Analysis Output | Output Files | VCF File Format

VCF File Format

Variant Call Format (VCF) is a widely used file format developed by the genomics scientific community that contains information about variants found at specific positions in a reference genome.

VCF files use the file naming format SampleName_S#.vcf, where # is the sample number determined by the order that samples are listed for the run.

VCF File Header—Includes the VCF file format version and the variant caller version. The header lists the annotations used in the remainder of the file. If MARS is listed, the Illumina internal annotation algorithm annotated the VCF file. The VCF header includes the reference genome file and BAM file. The last line in the header contains the column headings for the data lines.

VCF File Data Lines—Each data line contains information about a single variant.