Agent skill

Deg Screening Analysis

by aipoch in aipoch/medical-research-skills

A skill your agent uses when screening differentially expressed genes from a bulk expression matrix between two user-specified groups, producing DEG tables, a volcano plot, and a clustered heatmap.

MITAuto-check passedResearch & Science

Install Deg Screening Analysis

skills CLI
$ npx skills add aipoch/medical-research-skills --skill deg-screening-analysis -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install aipoch/medical-research-skills deg-screening-analysis --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/aipoch/medical-research-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/'awesome-med-research-skills/Data Analysis/deg-screening-analysis' .claude/skills/deg-screening-analysis && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Facts

Skill name
deg-screening-analysis
GitHub stars
2k
Token cost
~2.1k tokens
SKILL.md length
884 words
Files
14 (incl. scripts, references)
Skills in repo
567
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
MIT

At a glance

A skill your agent uses when screening differentially expressed genes from a bulk expression matrix between two user-specified groups, producing DEG tables, a volcano plot, and a clustered heatmap.

  • Works in 4 steps: Validate Input → Run Differential Expression → Screen Differentially Expressed Genes → …
  • Screening differentially expressed genes from a bulk expression matrix between two user-specified groups
  • SKILL.md covers When to Use, Out of Scope, Practical Caveats and When to Read External Files, plus 6 more sections
  • Runs R scripts from its folder

What it does

Deg Screening Analysis is an agent skill from aipoch/medical-research-skills. Use when screening differentially expressed genes from a bulk expression matrix between two user-specified groups, producing DEG tables, a volcano plot, and a clustered heatmap. Triggers include DEG analysis, volcano plot, clustered heatmap, limma-based two-group comparison, and case-vs-control screening. NOT for single-cell RNA-seq, multi-group contrasts, count-model workflows such as DESeq2/edgeR, or non-expression omics data.

Its SKILL.md is about 2.1k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 17 other files, including scripts and reference files (for example `eval_report_deg-screening-analysis_result.json`, `references/algorithm.md` and `references/cli-guide.md`).

It sits in Research & Science, covering Bioinformatics. The repository describes itself as: Hundreds of agent skills for medical research, including protocol design, data analysis, evidence insights, and academic writing. The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

  • Screening differentially expressed genes from a bulk expression matrix between two user-specified groups
  • Producing DEG tables
  • A clustered heatmap
  • Include DEG analysis

Example prompts

  • “/deg-screening-analysis”

Workflow steps

4 steps, taken from the step headings in SKILL.md.

  1. Validate Input
  2. Run Differential Expression
  3. Screen Differentially Expressed Genes
  4. Generate Volcano Plot & Clustered Heatmap

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 686e09d. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

  • Tool permissions

    Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

    From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

  • Runs code

    Ships 6 files in scripts/ (R), which the agent can run.

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    No URLs in SKILL.md.

    From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

  • Credentials

    Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Deg Screening Analysis loads about 2.1k tokens when it runs, and up to ~5k if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 114 tokens; SKILL.md has 884 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~114
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~2.1k
With references · SKILL.md plus every file in references/, read only if the agent opens them
~5k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); the scripts in this folder are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from aipoch/medical-research-skills at commit 686e09d, republished under its MIT licence (© aipoch). 884 words, ~2,071 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/deg-screening-analysis/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 13 other files; get the full folder from GitHub.
name
deg-screening-analysis
description
Use when screening differentially expressed genes from a bulk expression matrix between two user-specified groups, producing DEG tables, a volcano plot, and a clustered heatmap. Triggers include DEG analysis, volcano plot, clustered heatmap, limma-based two-group comparison, and case-vs-control screening. NOT for single-cell RNA-seq, multi-group contrasts, count-model workflows such as DESeq2/edgeR, or non-expression omics data.
license
MIT
author
AIPOCH

Source: https://github.com/aipoch/medical-research-skills

Differential Expression Gene Screening Analysis (Volcano Plot & Clustered Heatmap)

When to Use

Use this skill when you need a reproducible two-group DEG workflow on a bulk expression matrix and want:

  • a full differential expression table
  • a filtered DEG table
  • a volcano plot
  • a clustered heatmap of top differential genes

Typical requests include:

  • compare case vs control samples with limma
  • screen upregulated and downregulated genes from a normalized expression matrix
  • generate a DEG table with volcano and heatmap outputs from bulk transcriptome data

Out of Scope

Do not use this skill for:

  • single-cell RNA-seq workflows
  • multi-group contrasts or factorial designs
  • count-model pipelines that require DESeq2 or edgeR
  • batch correction, covariate-adjusted models, or generalized design-matrix consulting
  • non-expression omics data

If the request falls outside this scope, stop and hand off to a more appropriate analysis workflow instead of forcing the data through this skill.

Practical Caveats

  • Diffanalysis.csv currently exports name, logFC, P.value, and P.adj.
  • --p_type controls both DEG screening semantics and volcano plot significance semantics.
  • plot/heatmap.pdf is generated only when at least two heatmap genes remain after ranking.
  • When the result is very sparse, prefer keeping tables and volcano output as the primary artifacts.

When to Read External Files

SituationFile to ReadPurpose
Need algorithm details or statistical assumptionsreferences/algorithm.mdlimma method, filtering logic, volcano/heatmap selection rules
Need to execute the workflowscripts/main.RGet the exact CLI entry and runnable command
Encounter an error code or bad input formatreferences/troubleshooting.mdMatch SKILL_* errors to causes and fixes
Need more CLI examplesreferences/cli-guide.mdSee complete command examples for common use cases
Need a minimal runnable exampletests/data/Use bundled test input files for validation

Usage

bash
Rscript scripts/main.R \
  --input_file tests/data/oa_exp.csv \
  --group_file tests/data/oa_group.csv \
  --case OA \
  --control control \
  --output_dir ./results

Arguments

ShortLongTypeDefaultRequiredDescription
-i--input_filecharacternoneyesExpression matrix CSV. First column is gene ID, remaining columns are sample values.
-g--group_filecharacternoneyesGroup annotation CSV. The script auto-detects sample and group columns, including files where the first column is row names or index.
-o--output_dircharacter./DEGnoOutput directory for tables, plots, and session metadata.
--casecharacternoneyesCase group name to compare. Matching is case-insensitive and trimmed.
--controlcharacternoneyesControl group name to compare. Matching is case-insensitive and trimmed.
-m--diff_methodcharacterlimmanoDifferential expression method. Current implementation supports limma only.
-p--p_thresholdnumeric0.05noSignificance threshold for DEG screening.
-f--logfc_thresholdnumeric1noAbsolute log fold change threshold for DEG screening.
--top_ninteger5noNumber of top upregulated and top downregulated genes considered for heatmap selection.
--p_typecharacterp.adjnoP-value field used for significance filtering and volcano significance coloring. Allowed values: p, p.adj.
--run_plotslogicalTRUEnoWhether to generate the volcano plot and clustered heatmap.
--timeout_secondsinteger3600noMaximum allowed runtime before timeout.
-s--seedinteger42noRandom seed recorded for reproducibility.

Output Files

FileFormatDescription
session_info.txttxtR session metadata and package versions used in the run.
data/DEG_list.rdardaSerialized R object containing method, groups, thresholds, the full differential table, and the screened DEG table.
table/Diffanalysis.csvcsvFull differential expression result table with columns name, logFC, P.value, and P.adj.
table/DEG.csvcsvSignificant DEG table only, containing screened genes with group labels up or down.
plot/volcano_plot.pdfpdfVolcano plot of differential genes using the p-value mode selected by --p_type.
plot/heatmap.pdfpdfClustered heatmap for selected top differential genes when at least two heatmap genes are available and plotting is enabled.
Show full SKILL.md (316 more words)Show less

Workflow

Step 1: Validate Input
  • check that input files exist
  • load the expression matrix and ensure it is non-empty
  • auto-detect sample and group columns in the group file
  • verify sample IDs overlap correctly
  • verify case/control groups exist and each selected group has at least two samples
Step 2: Run Differential Expression
  • fit a two-group limma linear model
  • build the contrast case - control
  • compute empirical Bayes moderated statistics
  • export the full differential result table
Step 3: Screen Differentially Expressed Genes
  • apply p_threshold and logfc_threshold
  • use P.value or P.adj based on --p_type
  • label genes as up, down, or no
  • export DEG tables and serialized result objects
Step 4: Generate Volcano Plot & Clustered Heatmap
  • build plot/volcano_plot.pdf directly from the full differential table
  • select top up and top down genes for heatmap input
  • build plot/heatmap.pdf only when at least two heatmap genes are available

Error Handling

Error CodeMeaningTypical Fix
SKILL_FILE_NOT_FOUNDInput file path does not existVerify the file path and rerun
SKILL_PACKAGE_NOT_FOUNDRequired R package is missingInstall the missing package, then rerun
SKILL_MISSING_COLUMNSInput file does not contain the necessary columnsCheck CSV structure and column placement
SKILL_EMPTY_DATAInput file is empty or limma returns no analyzable rowsValidate input content or confirm the matrix contains enough valid values
SKILL_INVALID_PARAMETERArgument value or group selection is invalidCheck thresholds, --case, --control, and --p_type
SKILL_SAMPLE_MISMATCHExpression matrix samples and group file samples do not matchAlign sample IDs between the two input files
SKILL_TIMEOUTThe run exceeded the allowed runtimeIncrease --timeout_seconds or simplify the run

If you need step-by-step fixes, read references/troubleshooting.md.

Testing

bash
Rscript tests/run_tests.R

Minimal CLI smoke test:

bash
Rscript scripts/main.R \
  --input_file tests/data/oa_exp.csv \
  --group_file tests/data/oa_group.csv \
  --case OA \
  --control control \
  --output_dir ./tests_output

Expected outputs:

  • tests_output/table/Diffanalysis.csv
  • tests_output/table/DEG.csv
  • tests_output/plot/volcano_plot.pdf
  • tests_output/session_info.txt

tests_output/plot/heatmap.pdf is expected only when enough significant genes remain for heatmap rendering. Runs with fewer than two selected heatmap genes skip heatmap generation with a warning instead of failing. tests_output/table/DEG.csv may be empty when no genes pass the current thresholds.

Skill name: deg-screening-analysis

© aipoch, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

SKILL.md and 13 other files (scripts, references) in awesome-med-research-skills/Data Analysis/deg-screening-analysis of aipoch/medical-research-skills.

  • SKILL.md
  • eval_report_deg-screening-analysis_result.json
  • references/algorithm.md
  • references/cli-guide.md
  • references/troubleshooting.md
  • scripts/diff_methods.R
  • scripts/diff_visualization.R
  • scripts/functions.R
  • scripts/main.R
  • scripts/run_analysis.R
  • scripts/utils.R
  • tests/data/oa_exp.csv
  • tests/data/oa_group.csv
  • tests/run_tests.R

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 686e09d

Compare with similar skills

Deg Screening Analysis next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Deg Screening Analysis compared with similar skills
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Metabolic Study Planneraiming-lab/AutoResearchClaw15k—~1.9kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
13C Metabolic Flux AnalysisK-Dense-AI/scientific-agent-skills48k1 repos~3.2kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Alphagenome Single Variant Analysisgoogle-deepmind/science-skills3.2k2 repos~3kAutomated safety check: NotesApache-2.0
MFA Pipeline Orchestratoraiming-lab/AutoResearchClaw15k—~923Automated safety check: PassMIT

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Questions about Deg Screening Analysis

What does Deg Screening Analysis do?

A skill your agent uses when screening differentially expressed genes from a bulk expression matrix between two user-specified groups, producing DEG tables, a volcano plot, and a clustered heatmap. Deg Screening Analysis is an agent skill from aipoch/medical-research-skills. Use when screening differentially expressed genes from a bulk expression matrix between two user-specified groups, producing DEG tables, a volcano plot, and a clustered heatmap.

When should I use Deg Screening Analysis?

Deg Screening Analysis fits situations like: screening differentially expressed genes from a bulk expression matrix between two user-specified groups; producing DEG tables; A clustered heatmap; include DEG analysis.

How do I install Deg Screening Analysis in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add aipoch/medical-research-skills --skill deg-screening-analysis -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (awesome-med-research-skills/Data Analysis/deg-screening-analysis in aipoch/medical-research-skills) into .claude/skills/deg-screening-analysis in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Deg Screening Analysis in Codex?

Run `npx skills add aipoch/medical-research-skills --skill deg-screening-analysis -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (awesome-med-research-skills/Data Analysis/deg-screening-analysis in aipoch/medical-research-skills) into .agents/skills/deg-screening-analysis in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Deg Screening Analysis in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add aipoch/medical-research-skills --skill deg-screening-analysis -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/deg-screening-analysis, .gemini/skills/deg-screening-analysis, .github/skills/deg-screening-analysis and .opencode/skills/deg-screening-analysis in your project.

What does Deg Screening Analysis need to run?

Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Deg Screening Analysis needs R for the scripts in its folder.

Does Deg Screening Analysis access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Deg Screening Analysis safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. The check reads SKILL.md only: the scripts in the folder are not scanned, so read them before running anything.

What licence does Deg Screening Analysis use?

Deg Screening Analysis is published under the MIT licence (declared in SKILL.md). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Deg Screening Analysis use?

About 2.1k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 8.3k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full. Its references folder adds about 2.9k tokens, read only when the agent opens those files.

What are the alternatives to Deg Screening Analysis?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Deg Screening Analysis: Dbsnp Database (google-deepmind/science-skills, 3.2k stars), Metabolic Study Planner (aiming-lab/AutoResearchClaw, 15k stars), 13C Metabolic Flux Analysis (K-Dense-AI/scientific-agent-skills, 48k stars) and Alphagenome Single Variant Analysis (google-deepmind/science-skills, 3.2k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Deg Screening Analysis?

aipoch (a GitHub organization) maintains it in aipoch/medical-research-skills, which has 1,974 GitHub stars. The repository holds 567 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on September 17, 2026.

Source: aipoch/medical-research-skills on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.