User GuidesSnapGene Command Line InterfaceCommand Line: Converting File Formats

Command Line: Converting File Formats

How can I convert my file(s) into SnapGene format using the command line?

Convert a Single File

To convert a single file to SnapGene DNA format, run SnapGene from the Command Prompt (Windows) or Terminal (macOS or Linux):

/path/to/SnapGene --convert "SnapGene DNA" \
                  --input someSupportedFile.extension \
                  --output aSnapGeneFile.dna

MacOS should point to the executable in the Application bundle:

/Applications/SnapGene.app/Contents/MacOS/SnapGene

Convert Multiple Files

To convert two or more files to SnapGene DNA format, type:

/path/to/SnapGene --convert "SnapGene DNA" \
                  --input-list listOfInputFiles.txt \
                  --output-list listOfOutputFilenames.txt

The "input-list" is a text file listing the file paths, e.g.:

c:\mscarlet.fa

c:\mscarlet-l.fa

 

Similarly, the "output-list" is a text file listing the file paths, e.g.:

c:\mscarlet.dna

c:\mscarlet-l.dna

 

All converted files should be the same type (DNA, protein, etc.) .

Supported Formats

To see the full set of formats that can be converted, go to: https://snapgene.com/features/convert-file-formats/

The supported output formats include: DDBJ, EMBL, FASTA, GenBank - SnapGene, GenBank - Standard, GenBank - Vector NTI, GenPept - SnapGene, GenPept - Standard, Plain Text, SnapGene DNA, and SnapGene Protein.

To see other options, type:

/path/to/SnapGene --help