consistent wrappers following Pegasus best practices
  • Selects an appropriate template based on tool type (CLI, API, Python, shell)
  • Ensures argument alignment between the wrapper and the workflow generator

Limitations

  • Requires the user to have detailed knowledge of the tool being wrapped
  • Does not handle complex multi-step dependencies
  • Generation relies on a limited set of predefined templates
When to use it

To quickly create a reliable wrapper for a new Pegasus pipeline step.

When not to use it

When the step involves advanced control flow not covered by the templates.

Security analysis

Safe
Quality score92/100

The skill only generates wrapper scripts; it does not execute code, access external resources, or perform any destructive actions. The allowed tools (Read, Glob, Grep, Write, Edit) are used for code generation, not for system modification or data exfiltration.

No concerns found

Examples

Samtools sort wrapper
Create a Python wrapper for samtools sort that takes a BAM file as input and outputs a sorted BAM file.
BWA mem wrapper
Generate a shell wrapper for bwa mem with output flattening, accepting a reference and a read pair.
API fetch wrapper
Create a Python wrapper that fetches earthquake data from USGS API and saves to a JSON file.

name: pegasus-wrapper description: Generate a wrapper script for a single Pegasus pipeline step allowed-tools:

  • Read
  • Glob
  • Grep
  • Write
  • Edit

Pegasus Wrapper Script Generator

You are a Pegasus wrapper script generator. The user has invoked /pegasus-wrapper to create a wrapper for a single pipeline step.

Step 1: Read Reference Materials

  1. Read Pegasus.md from the repository root — especially the "Writing Wrapper Scripts" and "Shell Wrapper Scripts" sections.
  2. Read pegasus-templates/wrapper_template.py and pegasus-templates/wrapper_template.sh as starting points.

Step 2: Gather Requirements

Ask the user (skip questions they've already answered):

  1. Tool name: What tool does this wrapper invoke? (e.g., samtools sort, bwa mem, a Python library, an API)
  2. Inputs and outputs: What files does it read and write? Include filenames or patterns.
  3. Does the tool produce nested output? If yes (e.g., MEGAHIT, QUAST, Prokka, GTDB-Tk), a shell wrapper with output flattening is better.
  4. Python or shell?
    • Python (recommended for most cases): subprocess calls, API fetches, pure-Python analysis
    • Shell (when needed): tools with nested output directories, headless display handling, simple tool chaining
  5. Does this wrapper need to accept multiple input files? (For fan-in/merge jobs, use action="append" or nargs="+")
  6. Does this wrapper call support files? (R scripts, JARs, config files that Pegasus stages into the working directory)

Step 3: Select Reference Pattern

Based on user answers, read the closest existing example:

| Pattern | Reference | |---------|-----------| | Subprocess calling a CLI tool | examples/wrapper_python_example.py | | API fetch (requests) | examples/workflow_generator_earthquake.py (see fetch_earthquake_data pattern) | | Shell wrapper with output flattening | examples/wrapper_shell_example.sh | | ML training wrapper | examples/workflow_generator_soilmoisture.py (see train_model pattern) | | Fan-in merge (multiple inputs) | examples/workflow_generator_airquality.py (see merge pattern) |

Read the selected reference before generating code.

Step 4: Generate the Wrapper

For Python wrappers:

Start from pegasus-templates/wrapper_template.py and customize:

  1. Docstring: Describe what this step does
  2. argparse arguments: Must match what the workflow_generator.py will pass via add_args()
  3. os.makedirs: Create output subdirectories before writing (any path with /)
  4. Tool invocation: Use subprocess.run() for CLI tools, or call Python libraries directly
  5. Exit code propagation: sys.exit(result.returncode) after subprocess
  6. Structured logging: Use logging module with logger.info() for inputs, commands, and results
  7. Output verification: Check the output file exists before exiting

For shell wrappers:

Start from pegasus-templates/wrapper_template.sh and customize:

  1. set -euo pipefail: Always include
  2. Argument parsing: case statement to extract named arguments
  3. Tool execution: Call the tool with parsed arguments
  4. Output flattening: Copy expected output files from nested directories to the working directory root
  5. Headless handling (if needed): unset DISPLAY, xvfb-run fallback

Critical Rules

  1. Arguments must match: The argparse flags in the wrapper must exactly match what workflow_generator.py passes in add_args(). Show the user both sides.
  2. No directory scanning: Never use glob(), os.listdir(), list.files(), or find to discover input files. Accept them explicitly via arguments.
  3. Support files via os.getcwd(): If the wrapper needs a support file (R script, JAR), find it with os.path.join(os.getcwd(), "filename") — NOT relative to __file__.
  4. Create subdirectories: Any output path containing / needs os.makedirs(os.path.dirname(output), exist_ok=True).
  5. Print the command: Always log the command being run — this is essential for debugging via pegasus-analyzer.

Step 5: Show Integration

After generating the wrapper, show the user the corresponding code needed in workflow_generator.py:

  1. Transformation Catalog entry: The Transformation() registration with correct pfn, is_stageable, memory, and cores
  2. Job definition: The Job() with add_args(), add_inputs(), add_outputs() that matches the wrapper's argparse
  3. Replica Catalog entry (if the wrapper uses support files): rc.add_replica() for R scripts, JARs, etc.

This ensures the wrapper and workflow generator stay in sync.

Full Workflow Repositories

For complete wrapper scripts beyond the examples:

  • https://github.com/pegasus-isi/tnseq-workflow (Python wrappers for bioinformatics)
  • https://github.com/pegasus-isi/earthquake-workflow (API fetch wrappers)
  • https://github.com/pegasus-isi/mag-workflow (shell wrappers with output flattening)
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